{"id":13183,"date":"2023-11-27T20:17:29","date_gmt":"2023-11-27T20:17:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.roshreview.com\/blog\/?p=13183"},"modified":"2024-07-12T20:38:37","modified_gmt":"2024-07-12T20:38:37","slug":"how-to-survive-your-first-creog-as-an-ob-gyn-intern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.roshreview.com\/blog\/how-to-survive-your-first-creog-as-an-ob-gyn-intern\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Survive Your First CREOG as an OB\/GYN Intern"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Yay! You\u2019re officially an OB\/GYN resident! You aced Step 1. You crushed Step 2. Now that you\u2019re finally in residency, that means no more tests ever again, right?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Well\u2026 not exactly. Every year in January, all OB\/GYN residents take the Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology (CREOG) in-service examination. Your residency program will excuse you from clinical duties for a portion of the day so you can take the exam to assess your clinical knowledge.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
So, what should you expect during your first time taking the CREOG, and how do you prepare while also balancing your clinical duties? Here are a few tips on CREOG prep and test-taking that I\u2019ve learned throughout my own OB\/GYN residency.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

All About the CREOG<\/strong>: What to Know<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

First, let’s tackle why you take the CREOG in the first place. This exam is meant to be a practice run for the written board examination that you\u2019ll take shortly after graduation.<\/strong> While a few fellowships and academic jobs will ask for your third-year CREOG score, <\/strong>as an intern, it\u2019s mainly a way to gauge your progress rather than a formative assessment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a full-day exam consisting of five 60-minute blocks<\/strong>. There are 300 total questions on the exam (60 questions per block) <\/strong>with suggested 10-minute breaks between blocks (and a suggested 60-minute break after the third block). Because these are “suggested” breaks, you can take and skip them at your own pace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’ll tackle strategies for taking<\/em> the exam later in this post\u2014but first, let’s dive into how to prepare<\/em>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

5 Tips to Help You Prepare for Your First CREOG<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
1. Don\u2019t panic!<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve already matched into residency and are working hard to improve your skills as a clinician. As an intern, that should be your focus. While the CREOG examination is important, it\u2019s more important to learn how to survive intern year. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re going to talk about developing a study plan and using the right resources to prepare, but if you\u2019re so overwhelmed by your intern year that you can\u2019t even think about studying for an exam, that\u2019s okay! You\u2019ll take the CREOG exam every year and even if intern year isn\u2019t your best performance, you\u2019ll be able to use it as a benchmark to improve upon <\/strong>once you\u2019ve adjusted to life as a resident a bit more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Make a study plan.<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

In my mind, creating a study schedule<\/a> is the key to success for any examination, including CREOGs. <\/strong>Maybe I\u2019m just weird, but I actually find making a study plan quite fun! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take an hour or two of dedicated time in July or August to decide what your study plan is going to be. <\/strong>Write it down, because if your plan is just \u201cdo an hour of reading every night,\u201d that\u2019s going to be really hard to stick to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make sure your plan has a lot of flexibility<\/strong>, since life as an OB\/GYN intern<\/a> can be unpredictable. Instead of a daily schedule, choose a weekly schedule where you study for 3-4 days every week.<\/strong> That way, if you have a particularly tough day at work, you can just relax at home instead of feeling like you have to study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Go low and slow.<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Just like the setting on your crockpot that allows you to have a delicious meal waiting when you get home from a shift on labor and delivery (L&D), “low and slow” is the best way to study for the CREOG exam. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cramming may have been an effective strategy in college or medical school, but the breadth of information included in the CREOG exam can\u2019t be learned in a weekend. Doing a few hours every week for several months is much more effective than studying for 10 hours straight.<\/strong> Keep this in mind when you\u2019re making your study schedule (which you\u2019ll see an example of below). Your study plan should include practice questions, textbook chapters, podcasts, practice bulletins, educational videos, and anything else that helps you learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Questions, Questions, Questions!<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

You probably have a pretty good idea by now which strategies work for you when it comes to studying, but there\u2019s no better way to study for the CREOG exam than by doing practice questions.<\/strong> This will train your mind on which details to look for in a question, which distractors to eliminate, and how to make an educated guess when you\u2019re stumped. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Rosh Review has thousands of board-style questions written by educational experts who have taken CREOGs and know exactly which types of practice questions will prepare you for the test. Test your knowledge with the top CREOG practice questions<\/a>, straight from Rosh Review’s OB\/GYN Resident Qbank<\/a><\/strong>!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

5. Use the between times!<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Life as an OB\/GYN resident can be hectic. Sometimes, you\u2019ll walk into work at 6 a.m. and go nonstop until you leave that night. It\u2019s busy, but that\u2019s what we love about our job! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there will often be down time on L&D or between surgeries. This is a good opportunity to pull out your phone and use the Rosh Review app to do practice questions (see below!)<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n