The Psychiatry Board exam consists of 425 questions that test your knowledge on a number of key subjects. As you prepare for the exam, it is important to cover things you may not think could be on the test. Don’t forget to study these overlooked topics on the Psychiatry Boards!
1.Basic Neurology
This should not come as a surprise. The BoardVitals Neurology question bank has hundreds of Neurology questions to practice. Also, there are many good psychiatry and neurology books out there that can serve as a review, including Kaufman’s “Neurology for Psychiatrists” and “Secrets of Neurology.”
2. Sleep Disorders
Reviewing all of the stages of sleep as well as the EEG changes in specific psychiatric/neurological conditions can be a bore, but there are always a few questions on the PRITE and psychiatry boards on this topic
3. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
This is a big topic with many particular nuances that differ significantly from treating adults, the child chapters of most of the larger texts should suffice for review.
4. Development through the lifespan
You need to remember what behaviors are normal during the specific phases of development and what is considered pathological. Staple board questions give a short case and ask the appropriate stage of the individual or want to know if a behavior is normative.
5. Professionalism/Ethics
Some of the content of these questions does not readily come up in lectures, text books or even real life for many young psychiatric trainees. The APA has a written guideline for ethics.
6. Somatoform Disorders
These disorders tend to be rare in the clinical setting. After a while, when the criteria are not reexamined, they can all seem to meld together. Do plenty of practice questions to brush up on these topics before the test.
7. CYP450 enzymes and drug/drug interactions
There is a lot of practical knowledge to be gained in the clinical setting about which drugs not to mix, however there is much to be said about cramming for the less common medications that account for classic drug-drug interactions. Psychopharmacology texts and practice questions like the ones found in BoardVitals question banks are key here.
8. Who’s who in Psychiatry
All the big names and their associated theories tend to pop up on the PRITE and Boards. Not only is it good practice to know our roots, it also pays off with some bonus points on PRITE and psychiatry boards.
9. Complementary and Alternative Treatments in Psychiatry
Remember that most of these pharmaceutical options like Kava Kava, St. John’s Wort etc. have significant interactions that come up on psychiatry boards.
10. Disparities in Psychiatric Care
Cultural differences, gender differences, sexual orientation and racial-ethnic disparities are all important treatment considerations and do come up on the PRITE and Boards.
