Preparing for the Board Exams

The Philippine Physician Licensure Examination is composed of 12 subjects of 100 multiple-choice questions each. The subjects included as of February 2004 are: 1. Anatomy a. Gross Anatomy b. Histology 2. Physiology 3. Biochemistry 4. Microbiology and Immunology 5. Pharmacology 6. Pathology 7. Internal Medicine 8. Obstetrics and Gynecology 9. Surgery a. General Surgery and Surgical subspecialties b. Orthopedics c. Ophthalmology and Otorhinolaryngology 10. Pediatrics 11. Legal Medicine and Medical Jurisprudence 12. Preventive Medicine and Public Health STEP ONE: READ THESE IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS BEFORE YOU START Make things simple. Your basic goal is to PASS the exam. This is JUST a RE-VIEW. Be practical. Realistically speaking, you cannot read ALL of your books again. ENJOY the review. What you are reviewing WILL save your patients’ lives. TWO TO THREE MONTHS will provide you enough time to review for the board exam. Start early. ASAP. It is your prerogative to enroll in any of the accredited review centers (UPEC, FEU, APMC) although there is a good chance that you will get bored, feel tired after almost ten hours every day of LISTENING to the instructors and ultimately waste your PhP 7,000 +. Borrow the review materials provided by these centers from those who have already taken the board exams. DO NOT RELY SOLELY on old test papers. It is however RECOMMENDED to have a look at the previous board exams BEFORE and AFTER your formal review. Remember to use test papers which are CORRECTED. UPEC provides its students with collections of Q-and-A’s which are DIRECTLY LIFTED from the previous board exams. The questions are collected per subject and under each subject, the questions are arranged according to topic. The UPEC collections are good review materials because they will give you a “feel” of how the examiners make questions, but please correct the answers first. UPEC is INFAMOUS for the NOT-SO-RELIABLE ANSWERS. THE IMPORTANCE OF SLEEP, R AND R: NEVER BE GUILTY to sleep. Even the smallest animals NEED to rest in order to FUNCTION optimally. 6 hours of sleep is enough. Set time to relax. STEP TWO: GROUP STUDY OR SELF-STUDY? Again, it is your prerogative. Choose the study method which has worked for you during your med school days. If you choose to study with a group: It is better to study with your friends, or at least those people you are comfortable being with. It helps to stay together in a single place that is far from distractions, with no TV, with little pollution and noise, with not-so comfortable beds, with a well-lighted study area (preferably a study table like those you see in the library). You may hire some one to take care of the cooking, laundry, and cleaning in order to save your time. It doesn’t hurt to study with someone who is brainy and someone who is diligent. Let these people be your inspiration and ready information source (in case you still need explanations for concepts you have a hard time understanding). Remember that you are together to study and not to party. Perhaps it’s better to think of it this way: you have no right to party until you pass the board exams. Maximize your time. Although you are studying as a group, it does not mean that you cannot read in advance. Study at your own pace. Oftentimes, it’s enough to be in the company of those people you know are studying to reach the same goal. STEP 3: COMPLETE THE REVIEW MATERIALS YOU WILL USE Part two will give you a list of the books that are recommended for the Philippine Board Exams. Set at least 3 days in order to COMPLETE all the books you need. These books are available at Asturias Street and from your friends. It is difficult to find most of the reviewers come crunch time. STEP 4: MAKE A SCHEDULE It is best to make a schedule AND to ADHERE to that schedule. Make a schedule AFTER completing the review materials. Remember that you are REVIEWING. Do not waste your time READING ALL of your medical books. At best, these medical books are there as sources. The review materials will suffice. There is no such thing as a “MINOR SUBJECT”. Preventive Medicine and Legal Medicine or any other subject should NEVER be treated as MINOR and neglected. Give sufficient time to review for these subjects. Remember, if you get a score of less than 50 in any one subject of the board exams, you will fail the entire exam. STEP 5: GO God bless and goodluck, doctor. The Hippocratic Oath and millions of sick people wait for you.