Is It Better to Study Solo or With Co-Residents for Specialty Boards?

The default advice about board studying—“find a group” or “go it alone”—is lazy. The right answer isn’t about what’s “better in general.” It’s about what’s better for you and for this exam, and most people pick the wrong setup by instinct.

You’re not choosing “solo vs group.” You’re choosing:

• How to learn new material
• How to drill questions
• How to keep going when you’re exhausted from call and clinic

So here’s the answer you’re actually looking for:
Most residents should learn solo, drill in a small group, and review high‑yield content alone again. Full-time group studying is usually a waste. Purely solo studying is usually unsustainable.

Let’s break it down so you can build a plan that actually survives residency chaos.

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Step 1: Decide What You’re Solving For

Before arguing solo vs co-residents, you need to be clear on what problem you’re trying to fix. The right setup for someone with ironclad discipline and test anxiety is not the same as the co-resident who hasn’t done a full-length exam since Step 2.

Ask yourself, bluntly:

• Do you procrastinate unless someone’s watching?
• Do you retain better when you explain things out loud?
• Do you get irritated when people go slower than you?
• Are you already scoring near your goal on question banks, or far below?
• Is your schedule chaotic (night float, heavy ICU months) or stable?

Here’s how those answers typically steer you:

Profile	Best Primary Mode
Highly self-disciplined	Mostly solo
Chronic procrastinator	Small group mix
Strong test anxiety	Solo + 1 study buddy
Easily distracted by others	Solo
Needs to verbalize concepts	Small group

You’re not locked into one mode. You’re choosing what your default is, then layering the other on strategically.

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Step 2: What Solo Study Is Actually Good For (and When It Fails)

Solo study isn’t just “no one else is around.” It’s a specific tool that does certain jobs extremely well.

Solo study is best for:

1. Learning & consolidating new content
   Reading guidelines, watching videos, summarizing key tables—this is brutal in groups. Pace and style vary too much.
   Want to learn the latest sepsis guidelines or memorize tumor staging? Do it alone. High focus, no social friction.

2. Serious question-bank work
   Timed blocks that actually mimic the exam? Do those solo.
   Residents who “do questions together” almost always:

   • Over-discuss each item
   • Look up things mid-question
   • Destroy pacing
     Save group time for post-hoc review of missed or tough questions, not live test simulation.

3. Custom weak-point repair
   Your co-resident might be crushing endocrine while you’re still mixing up adrenal incidentaloma workup. You need targeted, boring repetition that no one else cares about. Flashcards. Re-questions. Annotating a single table ten times.

4. Schedule flexibility
   Call just changed? Kid got sick? You can shift solo blocks without messing up anyone else. This is not trivial. In residency, the “perfect group plan” dies by week two of wards.

Where pure solo study breaks down

I’ve watched plenty of residents swear, “I’ll just grind UWorld every night after work,” then watch Netflix with chart review open in the background. Solo study tends to fail when:

• You’re exhausted and no one’s expecting you to show up
• You’re behind and feel embarrassed, so you avoid the work
• You hate the content and your brain looks for any excuse to escape
• You’re anxious and keep “reviewing the same safe topics” instead of tackling weak spots

If this sounds like you, a hybrid model will beat pure solo every time.

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Step 3: What Group Study Actually Does Well (and Where It’s a Trap)

Group study with co-residents can be powerful or completely useless. It depends on size, structure, and honesty.

Group study works best for:

1. Accountability and rhythm
   Knowing three other people will be in the conference room at 7 pm? You’re more likely to drag yourself there, especially after a long clinic day.
   The main benefit here isn’t “shared wisdom.” It’s just: you show up and don’t quit as easily.

2. Verbalizing and teaching
   Teaching forces you to confront whether you actually understand something or just recognize the words.
   Example: each person gets assigned a topic (e.g., nephrotic syndrome, asthma phenotypes, spine imaging) and has to present a 5–10 minute high-yield breakdown to the group. You can’t hide in that.

3. Rapid-fire, high-yield review
   Short, structured drills work great in small groups:

   • “What’s the treatment of choice for…?”
   • “Name the diagnostic criteria for…”
   • “Walk through the management steps for…”
     This is where co-residents can help you catch gaps fast.

4. Morale and realism
   Sometimes you just need to see that everyone else is also tired, behind on questions, and confused by that one ridiculous guideline. That normalizes the anxiety and helps you keep going.

Where group study goes wrong

I’ve seen these failures over and over:

• Too big: More than 3–4 people and it becomes a social event with intermittent medicine.
• No plan: “Let’s just meet and do questions” turns into wandering discussions and checking phones.
• Mixed seriousness: One person is targeting 90th percentile; another just wants to pass. That mismatch poisons the dynamic.
• Schedule chaos: People keep canceling “just this once.” The group dissolves, and everyone’s worse off.

If your “group” looks like a post-call hangout with a review book open on the table, do not kid yourself. That’s not board prep.

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Step 4: The Hybrid Model That Actually Works in Residency

Here’s the structure I push residents toward because it balances reality with what boards demand.

1. Solo = foundation + questions

Use solo time for:

• Watching or reading your main review resource
• Taking notes in a tightly organized way (by system, not chronologically)
• Doing timed question blocks at least 3–4 days per week

Protect this time like a clinic session, not “if I’m free.” If you can realistically give 60–90 minutes on most days, you’ll outpace the resident who “aims for 3 hours on weekends” and then works both days.

Recommended Weekly Study Time Split

Category	Value
Solo Content Review	45
[Solo Question Banks](https://residencyadvisor.com/resources/board-exams-residency/how-many-question-banks-should-a-resident-use-for-boardsone-or-several)	35
Group Review	20

2. Group = short, structured, and small

Build a group around tasks, not vibes. Ideal format:

• 2–3 co-residents, max 4
• Fixed meeting: e.g., Tue & Thu 7–8 pm (or 30–45 min over lunch twice weekly)
• Each person:
  • Brings 3–5 hard questions they missed OR
  • Leads a short mini-teach on one micro-topic

Sample one-hour block:

• 0–10 min: Each person says what they studied solo since last meeting and one weak area
• 10–40 min: Rotate through mini-teaches or “walk me through this hard question”
• 40–60 min: Rapid-fire recall (criteria, cutoffs, algorithms)

Notice what’s missing: doing timed blocks together. You can review questions together afterwards, but the exam-like conditions need to be solo.

3. Tight timeline planning

Your phase matters. Early PGY-2 vs three months before boards is a different game.

Residency Board Study Timeline

Period	Event
PGY1 - Light reading only	Settling into residency
Early PGY2 - Choose main resource	Start light solo study
Early PGY2 - Begin low volume questions	10-15 per day
Late PGY2 - Increase questions	20-40 per day
Late PGY2 - Start small group review	1-2x per week
PGY3 - Heavy solo + group	Final 6 months
PGY3 - Full length practice exams	Last 2-3 months

Even if your specialty timing is slightly different, the progression stands: solo foundation → add questions → layer in structured group review → back to mostly solo in final stretch with targeted fixes.

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Step 5: How to Choose the Right Co-Residents (and When to Walk Away)

Your study group is only as good as its worst habit.

Pick people who:

• Actually show up to work on time and finish notes
• Don’t constantly complain and derail conversations
• Have roughly similar score goals or at least similar seriousness
• Can tolerate being called out (“we’re drifting, let’s get back on track”)

Bad signs:

• “Sorry, got stuck in clinic” three weeks in a row
• Turning every hard question into a 15-minute pathophys lecture
• Bringing zero prep and saying “just quiz me on whatever”

You don’t need to be dramatic about it. You can simply:

• Shift to one-on-one sessions with the one serious person in the group, or
• Tell the group you’re going to focus on solo and occasional reviews before the exam

Protect your time. You don’t get that many evenings back before the test.

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Step 6: Specialty-Specific Nuances (Because Not All Boards Feel the Same)

Different specialties push you slightly different directions.

Specialty	Lean Solo or Group?	Reason
Internal Med	Hybrid	Broad content, lots of QBank value
Pediatrics	Hybrid	Guidelines + pattern recognition
General Surgery	More solo	Heavy independent reading, fatigue
Anesthesia	Hybrid	Concepts + algorithms
EM	Group-friendly	Cases and rapid-fire recall

This isn’t gospel, but it tracks with reality I’ve seen:

• Medicine, peds, EM: group review of cases and guidelines is gold, as long as someone keeps you moving.
• Surgical fields: residents are often too wrecked from call for regular group time; short, targeted partner sessions (1 other resident) work better than large groups.
• Smaller specialties: your program size alone may limit group options; you might be better off finding 1 co-resident who matches your style.

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Step 7: Practical Templates You Can Steal

If you just want plug-and-play structures, here you go.

Template A: The “I Mostly Have My Act Together” Hybrid

• Solo:
  • 4–5 days/week: 60–90 min questions + brief review
  • 2–3 days/week: 45–60 min content refresh in weak areas
• Group (2–3 people):
  • 1–2 sessions/week, 45–60 min
  • Each person brings 3 tough questions and 1 micro-topic

Template B: The “I Need External Pressure” Setup

• Mandatory group:
  • 3x/week, 45 min at a fixed time (even if it’s Zoom)
  • Structure:
    • 15 min: go around, each person shares what they studied + 1 stat/cutoff/criterion they memorized
    • 25 min: rotate through 6–8 challenging questions, focusing on reasoning
    • 5 min: each person states the exact solo task they’ll do before next meeting
• Solo:
  • Smaller, non-negotiable blocks (30–45 min) tied to something you already do daily (after clinic, after dinner)

Template C: The “My Schedule is a Disaster” Plan

• Solo:
  • Microblocks: 2–3 sessions/day of 20–25 min questions or flashcards
  • 1 “longer” session (60–90 min) on your post-call day off or lighter clinic day
• Group:
  • Flexible pair system: find 1 co-resident and text “20 min rapid fire at lunch?” a few times per week
  • Keep it super light-structure: pick one topic per session (e.g., shock, arrhythmias, pediatric rashes)

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Step 8: How You’ll Know Your Setup Is Working

Use actual metrics, not vibes.

You’re on the right track if:

• Your QBank performance is trending up (not every day, but over 2–4 weeks)
• Your group sessions move quickly and end on time
• You can explain key algorithms out loud without getting lost
• You’re more consistent in study time than you were 4 weeks ago

You’re off track if:

• Group sessions run over and you’re more tired than helped
• No one in the group is improving QBank or practice test scores
• You keep “reviewing” the same chapters with no test behavior change
• You’re skipping solo time because you’re relying on group to fix everything

If that’s happening, adjust. Either:

• Tighten the group format (shorter, more focused)
• Change group members
• Or dial group way down and double down on solo with more structure

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Impact of Hybrid Study on Practice Scores

Category	Solo Only	Hybrid (Solo + Group)
Month 1	55	55
Month 2	60	62
Month 3	62	67
Month 4	64	72

Choosing Your Study Approach

Step	Description
Step 1	Start
Step 2	Use hybrid with strong group
Step 3	Mostly solo, light group review
Step 4	Add focused small group weekly
Step 5	Track scores and adjust
Step 6	Refine plan in last 2 months
Step 7	Good self discipline
Step 8	Practice scores near target

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The Bottom Line

1. Neither solo nor group is “better” in the abstract. Most residents do best with a hybrid: solo for learning and timed questions, small structured group for accountability and explanation.
2. If your group doesn’t have structure, it’s not helping. Keep it small, time-limited, and focused on hard questions and micro-teaching.
3. Measure success with scores and consistency, not feelings. If your current setup isn’t moving those, change the setup—not your goal.