Don't buy the Codina Liek book without reading this post!

Why?  Because you may study it in depth and still fail!  Yup, even though I feel that the Codina Liek book is a good review book to help study for the exam, there are quite a few errors in it.  Some of the answers even contradict her material (which is usually accurate) so be careful!  There were enough that were "off" that they could make a difference in whether you pass or fail!

I also found an error in the Hollier book, but just one!  I emailed Dr. Hollier about it and she very graciously replied (within a few days) and commented on the response.  I really appreciate that kind of response and dedication to accuracy!  BTW, she has a web site where any identified errors are noted with the correction (most where just typos, like, "the rationale given is correct but the correct answer is b").

I also emailed Ms. Codina Liek, and she answered (after several weeks) and said that she was aware of errors and that she would correct them in the next edition!  Wow, the next edition still isn't out (as of October 2015 when I am writing this), so I guess she just expected me to fail the exam while waiting!  She also has a web site, where she talks about how good she is with helping people who have failed previously and it even has updates to JNC 8.  But she refuses to correct any errors in her book.  I consider this (IMHO) irresponsible.  Why would I want to study wrong answers or rationales!  I feel that I paid (by the purchase of the book) for good information and correct answers.  For her to just excuse herself and just say "buy the next edition" really angered me!  It speaks to how unconcerned she is about the accuracy of the information that she is providing. 

So in response to that, I have a list of at least thirty-eight questions, answers, or rationales that are incorrect in her book. Some are minor, some are obvious typos, and some are just plan incorrect!  I will send you a list of them and a little rationale if you would like, I just ask that you promise you are not associated with Ms. Codina Liek (why should I do the research for her new book for her when she is unconcerned about it and she is not compensating me?), and that you leave a comment on this blog after passing on whether or not the information in this blog was helpful for you while studying. (Note: I do not include any questions, just a comment on how it is incorrect or the rationale.  You have to have the book to understand this.  I am trying to be very careful about copyrights, so none of her questions are included.)

I've had several requests for the corrections, but the emails did not include your commitment.  I spent a lot of time on this and am asking for nothing other than this commitment!  Just cut and paste this:  "I will not share the information provided, I will send any one who asks for this information to this blog.  I am not related in any way with Ms Codina Leik and I will not share this information with her or her representatives."  Send this to me in an email to the address below.  I usually respond in 1-3 business days (I do work, so sometimes it takes a little longer). 

I just found that if you do not sign in appropriately I am unable to respond to comments you make below.  So if you would like the list of incorrect questions, just email me at fnptips at gmail dot com.  I usually respond within 24 hours. 

I did not purchase the app available, but I would use it with caution since the questions seem to be the same ones.  A friend of mine bought it; what I reviewed was identical to the questions in the book so I would assume that it has the same errors as well.  

I am open to suggestions as well!  Everybody studies and learns differently so if you have any suggestions or tips, I would be happy to feature a guest post from you after you pass. 

Next: After completing both books

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Copyrighted 2015, N. Sturgill, FNP 

Study plan, Week 8 (starting the Hollier book)

8.  New week, new book.  This week start on the Hollier review book.  Her book is divided into sections, each with 24-27 questions each and three practice tests.  Use the same process except complete a section (at the most 27 questions) a day until you complete all the pertinent sections.  Remember to do the pediatrics and geriatrics sections in the back.  They will take more time since there are more questions.  Just divide them up into 25-30 questions a day until you complete the book. (NOTE: it looks like this book is no longer sold by Dr. Hollier.  It is an excellent book, so I would try to buy it used while you can.)

Once again, do a total and look at your scores.  Your scores will probably not be too good.  Don't worry too much, this will help to focus your study on what your weaknesses.  On some days if you have time to do 30-50 questions, that is fine,  just do not do more than 100 questions at a setting.  

After you complete all the sections in the Hollier book, take one day and set aside about 3 hours for one of the practice test.  How are you doing?  Hopefully your score is improving as you go along. My first time around I was in the 60-80 range - which some people say is good enough to pass.  But failure was not an option for me, so I continued to study. I did not feel "ready" until I was getting scores consistently in the 90s. 

Next: Don't buy the Codina Liek book without reading this post!

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Copyrighted 2015, N. Sturgill, FNP 

Study plan, week 4 and finishing Codina-Liek......

Are you seeing a pattern here?  You should, because every week is similar to the previous week, only different questions.  Weeks 4-6 are similar to the weeks previous....

7. Continue through the book until you have answered and marked every question. If you want you can do a total for every 100 questions of what you got right (like a grade) to show how you a doing.  
On week 7, you only have about 40 questions, so use the remainder of the week to review all of the circled questions in the Liek book. 
Take a day to do some math on how you did; I got in the 60-80% the first time around, so not too good. Then grade yourself on all 600+ questions, for a grand grade. After that, set the Liek book aside for a while. 

Update: I forgot to mention the CDs.   Remeber to continue to listen to the CDs every chance that you get, and move to a new CD every week.  Remember this is to make the information second nature: listen, listen, listen.  Later on I have a scheduled intensive study from the CDs, but right now just listen every chance you get!  If you are lucky enough to have 2 sets from different lecturers (or a friend who will share with you), start the second when you finish the first.

Next: Study plan, Week 8 (starting the Hollier book)
 

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Copyrighted 2015, N. Sturgill, FNP 

Study plan, week 3

Have you been studying regularly, or are you behind?  Getting behind is not too big of a deal as long as you get back on the wagon and start studying again. No need to double up unless you are on a strict time table.  Just start up from where you stopped and start answering questions again.

Week three is essentially the same as week one and two except that you are moving on to harder questions.  It seems like I missed more the farther on I went on Leik's book.

Day 1 through 5 : Answer 20 questions every day.  You should be working on 201-300 this week.

Day 6: Go back to all the questions from 201-300 that you circled and review these.

Day 7:  answer all the questions that were circled for questions 101-300.  No need to keep track of your progress, you are just cementing this information on your head.

Next: Study plan, week 4 and finishing Codina-Liek......

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Copyrighted 2015, N. Sturgill, FNP 

Study Plan, week 2

Have you started with your daily question and answer sessions?  Don't worry the first time how you are doing, use your wrong responses to focus on your weak areas.  I found that I was missing more questions as I got farther along in the questions.  Don't worry, you will improve after studying!  Just keep plugging away at it, and answer questions every day. 

Every day: listen to the CD #2 this week, once you finish it, re-listen to it all week.  Are you getting sick of it yet?  Can you almost repeat it word for word?  Good! 

Day 1 - 5: In Leik, answer 20 questions every day, working on questions 101-200.  

Day 6: Review any circled/marked questions, research each one so that you know the rationale for the answer. 

Day 7:  review all circled/marked questions of the first 200 questions. No need to keep track but if you keep missing a question, pay attention to it and maybe research it a little. 

Congratulate yourself!  You have almost made studying a habit!  

Remember, if you need to take a break for a test or an emergency, it will delay you a few days to a week but not make this impossible.  Just jump right back to studying those 15 minutes as soon as possible!  How are you doing?  Have you been able to study consistently?  Share your thoughts below. 

Next: Study plan, week 3
 

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Copyrighted 2015, N. Sturgill, FNP 

How to track your progress with review questions

Well, at least one way that worked for me.  I am sure that everyone will do it a bit differently, but this way worked for me.  It is cheap (about $1 and a little time) and easy. 

Instead of flipping back and forth from the questions to the answers, I wanted a way to see the answers quickly.  I used post-it notes for this, folded over with the answers on the reverse side so that I could not "cheat" by glimpsing the answer.   After a while I realized that I could benefit by using the front side to track my progress.  This is how I did it.

From the Dollar Tree for...you guessed it.. $1

These handy little sticky notes were just the right size.  I bought these at the Dollar Tree but you could also pick them up at Staples or another office supply store (these would also work although they are more expensive).  These are the perfect size, 1.5" x 2" - big enough for several questions, small enough so that they do not cover much space, and repositionable so that they can also be moved if needed.

I placed these on the book, in a position that covered little to no part of the questions.  If a bit of the question was covered, I would just move it when reviewing that question.  In the photo below I covered the answers with the notes.

I folded these over and wrote the answers on the back side.  I could just flip it over to see them. I usually did no more than 7 or 8 per sticky note; you may get more if you write smaller or use fine tip pens.  For Codina-Leik, I tried to get one page of questions on one sticky note.  Since Hollier has the answers on the reverse of the page, I just used these to track my progress, one note per page.  Fitzgerald was a hodge-podge, I usually had no more than 8 per note, although she might have 20 questions per page.  I would divide them between the notes, and use however many I needed.   I divided the front side of the note into four sections (I planned to go through each question 4 times initially but only needed three rounds.  I did do some sections a fourth time if I had scored lower on it.)  I tracked my progress here. 
    You can see how I tracked my progress....

...any wrong responses are marked with minus circled (see 60, 61, and 62), correct answers with a plus sign, and correct guesses with a plus circled (see 42, 56, 58).  

This note shows the final questions.  This was my first round with the questions in this section, and I missed 21 out of the 124 questions or 103 correct.  Doing the math, this would be a 83%, not a passing grade.  I considered my first round as a "pre-test" so this would  be close to a passing grade but just not good enough.  Confirmation that I need to study more. 

    With Codina-Leik, I totaled my score every 100 questions, and then did a grand total of all 642 questions at the end. 

    After two rounds of the questions, I made flashcards on any question that I had circled, either as a guess or incorrect.  I studied the topic of the question until I could answer it and understand the rationale behind it.  On round three, I was scoring in the high 90s, so I knew that I was ready for boards.  

    Flashcards....I went the old-fashioned route (paper flashcards) at first until I found a better alternative.  More on that in another post. 

    But the important thing to note is that tracking your progress is extremely important.  If you don't keep track of what you missed, you don't  know what you need to study. 

     Do you use a different method of tracking?  What works for you?  Share your experiences below.

Next: Study Plan, week 2

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Copyrighted 2015, N. Sturgill, FNP 

Study Plan, week 1

Do you have at least one book in hand?  If you don't hop on back to my first post and buy one now!  You can't study without the books! 

My process has you doing about 20 questions a day (I am assuming that you will start with Codina-Leik). That is very reasonable and is not too cumbersome, you should be able to do it in 10-15 minutes or less probably.  You will have one longer study day (day 6). With the Codina-Leik book you can just do 20 questions a day from the back of the book (642 questions, so about 4 weeks) and with the Hollier book (600+ questions, but about the same time period because she is sectioned a little differently) she has sections of 26-27 questions. Don't do the full exams in Hollier yet though (she has three 100 question practice exams).  Remember to include geriatrics and pediatrics from the Hollier book, both are longer sections in the back of the book.  In my example, I will assume that you are using Leik first, so start with 20 questions a day. 

Every day: listen a little to your CDs.  Just let it soak in until you can almost anticipate on the next word.  Don't worry about studying it yet.  Listen to the first CD this week, every day of the week.  You may think you know it by heart by the end of the week! 

Day 1:   Answer 20 questions a day and keep track of your progress. I used small post-it notes on each page but you can use whatever works for you. It is important that you mark which ones you got wrong and which you got right but guessed about.  I used a circled plus for right guesses and a circled minus for wrong responses.  Don't worry too much that you are missing a lot of questions (I did), this is your pre-test to show your knowledge at the start.  You will see a big improvement as you go along!  After you finish these questions, review the rationales for all the questions, even the ones you got right.  If you have any time left over in your 15 minutes, look up something that you got wrong. 

 (See the next post for how I marked my progress) 

Day 2 - 5: same as Day 1, 20 (Codina) to 27 (Hollier) questions today.  If you breezed through the questions, don't waste the extra time!  Be sure to take advantage of the full 15 minutes study time by researching at least 1 answer that you missed or guessed on.  

Day 6:  this is the longest study day, it should take about 30 minutes depending on your knowledge base.  If you are a little weak, it may take longer, so plan for this.  
     After you have completed 100 questions (after 5 days), go back and look at every question that you marked (circled).  Study these, go to your text and research to understand the pathology behind the questions, what you did not understand, and what you need to learn or memorize.  Make notes for yourself on the topic, and try to understand what you got wrong, what you did not understand, and what it is that you need to learn.  Do not just memorize the question!  Seek to understand what the question is about.  Imagine yourself teaching the topic to someone else.  Or actually teach it to your study buddy! 

Day 7: go back to questions 1-100 and re-answer every marked question.  You don't need to keep track of this, it is a just a reinforcement to see if you are learning. You should be able to do this in 15 minutes or less (unless you missed a lot of questions). 

OK, that should keep you busy for the next week or so.  Remember, consistency is the key, so aim to study every day for this first week.  You want to develop the habit of learning.

To continue on to Part Four, click here. 

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Copyrighted 2015, N. Sturgill, FNP