Psychiatry Test Preparation and Review Manual

I used this as my only study tool for recert boards, and passed comfortably. I spent a concentrated cram type amount of time, maybe total 8 hours studying, and it was good. To be fair though I use a lot of this stuff day to day and was not out of practice, and also do not have test anxiety. It covers the right material, and will get you where you need if you take the tests and review the answers and keep reviewing.

I have just received the book. I didn't believe the first reviewer until I received and compared the entire first test and the last, and some random questions in the middle with those on the 3rd edition I borrowed from my friend. So far, it does seem like the questions are exactly the same as the 3rd edition. There are additional ~2 pages (when looking at the explanation of the last section of the book) so I also don't think much content is added either. To be fair, I have heard that Spiegel is "the exam itself" from a colleague. So, the quality of the content of the book is not in question. The only reason one should buy the new edition is for the online tests, which mimics the testing environment and provide video vignettes. I have no idea whether the older edition when newly bought provides the (same) online version of the tests so if anyone can clarify this, I'd appreciate it. As the other reviewer noted, I can also imagine some buyers getting angry over the 4th ed. having the same exact content from the 3rd. I do feel comfortable studying with the book and feel I will pass the exam with it, hence keeping the book and giving the review (generous) four stars.

Very helpful

Lots of errors in this book. Answer keys not matching up to the questions, wrong formula given for BMI calculation given in one vignette, typos where they say over when they mean under, etc. Also needs to be updated to the DSM-V. For a study resource relied upon by thousands of psychiatrists preparing for board exams, it’s unacceptable to have this many errors.

This is not a textbook. It is not a review book. It is a question bank - arguably the best question bank available. If you are looking at this, you probably already know that the questions are top notch (albeit heavy on obscure neurological syndromes). When you buy the e-book version of this, you get an actual e-book that you can download if you want, but it's just the printed questions and answers in a format that maybe works ok in print but is awkward in e-book software. Don't even bother with that. You also get access to an interactive online "supplement." THIS is what you are really paying for! It is the same content as the book, but in a convenient q-bank format, plus a collection of video vignettes and associated questions. With the online software, this becomes one the best AND most affordable resources available. I was unable to access the online features at first, but the kind people at Elsevier got me up and running in about 15 minutes on their customer service phone line. Do not give up - the online features are crucial to getting what you're meant to get out of this book.

This seems fraudulent as both the book and this amazon page mention in many places how you have access to video vignettes and the ability to take timed tests online, however the access code provided doesn't work and once they do give you access after involving customer service, it is just a digital copy/scan of the book with no ability to take the tests online or view the video vignettes. There should definitely be a caveat added to this page if the online features are currently unavailable, especially since people are expecting to use them to study for the exam in September.Update Sept 2022: After a lot of effort, Elsevier customer support created a new inkling account for me with a different email address and they back loaded the book into that account, so I was finally able to access the online supplement via Inling/coursewareobjects. All of their customer support representatives should have been advised on how to help in this way instead of giving an ETA that keeps moving. I still can't access the online vidoes/questions from the new Elsevier "bookshelf" so I'm glad they came up with a workaround. Other than maybe 10 or so questions that need updating, I thought it was a good resource. I hope future editions allow you to return to a previous question if you want to change your answer and that they consider giving you the option to take a test of the questions you got incorrect, instead of just the ones you "bookmarked".

On time delivery, book in good condition with access to online material. Yay!

Overall, a fair resource but lazy in its execution. It feels like there are too many instances of incorrect answers and explanations, sometimes even getting mechanism of action wrong. There needs a thorough update to DSM 5 as well as current treatment standards. Some of the questions continue to reference DSM 4 criteria. The online application would benefit from an update to more closely match the actual ABPN system. Some of the questions that require multiple answers are missing the statement that actually tells you how many answers to choose. Less important, there is unnecessary commentary/wit in the explanations that could be trimmed away to slim down this resource. This is likely the cheapest ABPN prep option but there are now a handful of other online question banks that are probably more accurate and up to date.

Excellent book for abpn, but past errors are not corrected, nice to have access to online questions and vignettes, tests could be timed as well.