Studying for the Boards
Psychiatry: the Final Frontier
The question on the mind of every senior resident in psychiatry: “Am I studying enough?”
Everyone is different of course– some people can cram at the last minute, and others need to put in an hour every day for months to feel adequately prepared. And then there are those irritating few who seem to do no studying at all but manage to come out on top on every exam. To become Board Certified in Psychiatry a candidate must be sucessful in two completely different formats– part one is the standard multiple choice format that every young doctor has come across hundreds of times by now… whereas part two is usually something new. New, and therefore anxiety provoking.
I waited too long before studying for part two. I used to do well on exams, particularly those with the part one format, and so I didn’t have a sense of ‘urgency’. I also have been through more experiences than the average psychiatry resident; I defended my PhD thesis in front of a crowd of medical school faculty, and I became Board Certified in Anesthesiology in 1993 (wow– the exams were at the Hyatt at Gainey Ranch in Scottsdale Arizona, a beautiful resort!). But as the exam approached I realized that I am older now, and my memory is not what it used to be!
Suddenly short of time, I nervously put together a schedule that maximized efficiency. I was having trouble committing time to studying after a hard day of work and I couldn’t afford to take time off, but I realized that I was wasting at least an hour per day… commuting! I needed something that I could do during my drive that didn’t take my attention from the road. For part two, the primary skill being tested is thinking ‘on the fly’– interviewing a patient, watching a video, or reading a case report and assigning a diagnosis or several diagnoses– while being watched by the examiners! I realized that I would need to know the criteria for psychiatric diagnoses to a degree where they would pop into my head automatically.
I looked for the right study tool but couldn’t find it– so I made it myself. I made recordings of the diagnostic criteria, recited slowly and clearly. I used them first by simply listening, but eventually by stopping the tape occasionally and testing myself, then playing the tape and checking myself. It worked! In time I could rattle off all of the criteria with ease. To my added surprise my confidence increased dramatically– I knew that no matter what question was thrown my way I would be able to create an argument for my opinion based on the fundamentals.
Yes, I did pass, and I know the tapes made the difference. I remade the tapes– I ‘flattened’ the dynamic range so they are heard better in the car, and I made a few other ‘tweaks’ like increasing the speed of the recording in a subtle way without affecting the tone, making listening even more efficient. I ended up with a product that I know will help, and I invite you to give it a try!
Jeffrey T Junig MD PhD
Board Certified Psychiatrist
