Steven I Mclaughlin, DVM, MPH, ACVPM

Company- The Zuku Review

Lecture Title: Speedreading, Speedlearning and Multiple

Choice Strategies for NAVLE: "What to do when you
don't know what to do"

Dr. Mclaughlin will discuss effective test-taking

strategies to help you maximize your test performance,
even when you don't know the answers. Areas covered
include Speed-reading, Speed-learning, The top 3 myths
of adult learning, and how to answer ANY multiple
choice question, even when you are clueless. We will
practice with real NAVLE-format questions and you will
be amazed at how well you can do on topics you know
nothing about with a little training. (Chickens anyone
?)
 Speed-reading, Speed-learning
-or-
“How to get information off a page and into your head”

Steven I McLaughlin DVM, MPH, ACVPM

Steve@Zukureview.com
www.Zukureview.com
1 800 928 8218
 A Story
Once upon a time, there was a world called veterinary medicine,
covered in many forests.

One forest was called “Dogs”; another “Pigs” and so on.

In the Dog forest, there were many trees. One tree might be called “Cardiology”
and another called “Endocrinology”.

On that Cardiology tree might be a single leaf called “Dilated Cardiomyopathy”

One day, a good-hearted but near-sighted vet student wandered into the Dog
forest, and got so engrossed studying the bark on a single tree that she got
lost, and a big bad wolf called NAVLE came and ate her.
The End
 The need for speed

It is time to go fast, people.

• The goal is not to know everything

• The goal is not to get every question right
• The goal is to pass

In the forests of knowledge, let this be your machete

The #1 Myth about learning

“Reading = Learning”
 Reading is not learning
• Reading alone is too passive

• You START with reading

(But not the way you may be used to it)

• You FINISH with short notes

– Presentation, DDX, Test of Ch., Rx, Prev/Prognosis

– The notes are what you study
– GOAL: Be able to re-write notes on a blank sheet
 Get the info to stick: 3 Steps
1. Speedreading: Preview-Read-Review

2. Make summary notes

3. Review those bodacious notes

Review those bodacious notes
Review those bodacious notes
 What is Speedreading ?
“PRR”

• PREVIEW

• READ

• REVIEW
 PREVIEW the page
• FAST 2 minutes

• Scan it
– Titles

– Scan Presentation / DDX / Rx

– Scan the figures, diagrams

• Pick 3 take-home points

ie: Cushing’s: Panting, Pot-belly, PU/PD
ACTH Stim or LDDS tests
Mitotane/o,p’-DDD
 READ (if time)
• SLOWER

• Tech info is dense- there’s no shortcut

• Highlight or underline key points

• If time is short (ha-ha), skip this step and

go straight to review/note-making
 REVIEW
• FAST

• Ask yourself, “What are the ‘Super summary’ points ?”

– Presentation
– DDX
– Test of Choice
– Rx
– Prognosis/Prevention

• Write em’ down, people

– These notes are your foundation
– They will be worth their weight in gold as test time approaches

WHY?
 USE IT OR LOSE IT
• MOST adults forget 50% of what they just read

• And 80% within 24 hours

BUT !!

• Anything you have studied well will come back very

quickly with a review

….IF you make good notes

 Good Notes
• Summarize in one page or less

• Incorporate PICTURES

• Make connections with other notes

• Fit your learning style

(3x5 cards, outlines, diagrams, doing the hokey
pokey while you say memory points out loud)
 Images Anchor Ideas
A picture IS worth a thousand words:
Use pictures to anchor ideas

Fluid-filled lungs: Pulmonary edema

“Floating lungs”: Pleural effusion

Images courtesy of Dr. Terri Defrancesco, DVM, ACVIM,

All rights reserved, copyright 2007-2010
 Online Image Resources

Case studies and images

Surgery case studies Dr. Duck’s tech hints
http://www.acvs.org/AnimalOwners/HealthConditions/
If you right-
Radiology case studies click your
http://www.vet.k-state.edu/depts/VMTH/radiology/cow/index.htm mouse over an
internet image,
Clin Path Case studies you can copy
http://www.medvet.umontreal.ca/clinpath/choice.htm and paste it
elsewhere
Clin Path images
http://www.medvet.umontreal.ca/clinpath/banq-im/menuE.htm

Vet video library: www.vetvideos.com

Merck images online

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/mvm_list_img.htm
 Repetition is the key

Repetition is the key

Repetition is the key

The big pay-off comes from reviewing notes, written IN YOUR

OWN HAND, and committing the big stuff to memory

YOUR GOAL is to be able to write your notes from memory on a

blank piece of paper for the “Top 20” conditions by species
 In a nutshell
• PREVIEW - fast
• READ (sloooooow)
• REVIEW – fast

• MAKE SUMMARY NOTES – invest time here

• Next day: REVIEW NOTES -moderate

• Day after that: REVIEW NOTES -fast
• Weekly: REVIEW NOTES -so fast you’ll be amazed
 Effective learners
• Study when they are most sharp

• Eliminate distractions

• Work hard

• Actively process info (take notes, teach,

discuss, test themselves, use images)

• Take time out to rest

 NAVLE Countdown Study Plan: TWO Parts
1. Review:
a. Priority areas (ie: Cushing’s, not diabetes insipidus)
b. Weak areas (chickens anyone ? Pigs ?)

If you need structure to review:

a. Make super-summary notes on top 20 Dzs
b. Stick to “Best Books”- Pasquini’s, 5 Min Consult Sm An.

2. Hone your test-taking skills with practice tests

Esp. IMAGE tests, Weak areas, “My Missed Question” tests

Do 3 tests EVERY DAY

 Best Books for NAVLE and BCSE

Outside a dog, a book is a man’s best friend.

Inside a dog, it’s too dark to read. - Groucho Marx

If you believe everything you read, better not read.

- Japanese proverb
 Best Books for NAVLE and BCSE
Guide to Bovine Clinics 4th edition— Chris and Susan Pasquini

Guide to Equine Clinics 3rd edition— Chris and Susan Pasquini, Phil
Woods

Tschauner's Guide to Small Animal Clinics 2nd edition— Chris and

Susan Pasquini

Generous, well-organized and creatively illustrated with cartoons of

animals and conditions that stick in your memory.

http://www.sudzpublishing.com/availablebooks.html

5 Minute Veterinary Consult, Canine and Feline 3rd edition Larry P.

Tilley and Francis W.K. Smith eds.

Plumb’s Veterinary Drug Handbook, 5th edition, Donald C. Plumb

 Online Study Resources

Online Notes:
Gumshoevet http://gumshoevet.net/Documents.aspx

Auburn Univ Board Review materials

http://www.vetmed.auburn.edu/index.pl/review_material

Practice tests
NVBME practice test http://nbvme.org/practice.zip

Zuku Review Question of the day archive:

http://zukureview.com/QOD_Archive.PHP

Zuku Review free user sample tests: http://zukureview.com/home_freeuser.php

You’re on your way!
 Effective Multiple Choice Strategies
-or-
“What to do when you don’t know what to do”

Steven I McLaughlin DVM, MPH, ACVPM

Steve@Zukureview.com
www.Zukureview.com
1 800 928 8218
“It is not enough to be a good chess player,

you must also play well.”

-Savielly Tartakower
Effective Study Strategies for NAVLE

• NAVLE by the numbers

– MOST NAVLE points lie in only 4 species

– Good to study some chickens, pigs but

– Not at expense of cow, horse, dog, cat

• Multiple choice tricks of the trade

– You WILL see questions you don’t know
– DON’T waste energy on panic
– DO learn to make effective choices, and MOVE ON
 NAVLE by the numbers

• 360 questions,
• ~ 1 minute per question
• Only 300 questions count

“The actual percentage of questions that a candidate has to

answer correctly in order to pass ranges from 55% to 65%.”
http://www.nbvme.org/?id=12&page=NAVLE

You need to get a little more than half the 360

questions correct to pass
 NAVLE by the numbers
72 (24%) Canine:
72 (24%) Feline:
84% of the NAVLE
51 (17%) Bovine:
51 (17%) Equine:
12 (4%) Porcine:
9 (3%) Pet Birds:
9 (3%) Public Health and Food Security:
9 (3%) Ovine/Caprine/Cervidae:
6 (2%) Other Small Animals:
6 (2%) Poultry:
3 (1%) Non-Species Specific:
300
Remember Sutton’s Law

“Go where the money is”

 Pop Quiz
What percentage of students passed the NAVLE in
2006-2007 fall and spring testing cycle ?

(A) 58.1%
(B) 69.6%
(C) 70.6%
(D) 75.7%
(E) 89.1%
70.6 % of the all candidates (5046) taking NAVLE in the spring and fall
testing cycles PASSED.

89.1% of candidates who were senior students in accredited veterinary

schools taking the exam for the first time (2841)PASSED.
http://nbvme.org/components/get_file.php?mid=114&fn=techreport06.pdf/techreport06.pdf
 Multiple choice tricks of the trade

• The Good News

Correct answer is GUARANTEED to be among the choices

• The Bad News

You WILL hit questions you don’t know

Common mistake: Spending MOST of your time on

questions about which you know the LEAST.

• Key to success:
Train yourself to MAKE CHOICES and then MOVE ON.
 Multiple choice tricks of the trade

• READ the question first (DON’T look at answers)

• PREDICT the answer (protects you from distractors)

• Is your answer the best of the choices ?

If “Yes” SELECT it and move on

• Unsure of the correct answer ?

ELIMINATE wrong ones, choose from what’s left,
and MOVE ON
“What if I don’t think this system will work for me ?”

Do what works for you.

“How do I know when I should I change an answer ?”

Stick with your first answer unless you recognize that it

is clearly not correct - studies show that changed answers
are more frequently wrong.

“I am clueless about chickens/cardiology/box turtle

halitosis, what do I do?”

Read, Predict, Eliminate, Select -The correct answer is

guaranteed to be among the choices. Whittle the
choices down to as few as possible and guess.
 Multiple choice tricks for smarties
Look for:
• Convergence

• Longest answers

• Most inclusive answers (“and”, “or”)

Answers like these are often, (but not always)

correct.
 Pop Quiz 1

What is a Cook's speculum?

A) Three-pronged ear speculum

B) Four-pronged rectal speculum
C) Three-pronged nasal speculum
D) Three-pronged rectal speculum
 Multiple choice tricks for smarties:
Convergence
What is a Cook's speculum?

A) Three-pronged ear speculum

B) Four-pronged rectal speculum
C) Three-pronged nasal speculum
D) Three-pronged rectal speculum

This is an example of convergence.

Options A, C and D all contain the words "three-pronged“

Options B and D both contain the word "rectal."

These two sets converge at option D

Adapted from: Leo M. Harvill, Ph.D. “The Test Of Obscure Medical Information”
 Pop Quiz 2
Budin's rule states that the amount of cow's milk
consumed per day for a bottle-fed baby should be
approximately of the weight of the baby.

A) 1/10
B) 1/8
C) 1/7
D) 2/10
 Multiple choice tricks for smarties:
Convergence
Budin's rule states that the amount of cow's milk consumed per day for a
bottle-fed baby should be approximately of the weight of the baby.

A) 1/10
B) 1/8
C) 1/7
D) 2/10
A, B and C are similar: they have “1” in the numerator;

A and D are similar: they have “10” in the denominator.

A test-wise examinee will choose A because it appears in

both sets above. The correct answer is A.
Adapted from: Leo M. Harvill, Ph.D. “The Test Of Obscure Medical Information”
 Multiple choice tricks for smarties
Watch out for:
• “Do Nothing”, “Exterminate”, “Cull”, “Call the Feds”
– No rule of thumb, but these words suggest extremes
– At least consider if they fit your question when you see them

• No Free lunch: If it sounds to easy to be true.… Beware

• Prognosis: Tends to be all or nothing

• Images: It’s how you look

– CENTER- most photographers place the lesion centrally in a photo
– Radiographs are exception- must look over WHOLE x-ray
– No normals: Images hard to get. UNLIKELY to see picture where
nothing wrong

• Zebras, outliers
– If an answer stands out/looks weird…may be really wrong, or really right
 Multiple choice tricks for smarties:
Prognosis
It’s hard to write a good prognosis question unless
prognosis is clearly EXCELLENT or clearly HORRIBLE.

Prognosis/success rates by percentage:

Excellent 90-100% (ave: 95%)

Good 65-89% (ave: 75%)
Guarded/Fair 35-64% (ave: 50%)
Poor 11-34% (ave: 25%)
Grave 1-10% (ave: 5%)

Ref: Pasquini's, Tschauner's Guide to Sm. An Clinics, vol 1, 2nd ed. p. 11

 Time to practice
• Try the Multiple Choice Strategy tests in the
“Miscellaneous” section

• Remember the 4 steps

– Read question, don’t look at answers (yet)
– Predict answer, then look
– Select best choice
- Not sure ?-
– Eliminate as many wrong choices as you can,
• Make your best guess,
• and MOVE ON
“No student knows his subject:

the most he knows is where and how to find out the

things he does not know.”

–Woodrow Wilson
 Refs
The summary of multiple choice strategies comes principally from:

“What Smart Students Know” by Adam Robinson, co-founder of The Princeton Review
test preparation company

George Washington University Academic Success Center- “Strategies for Multiple Choice
Questions”

Kaplan Test Prep US Medical Licensure Exam (USMLE) Strategy Sessions

Convergence concept Adapted from: “The Test Of Obscure Medical Information”

Leo M. Harvill, Ph.D.