Medical licensing and in-service exams, such as Step, clerkship subject, and American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) qualifying exams, are unique to medical education. These board-style exams require test takers to have significant content knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge and choose the best answer among other plausible choices under strictly timed conditions. Because successful navigation of the board-style exam is a ubiquitous requirement throughout a physician’s career, possessing test-taking skills to master them is crucial.
Using question examples taken from Step, clerkship subject, and ABMS qualifying exams, this interactive workshop course will offer a “testing tool kit” designed to help students recognize the distinguishing features of board-style questions en route to selecting the best answer. Building on current learning science and the experiences of successful test takers, students will be taught to identify question archetypes, understand what makes a question high-yield, know what is meant by “one best answer,” improve their timing and self-review, and have a strategy to arrive at answers when they are unsure. Students will also be taught approaches to using question banks and other commonly used high-yield study materials. And students will have the opportunity to engage with classmates and residents who have successfully taken board-style exams to learn what worked for them.
Upon completion of this course, students will have the cognitive strategies to decode what is being asked in a board-style question, why it is being asked, and how best to respond---ultimately preparing them for any board-style test they encounter as an evolving medical professional.
Course Leaders
William Eidtson, EdD
Assistant Professor
Medical Education
William.Eidtson@Dartmouth.edu
Thomas Thesen, PhD
Associate Professor
Medical Education
Thomas.Thesen@Dartmouth.edu