Pediatric board preparation

Senior recommendations and advice
The predicted breakup for the board questions:

• Between 60-70% MCQs are from concepts asked in the previous years 
• Between 20-25% MCQs are questions asking a more difficult concept but from the same topics from previous years
• About 5-20% of the questions are newer topics/very difficult or impossible questions

Therefore, its almost impossible to pass without doing the previous years questions!!

Application procedure

• Opens in January or somewhere over there and it is administered over 3 day period in mid-October
• Prior to sitting and writing it you will NEED a PERMANENT license to take the boards. My sincere advice is to start applying for it early. However, it also depends on where you are practicing/doing the fellowship. Since some states like MA, do not allow a permanent license for IMG's unless you have completed a residency (3 years of training in the States)
• Do note- You can register for exam w/o license but need proof of it prior to writing the boards
• Once registered for the exam they will send you an email maybe 2-3 weeks later telling you can schedule your exam. I took my test on Day 2. 

Documents needed for above
By early July

• Copy of your medical school diploma + English translation, if necessary
• Copy of ECFMG Certificate or documentation of successful completion of the MCCEE or Fifth Pathway/FMGEMS

By October 1st of the year you are writing

• Copy of your valid (current), unrestricted medical license 
• The copy of the lice must include the expiration date and must be issued before October 1st 
• Please note that temporary or training licenses are NOT acceptable 

The exam itself

• Approximately 335 questions divided across 4 sections, with each section having roughly equivalent content, difficulty, and length
• 4 sections, 84 questions per section, 1 hour 45 minutes/section
• Most of us finished at least 2 sections with about a half 20-30 min to spare
• 3 Breaks: OPTIONAL
• 15 min, 60 min, 15 min
• Passing score: weighted score of 180, ~75% questions correct.
• Each exam is different, and some exams are “harder” than others, but are weighted accordingly to give you a scaled score from 0-300

Things that I used for the preparation are as follows

My first year ITE was pretty good. I attribute that to my Step 3 knowledge. However, my 2nd year ITE was not great. Started reading from the Medstudy books system wise and doing questions, system-wise (the video shows how to do it). I even bought the medstudy flash cards. My 3rd year ITE was good and I just kept at what I was doing till then. Towards the end of 3rd year, kept glancing through 'Laughing your way through the Boards'. Recommended by my seniors and attending. Loved it

PediaLink

The following video has tips that I used for studying.

Medstudy
The following video has tips that I used for studying from Medstudy

OneNote

Best of luck.

P.s.- I passed the boards! Yay. I am now a Board Certified Pediatrician.

Moving tips for residents

Now that I am moving given a job change just a couple of tips for those who will be doing the same next year. Broken it down into phases

Looking for a new place
Apps that kind of help you scope out the places and average rent. Generally, 1-2 months is ideal timing since old tenants move out and you would be moving in.

• Trulia- https://www.trulia.com/-  It gives you a sense of security, given you know the crimes that have taken place in the area and the average rent in the same region. Please note there might be a LOT of brokers in this place so you may have to pay a broker fee, WHICH IS A LOT! 
• Apartments.com- https://www.apartments.com/ - This was a lifesaver for me in my hunt, since I was expected to shell out a LOT for an apartment. And the ones I saw were pretty expensive compared to the size. In my head, apartment complexes were nonexistent in the place I was moving to. However, on this site, you can see the different complexes and the average rent that it might be, which was super helpful and extremely relieving. 
• Apartment List- https://www.apartmentlist.com/- This site helps you in shortlisting apartments based on your preferences of distance and budget.

Utilities/Mail
- Do note that you will have to end your electric/water accounts at your old place and start one's at your new place
- USPS has an amazing service whereby you can change your current address to your new one at this place and not worry about losing mail
- This is a website which helps in managing your electric utility bill. You get $25 off your electric bill via this referral link. The big reason I like it is that you can use your credit card when paying bills which helps in earning points. Review on Arcadia can be found here.

Bank accounts
- I would check whether your current banks have good coverage in the place you are going to move to. Eg- Chase is great in Ohio, but BoA is better on the East coast. Similarly, KeyBank is a major player in Ohio, not so much on the East coast.
- So either close or keep your current accounts depending on what suits your requirements.
- Update your mailing address with the accounts so as to not have issues when you make transactions.

Credit Cards
- This would be a good time to open a new credit card had you not already done so last year. Link to my credit card recommendations is here and flying tips with Amex referral is here. This is the link with all my current credit cards

Selling your old things
Apps like LetGo and OfferUp work well, or you can sell your furniture to your juniors/colleagues if you do not like to transact with unknown people.

If you have more tips please post below, or send me an email with your comments and I will update the same.