Feels like 70% of items I study for is not on exam
I have used Amber book twice over the past 2 years, and cannot pass PPD & PDD. It feels as if 70% of the content is not on the exam, or I have not practiced in my 16 year experience and I get obscure items.
I am missing something.
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For my first attempt at PDD, I only studied Amber Book and the NCARB Practice Exam and scored a 518. Then I expanded my studying significantly by following the NCARB Handbook recommended materials and additional resources. Took PPD twice, scoring 513 and 521. I then retook PDD shortly after and still failed. At this point, I honestly don’t know what to do with these two exams anymore. The material I studied felt generally aligned with the exam content, but obviously I cannot translate them closely enough to pass.
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@battjes2006, I have been through Amber book twice. The content is great, but I have only seen maybe 30-40% of the content on exams. Or maybe third times a charm.
piyarudee, I have done similar scoring for PPD and about to take PDD soon. I feel like there is another 20-30% content hidden in texts. Maybe I have to read the questions and answers slower, which I already do. I passed the other 4 tests pretty easily.
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Todd, maybe try MEEB if not done so? But honestly, MEEB is kind of overwhelming so I used it as a reference with Elif Bayram’s practice quizzes. PA is what I felt like Amberbook didn’t prepare me well though. I did pass PA from reading tons of books, but then I didn’t do great on the overlapped part in PPD – very frustrating.
Good luck!
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Todd and Piyarudee - Only my opinion here.
To me it sounds like this isn't a "what do I study" issue and more of a mental test taking strategy situation.
You both are right on the cusp of passing, so you know the material. Personally, I would focus mostly on practice tests - not as much for the material, but the mental game required to understand what the question is asking. Really hone in on a strategy when you approach the questions and get into a clear headed mental headspace before the exam. I found that was most important. Go into the exam in a state of zen.
Come up with a way that works for you to distill the question into the simplest terms to find the "subject topic" and "what are they asking me". For me, that was skimming the answers before even reading the questions. That really helped me weed out the fluff in the questions. I am a horrendous test taker, especially with questions with lots of words. To me these questions are designed to overwhelm, so if you can see thru the fog, you can blast through these with confidence.
One last thing - From my experience, the moment I changed my mindset about this process from frustration and agitation to being proud and excited that I am taking the time to study and learn I found this entire process to be much more enjoyable. From that, my mental headspace with totally clear going into these.
Hope that helps.
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piyarudee I still have yet to pass PA after 1 attempt and have not yet dipped into PDD/PPD with 14 years of experience. One thing I have tried to do is not allow extracurriculars to get into my head. I try to only focus in on the question and available answers at hand, nothing else or what-ifs. It is hard and really had to put mental blinders on when taking CE/PcM/PjM to not think about how I would do it at 'work' but what they want right here in the question.
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I just passed PDD today. I only used Amber Book (about 2 months of preparing) and I have about 15 years of experience too; this was my second attempt. Maybe it is not about the content (as with 16years experience you likely are familiar with the topics) but understanding what the test is asking you. For me, I use the 'highlighter' tool while testing to highlight the necessary information to keep me focused on what the question is asking me. It is a bit clunky with all the clicking, but for me I felt it helped keep me on task with the questions and focus on what the question wanted.
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