Want to pass the CFPC SAMP and SOO exams?
You are in the right place. It can be difficult to know where to start. This website and the Pass My Boards App provide the knowledge necessary for passing your Canadian Family Medicine board exams. The recommendations on this website are based on input from residents who have written and passed their SAMP & SOO exams.
Challenging Exams
Studying for the SAMPs and SOOs is hit-or-miss. No one knows exactly what material is covered, or how difficult the questions are. On exam day, the exam instructions may also be confusing. For example, the instruction “Most answers can be stated in 10 words or less” does not mean that short answers are better. Complete answers no matter the length are always better than short answers. The exam grades are bell-curved, and the passing threshold is based on a percentile of previous performances, meaning that residents are competing against previous test-takers to pass. Between 5-8% of residents fail either the SAMPs or the SOOs at every sitting. If you fail the exam, your request to review your exam will be refused – thus, you cannot learn from your mistakes. You can pay $250 for a grading review, but this rarely results in a higher grade. If you pass the exam, you will not be provided with your passing grade. The CFPC makes it extremely difficult to gain insight into how to perform well!
Pass The First Time
Passing the first time is definitely the way to go. My goal is to help you:
- Study effectively.
- Perform at your utmost potential the first time you write the exam.
- Maximize your odds of passing.
- AVOID failing your exam and the bad stuff that goes with it:
- AVOID studying for an additional 6 months.
- AVOID paying for the exam again.
- AVOID travelling to a city where the exam is offered.
- AVOID hotel expenses.
- AVOID applying for a limited license that is only available in certain states/ provinces.
- AVOID the difficulty of finding a supervisor during the months that a limited license is granted.
- AVOID losing 3 months of income ($50k-100k) while your student loans accrue interest.
The Key To Passing
Practice questions are the #1 key to passing. The more questions that you do, the better prepared you will be for the exams. Unfortunately, there are few question banks that are: 1- up-to-date, 2- representative of the depth and breadth of material that is tested on the exams, 3- available on-the-go, and 4- inexpensive. Many practice questions exist, but they vary widely in difficulty, and are thus not good representations of the test material. Many apps exist, but none of them cover all 105 Topics that are tested on the exam. The “Pass My Boards” website and App solves all of this!
The Best App Available
From your smartphone or tablet, download the Pass My Boards App from the iOS or Google Play stores. This is the most complete study App available for Canadian Family Medicine board exams. The App has 1700+ high-yield short-answer questions that reflect the approximate difficulty of material tested. The questions are presented as quick-fire flashcards to increase your learning speed. In addition to the App, this website provides bonus tips and tricks on how to excel specifically at the Canadian CFPC SAMP and SOO exams. Tips for exams in other countries will follow.
Success Is Within Reach
By the time you finish residency, you will possess the knowledge needed to pass your board exams. Now you need to learn how to apply your knowledge on the exams. Use the 1700+ questions in the “Pass My Boards” App to refine your knowledge, and learn what will be expected of you on the exam. Carefully read the SAMP tips, and SOO tips on this site to improve your “examsmanship” on the SAMP and SOO exams. Good luck to all.