My Quest to Conquer the EPPP & Secure a Jobby Job: AATBS

Showing posts with label AATBS. Show all posts

Monday, August 22, 2011

You gotta know when to hold em', know when to fold em.

Gambling...how appropriate for the EPPP. I feel some days that it's a totally crap shoot, thank you very much variable ratio schedule of reinforcement. But, I can't help but wonder lately, "When will I know when I'm ready?" Like sitting in front of the slot machine wondering, "Should I pull the lever again, or walk away?"

So, there are several "theories" floating around out there (see the EPPP Yahoo Group for many discussion threads on practice test thresholds and percentages), and most are related to scores on various practice tests. Makes sense, in a validity/predictor-criterion-type way. But, what level is enough? I've heard a lot of chatter about a high 60's threshold on the practice tests (particularly AATBS or AR) and passing with room on the real thing. This is congruent with what my friends and colleagues have reported as well. Some people say 80%, just to be safe, but I think they must be taking some pretty easy practice tests. If only there was a list of 10 things to recognize when you're ready?!?!

Ultimately, it is up to YOU (or me in this case). Well, and the state to which you apply if you are waiting for notification (in the throws of the third fingerprinting!). But, essentially you decide. Here's a protocol analysis of my decision making. ;)

1. My practice test scores are consistently good/much better.
2. I'm feeling saturated with information.
3. I'm running out of steam to learn/review written materials.
4. (Related to above) I can't stand to do anything but listen to the audio files and do practice test items.

There's probably more, but that's my process so far. When EB and MH get close, I'll be interested to hear how they "know".

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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Brain Power (and other rando thoughts)

Can I make a recommendation to all you studiers out there? Don't go on 12 trips in the middle of studying, or even one long one, if you can avoid it. It is mucho disruptive to the study schedule (I've harped on this before, I know).

Okay, so I have finally finished the physiological bases section (disruptiveness galore!) and it wasn't as bad as I thought. Though I don't score nearly as good on this as Ethics or L&B, but as EB wisely points out, some things are going to be weaker than others and "good enough" is something we should all be familiar with.

REVIEW:
I have reviewed the flashcards from the Exchange and it is up in my google docs to share. There are some useful psychotropic only sets that will be good to go through by themselves just to get the drug names and classes refreshed. Check it out!

There are also several outlines available from the Yahoo! EPPP Prep group. I liked and will use the Psychopharm table, nicely done and easy table to read (2 pages). Also, if you want a one pager of neuroanatomy, this one has structures and neurotransmitters. A little more detail on this 2-3 pager on physiological basics. And, a detailed outline/review of the topics in the physiological bases volume of the AATBS materials (similar coverage to AR) is here.

Take home message: Some areas will feel "underdeveloped" and that is okay. As long as I don't forget the diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's disease (as someone who specialized in older adults and cognitive testing), I still have my dignity.

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Monday, July 11, 2011

Audiophile

Quick and dirty tonight.

I'm spending a lot of time with my iPod lately, and consequently have grown to love and hate the AR and AATBS audio files. Here is what I can say about them, based on my growing experience. (Disclaimer: Not actually me in the picture, but it might come to that soon when I need every minute I can.)

REVIEW:
Academic Review- These seem to be a little more comprehensive in the content they cover. Granted, there are almost twice as many of the CD's/audio files than the AATBS, but they do seem to cover more ground. Particularly in Clinical, Developmental, and Diagnosis so far. I think I feel more connected to the guy, but that probably says more about me than anything (no laughing, EB & MH!).

AATBS- Okay, I know I've bagged on her voice and the mouth noises so I won't go off on them here. The content is good, it follows the study materials well and it is a nice refresher of main points when you don't want to get lost in the well of content that is the written materials. Also, I much prefer the format AATBS uses with the practice questions at the end of each subsection. Gives you a chance to consolidate and apply, plus practice EPPP-type questions.

It's well worth it for me to use the audio files to keep up with the content in a more user-friendly way. For example, I listen to it at night to fall asleep (handy). EB & MH are both planning to use them on the commute (clever). Any which way I can.

We're going to kick this thing in the gut.

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Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Why is diagnosis so hard?!?!

I'm not sure why, but I am finding the my scores on the Dx questions to be shameful. It's not so much that I can't diagnose someone, but the types of info they want in the section is not usually a list of symptoms and then come up with a diagnosis. It's more like which of the many associated factors of the disorder can you identify, which group has more or less, and what are the most likely comorbidities and symptoms in a group of equally likely comorbid conditions. Tricky, tricky...

So, I've been trying to make it through and make the most effective notes for remembering. I think I got the diagnostic criteria for most of them down just fine, so it will be remembering the nitty-gritty details, like that approximately 60% of adults continue to have achievement, psychological, social, etc. problems when they have a childhood dx of ADHD.

My review of the Exchange flashcards is up and you're welcome to look. There are a couple that follow my AATBS materials, some with AR materials, and one in particular with just test questions about Dx (handy when you want a quick run through of just that subject) There is also an outline based on the AATBS materials from the EPPP Prep group.

Here's to finishing this section and being a diagnostic beast (and by beast, I mean right at least 70% of the time).

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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Why not study like I workout?!?!

For me, a good workout plan includes building on my strengths and boosting my weaknesses. I'm not sure I have been really paying too much attention to either, though definitely more of a weaknesses-first plan. But, as EB has reminding me this weekend, a good tactic may be to focus on building on strengths, especially when there is so much to do and some weaknesses may be pretty low.

I like this tactic of not forgetting the strengths, and am trying to keep in mind ceiling and floor effects, regression to the mean, and all that jazz. I'm thinking that building on a strength will be good until I hit my ceiling, wherever that may be (when I feel saturated with info, when I consistently answer the AATBS end-of-chapter questions right, when my practice test scores on that section are stable). Then it's maintenance. Like running my 1.5 milers at a steady speed, not building speed or distance.

As for weaknesses, I am thinking I have a lot of room to grow so I won't neglect them. But, I'm not going to give them a SUPER amount of time either. I figure that any studying in these weakness areas (I/O, Development, Social) will probably give me some pretty good gains and a moderate amount will be sufficient. In other words, I'm not going to bother memorizing every leadership style theory and job satisfaction statistic. I think there are much better ways to spend my time. I'll do just enough to get a moderate amount of details so I can get a few more right in the end. Getting back to my analogy...I know that speed is not my forte in running, nor will it ever be. BUT, I can work on once a week and it will end up helping me with endurance and adding mileage.

Speaking of all this, I should probably get back to studying!

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Friday, June 17, 2011

One nanostein closer...

Me: 1 Learning and Behavior: 0

My attack has been not-so-swift and not exactly efficient, but I'm getting there!

Finished my review of the AATBS materials and simultaneously creating my electronic flash cards. BTW, thanks Exchange, and whoever this guy is for also making AATBS-based flash cards for me to "borrow". Just as an FYI, his were light on the memory and forgetting, so I supplemented with my own.

I think I have listened to the AATBS cd three times, and am starting to get annoyed by the mouth noises (Adria, you would appreciate this) she makes. Good job for them for having superior sound quality and I know she has to produce saliva like all of us, but it's still annoying to me.

Took the practice items at the end of the AATBS materials and got a 28/30. (Holla at your boy when you see him in the street!) Given what I just learned about learning and memory, this is not too surprising, but I hope it holds. I will be engaging in some elaborative rehearsal to help store and later retrieve this info.

Bring it on.

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Thursday, June 16, 2011

Learning and Burning

Now that I've completely mastered Ethics (insert snort), I am moving on to Learning and Behavior Therapy. As evidenced by my practice test, I suck at it. Hence, it is up next with plans to work it out til it is sucking air and begging for mercy. I started with listening to the AR and AATBS audio files to get me in the mood...
Plan:
1. Read/review my AATBS materials
2. Create/steal/be inspired by flashcards and put them in my fancy flashcard machine.
3. Practice questions
4. Listen to audio files again.
5. Practice questions
(Rinse, repeat)

In my quest to be a good consumer, I have looked over the free and recommended materials from the Exchange and EPPP-Prep group to see if I can take back some control, quell some anxiety by gathering information, and pick out the best options (for me).

REVIEW/THOUGHTS:
--Flashcards--
There are several options at the Exchange and I have found some better than others. (FOR A REVIEW of specific sets, see my document.)
General things to keep in mind when choosing:
1. Amount of info--Do you want a lot of information that is fairly straight forward and memorizable (e.g., terms with short descriptions). Or are you wanting fewer, in a question/answer format where you integrate info together to reason the answer.
2. Organization---Are you an "alphabetical" type person, want things random so you can challenge your brain, need it to follow your study materials scheme/be organized conceptually?
3. No one is perfect--Some flashcards in the Exchange will have errors, it's inevitable. There is an edit option if you want to fix 'em up, or if you are doing the copy-paste to your own format, just make sure they are error-free!
--Outlines--
There are a couple of options available on the EPPP-Prep group on Yahoo groups.
1. Option 1- If you're using the AATBS study materials like me, there is a great outline that follows the study material and are fairly comprehensive, yet oddly succinct (I'll leave you to ponder that paradox.)
2. Option 2- If you like brief, conceptual flow, well-organized outlines that you can carry around and quickly prompt yourself through the material, this might be one. Some brief descriptions of main concepts.
3. Option 3- This has a little of both the detailed description and then at the end has a one-pager concept list that may be especially useful once you get a little handle on the materials.

On to world dominance of all things learning and behavior.

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