The Study Schedule I Used in 2013

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I have received many requests about how I studied for the exam, and I wanted to share what I did.  I utilized the same sort of format that Ted Williams' website mentions.  His website, though dated material, still has the outline I'd focus on (with ACCP) and High Yield Med Reviews perhaps if you need more in-depth material to understand the topics better (depending on your level of expertise and day-to-day work).

• Domain 1: Patient-specific Pharmacotherapy (60% of the examination) • Domain 2: Retrieval, generation, interpretation and dissemination of knowledge in pharmacotherapy (25% of the examination) • Domain 3: Systems and Population-based Pharmacotherapy (15% of the examination)

  • Week 1:  Statistics - know statistics VERY well.  I spent a lot of time on statistics outside of this first week, but every year I'd start again WITH statistics and end with statistics.  In the beginning, I hated statistics.  Today, I love it.  I guess repeated exposure grows on you.
  • Week 2:  Pediatrics
  • Week 3:  Geriatrics
  • Week 4:  Kinetics
  • Week 5: Neurology
  • Week 6: Psychiatry
  • Week 7:  Fluids, Electrolytes, and Nutrition
  • Week 8: Acute and Critical Care
  • Week 9:  Regs, Policy/Practice, Pharmacoeconomics
  • Week 10:  Endocrine
  • Week 11:  ID
  • Week 12:  HIV/ID
  • Week 13:  Men/Women's Health
  • Week 14 and 15:  Outpatient Cardiology
  • Week 16:  Ambulatory Care
  • Week 17:  GI
  • Week 18:  Nephrology
  • Week 19:  Oncology
  • Week 20:  Biostats Refresh, Clinical Trial Design, Pharmacoeconomics, Policy/Practice, Economic/Humanistic Outcomes
  • Week 21:  Peds, Geriatrics, Kinetics
  • Week 22:  Neurology, Psych, Fluids, Elytes/Nutrition
  • Week 23:  Acute Care/Critical Care
  • Week 24:  ID, HIV, Endocrine
  • Week 25:

    Amb Care, Outpt Cards, M/W Health

  • Week 26:  G

    I, Nephrology, Oncology

  • Week 27:

    Biostats Refresh/Applications, Clinical Trial Design, Policy/Practice,

    Economic/Humanistic Outcomes

  • Week 28:  Peds, Geriatrics, Kinetics
  • Week 29:

    Neurology, Psychiatry, Fluids, Elytes & Nutrition

  • Week 30:

    Acute Care Cards 1 and 2, Critical Care 1 and 2

  • Week 31:

    ID, HIV/ID, Endocrine

  • Week 32:

    Amb Care, Outpt Cards, M/W Health

  • Week 33:  GI, Neph, Oncology
  • Week 34:  Review all
  • Week 35:  Review all

This is basically how I tackled it each time.  Pace yourself to cover the material and try to make 3 loops, even 4 if possible through all of the material.

This book is good for statistics.

High Yield Med Review is good for in-depth lectures and study material.  Cheaper than ACCP too, I believe.

ACCP - hands down, the best bang for your buck as far as study materials -- succinct and up-to-date.  This link is for 2013.  Sometimes people sell theirs.  Student Doctor Forum has those selling.

ASHP has great material as well.  In fact I used them for the Pharmacoeconomic section and in hindsight wish I had researched them a bit more for test prep.

 

Hope this helps someone.

By the way, we had our educational walk-through with a representative of JCAHO, and he mentioned three times about how important board certification was.  Our facility only has two practicing pharmacists that are board certified (including me).  There are two in management who have it.  Other than that, I hope more will attempt.