PEDIATRIC BOARD REVIEW COURSE 2021 (ELEVENTH EDITION)

In this article we’ll learn about pediatric board review courses being offered in 2021 and learn why live courses are broken. We'll also be sharing resources and recommendations for those looking into live board review courses, along with a review of the 2021 pediatric board review course created by Pediatrics Board Review (PBR).

PBR was created by me, Ashish Goyal. As a pediatrician, I excelled when I increased my score by 160 points on the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) Initial Certification exam. I was then asked by the ABP to write questions for them.

Now, as an author, my mission is to provide the best pediatric board review materials to residents and pediatricians. And I’ve been doing this successfully doing so with PBR since 2011.

As physicians, we're trained to learn "everything” in our field, and we apply the same methodology to how we prepare for an exam. We start from the first sentence and take a top-to-bottom approach.

But these strategies do NOT work when you are studying for the pediatric boards.

That’s why at Pediatrics Board Review, we focus on creating a full, one-stop shop for you to focus your learning on three things:

1. The specific topics that will be tested on the exam
2. The strategy behind test taking, and how to deconstruct difficult questions with ease.
3. The tools, schedules, and systems needed to promote efficiency and accountability
   

This article will be covering a LOT about what pediatricians just like you need to pass the pediatric boards (and how we have been providing that successfully for the past decade).

The system that we’ve created has been proven to be much more effective (and cheaper) than attending a 4-6 day long course where you're expected to learn everything about pediatrics. And if the thousands of happy pediatricians are any indication, using the PBR Retention Methodology is the way to go (but more on that later).

If you are set on finding a traditional, live pediatric board review course, we do offer some advice and resources to help. Keep reading below to find a list of companies we've compiled who are offering live pediatric board review courses and the cost of attending.

But, if you have 5 minutes, take the time to read this article because it will likely save you time, money, and energy.

Through this article, and through videos like the one below, you will begin to quickly understand why a "traditional" pediatric board review course can lead to failure. PBR is not a traditional board review company, and we focus on helping physicians in ways that have never been done before. In the video below, I share with you the arrival of the NEW 2021 Edition of the PBR Core Study Guide, the NEW 2021 Edition of the Question & Answer books, our NEW Test-Taking Strategies Course, and information around the differences that allow PBR to excel.

My 2021 book "unveiling" video below will give you an excellent understanding of what makes PBR different than any other medical board review program.

Click here to get the full Pediatric Dermatology and Pediatric Gastroenterology chapters from THIS YEAR's EDITION of the PBR so that you can TRY BEFORE YOU BUY!

THE MAKINGS OF A GREAT PEDIATRIC REVIEW COURSE

What Makes a Great Pediatric Board Review Course?

Having been around pediatric board materials (and helping pediatricians pass!) for almost 10 years, I have found the key to any successful pediatric review course boils down to 5 key elements:

1. CONTENT CONGRUENCY: Having materials that work cohesively together has been proven to better reinforce knowledge in our brains. This is compared to having several disjointed study materials with competing methodologies. Congruency promotes a smarter, not harder, studying experience.
2. BOARD RELEVANT MATERIAL (NOT ALL MATERIAL!): No course should try to shove as many topics as possible into your brain; that will only lead to overload! Pick a course that provides a laser focus on the topics that are known to be tested, and curates your study experience around those topics.
3. A FOCUS ON THE TEST-TAKING STRATEGY (JUST AS MUCH AS THE TOPICS): Everyone has a colleague, a friend, or a family member who is very intelligent, but tests poorly. When it comes to standardized tests, knowing how to test is just as important as knowing about the subject being tested! So, your chosen course should place a high emphasis on teaching you how to TEST well.
4. INTERACTION: A course that promotes interaction with both your peers and the instructor can lead to a better study experience. Trying to study in isolation for hours on end, with an instructor just talking at you, will only limit the amount of information you retain. It will also provide zero opportunity for you to gain clarification on the difficult topics you struggled with.
5. MULTIPLE RETENTION TECHNIQUES: Everyone learns at a different pace, so finding a course that utilizes several retention techniques to help you solidify what you are studying is key.

Why You DO Need A Study Schedule for the Pediatric Boards

I often get asked questions along the lines of…

“Can you give me a general pediatric board study schedule?”

“I'm in practice and very busy. Can you provide me with a pediatric board study plan that's going to work for me?”

“Can you provide a pediatric board study schedule for those of us with an erratic schedule because we're in fellowship?”

Please remember, though, a schedule is only as valuable as your DETERMINATION to follow it. In this article, I break down those 300 hours into a manageable, concrete schedule that you can use to guide your studies and PASS the pediatric boards. 

Since it’s impossible for me to know exactly what your commitments are, what I’ve tried to do below is map out 14 weeks of study time based on the goal of studying approximately 300 hours.

Even if you do not agree with everything I recommend, keep reading to get some ideas that you can incorporate into your own board preparation plan. At the end of this article, I also share some pearls of wisdom towards to help you manage all of the study time that will be needed to pass your boards!

What If I'm at "Moderate to High Risk" of Failing the Pediatric Boards?

If the risk calculator helped you realize that you are at moderate or high-risk for failing the boards, don’t worry! I've created a 16-week study schedule to help you succeed on the boards! The recommendations in the other article are tailored towards graduates who were told that they were "at risk" of failing the boards based on their in-training exam scores, and those who have already failed the boards at least once.