Study Guide for the Psychiatry NBME Content Exam AKA the Psychiatry Shelf Exam!
Study guide for the Psychiatry NBME content exam AKA the Psychiatry Shelf exam!
This guide is based on feedback solicited from 26 of your colleagues who performed very well on the exam in the previous academic year! To quote Millie Boyd MS4 who provided many excellent suggestions below “Be active, involved and study wisely. There is more time on this rotation, use it to study! An easier work schedule does not equal an easy shelf exam. The exam is NOT easy.”
Question banks:
Uworld Qbank: 20 of 26 students reported using this.
Student comments: “Know that the actual question stems on the shelf are much longer so timing is the main issue.” ‘I found the explanations for questions to be high yield.” (Consistent feedback was they were easier than the actual shelf exam)
NMBE practice exams: 12 of 26 students reported using these.
Student comments: “ Recommend completing one exam. They are $20 each, and there are three different ones. Do the newest ones offered. This helps with timing and question style.” “Ended up being a pretty accurate assessment and a good tool for working on pacing for the real exam.”
Books:
Lange Q&A – 15 of 26 students reported using this.
Hints from students: “I recommend purchasing this and going through the entire book at least once. Take notes on the questions you miss and review them later. If you have time randomly go through and re-do questions.” “Really drives home some main points. Best used for knowledge and repetition. Question style is not similar to shelf.” Tried to make it through some of the areas I felt weak in twice.”
First Aid for the Psychiatry Clerkship: 18 of 26 students reported using this.
Hints from students: “Short easy read. Buy this and then add corrections for DSM-5. The best summary of changes can be found here by googling: " DSM 5 changes" select the pdf link from “ “Well organized, more of an outline format.’
Introductory Textbook of Psychiatry:
Student comment: “I did not actually use this to study, HOWEVER if you are a book reader then read it. There is an electronic copy on the google drive folder. “ “Too much to read cover to cover but helpful for more in depth reading about cases you see.”
Pharmacopoeia:
Student comment: “If you do not already have a pocket version of this - Highly recommend getting one. I went through and took the same format that was taught in the drug lecture, and categorized each class of meds by their potency, side effects, and common uses. “
Lectures:
8 students of 26 specifically called out the Psychopharmacology lecture as high yield to review
Overall student comments on lectures varied quite a bit. Some found them helpful and others not as helpful.
Overall study advice/pearls:
- START Questions immediately!! You have a lot of study time on this rotation --- USE IT WISELY and you will do well on the shelf. It is not an easy test; it takes practice evaluating diagnoses, treatments and outcomes from differing perspectives. They will present the same condition in 5 different ways - because that is how psych presents.
- Learn the drugs the best you can. Know their indications and SEs. “What I found helpful was to learn one category then do teach back with my attending or resident a couple of times. That way you study it, write it, teach it and then apply it. “
- Drug interactions: “The big ones to know are serotonin syndrome and NMS. You should get exposure to discussion of these conditions on your rotation, or in lecture. They are very testable topics. Learn the important contraindications to classes of drugs and be able to pick out the symptoms and signs of one of these conditions.”
- DSM 4 vs DSM5: Be mindful of terminology for both DSM 4 and DSM 5. “Understand the changes that were made. This is where the text book and the 19 page summary of DSM changes really helps. The answer choices use both DSM-4 and 5 terms. I found that there was slightly more DSM-4 generalizations with disorders though you need to know the differences of DSM-5 and be able to apply them. “
- In First Aid- focused on things may not have covered like sleep disorders, sexual disorders, dissociative disorders, metabolic/neurologic disorders that affect CNS, childhood developmental disorders, neurologic disorders, EEGs and sleep cycle basics.
- Spend some extra time studying PEDIATRICS and GERIATRICS. “The reason -- because you probably will not see any of that on your clerkship and it is not heavily covered in lecture. There is still a fair amount of it on the test. Understand dementia, delirium, causes and differences for example. Know how to treat conditions in children vs adults vs elderly. First Aid and psych clerkship book is very helpful here. “
- Substance use: Know you overdoses, withdrawals and treatments for each like the back of your hand.
- PREGNANCY - Understand the drug recommendations, fetal consequences and best treatment practices for different conditions.
- Focus on differentiation between conditions that appear similar (depression/adjustment disorder/grief) etc.
- Pearl from classmate “Yes there are many questions on depression, bipolar and psychosis but the shelf is very broad. Do not think that if you know the big topics you will do well. The exam covers personality disorders, child psych, cognitive, substance abuse, somatoform, adjustment disorder vs bereavement etc etc etc.”