ABP General Pediatrics study plan
ABP General Pediatrics · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Organ-System Disorders
Build a one-page differential template for the child with a murmur, the child with wheeze, and the child with chronic abdominal pain, sourcing each from primary references
Compare nephrotic syndrome and acute glomerulonephritis on presentation, first-line labs, and initial management in a side-by-side written table
Explain age-specific hemoglobin thresholds and outline the stepwise workup of microcytic anemia in a child
Work 40 board-style items on cardiac, renal, and hematologic disorders and log every miss with the concept behind it
Your checkpoint
A four-page system summary (cardiac, renal, GI, hematologic) plus a miss log covering at least 40 practice items, with each miss tagged to a domain subtopic.
Organ-System Disorders & Acute Illness and Emergency Care
Construct a stepwise escalation algorithm for the child in respiratory distress, from triage through airway support
Classify pediatric seizure types and map acute management by age, fever status, and duration
Sequence the first 30 minutes of management for anaphylaxis, DKA, and septic shock
Complete 20 timed emergency vignettes and record decision time per item alongside correctness
Your checkpoint
A timed 40-question mixed acute-care set completed at 70% or better, with errors grouped by presenting complaint.
Acute Illness and Emergency Care & Infectious Diseases
Rank the ten highest-yield pediatric emergencies by stabilization priority and write the first five minutes of management for each
Build an empiric antibiotic table by syndrome: neonatal fever, meningitis, pneumonia, UTI, and cellulitis
Distinguish which febrile infants require a full sepsis evaluation at 0 to 28 days, 29 to 90 days, and beyond 90 days
State the exclusion and return-to-care criteria for common childhood exanthems and conjunctivitis
Your checkpoint
A one-page empiric-antibiotic and fever-workup reference card, self-quizzed to 90% correct recall.
Infectious Diseases & Growth and Development
Chart the immunization schedule by age and flag contraindications and catch-up rules for each vaccine
Sequence gross motor, fine motor, language, and social milestones at 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months
Describe normal versus abnormal growth velocity and calculate z-scores from ten sample growth data points
List the red flags that trigger an autism spectrum evaluation and state the referral pathway at 18 and 24 months
Your checkpoint
A developmental milestone grid plus ten growth-chart z-score calculations scored against an answer key at 80% or better.
Growth and Development & Preventive Pediatrics
Identify validated developmental screening tools and match each to its age window and well-child visit
Write anticipatory guidance scripts for the 2-month, 12-month, and 4-year visits
Summarize the timing and components of newborn screening, hearing screening, and lead and hemoglobin screening
Outline the sports preparticipation evaluation and the confidential adolescent preventive visit
Your checkpoint
A completed well-child visit checklist covering ten ages, cross-checked against a current national schedule.
Preventive Pediatrics & Behavioral and Mental Health
Apply DSM diagnostic criteria and validated rating scales to distinguish ADHD presentations in two written vignettes
Outline first-line behavioral and medication management for ADHD, anxiety, and adolescent depression
List screening intervals and instruments for maternal postpartum depression, adolescent depression, and substance use
Describe the evaluation approach to school refusal, enuresis, and bedtime resistance
Your checkpoint
Three written management plans (ADHD, adolescent depression, anxiety) plus a 30-question self-quiz scored at 80% or better.
Chronic Illness and Complex Care & Behavioral and Mental Health
Map a care-coordination plan for a child with medical complexity, naming the roles of school services, home nursing, and the care coordinator
Explain transition-of-care planning for an adolescent with a chronic condition moving to adult services
Summarize the management of autism spectrum disorder and the school-based services typically available
Describe how to recognize, document, and report suspected child maltreatment within mandated-reporting rules
Your checkpoint
A one-page complex-care coordination map plus written case formulations for two chronic-illness vignettes.
Ethics, Advocacy, and Health Systems & Organ-System Disorders
Interpret consent, assent, confidentiality, and refusal-of-care principles using three adolescent vignettes
Describe advocacy pathways and the pediatrician's role in screening for social determinants of health
Complete two full-length timed practice exams and categorize every error by domain
Re-review the three weakest domains identified by the error log using targeted spot-reading
Your checkpoint
A full-length practice exam score of 75% or better with a domain-by-domain error analysis and a final three-day review schedule.
Milestones
Week 2: Complete a six-hour timed block mixing organ-system and emergency items and confirm accuracy has improved over the week 1 baseline.
Week 4: Score 70% or better on a 60-question cumulative set covering domains 6, 4, 7, and 1, with no domain below 60%.
Week 6: Produce all scheduled deliverables to date and confirm that every domain has at least one written summary or reference card.
Week 8: Score 75% or better on a full-length timed practice exam and list the three weakest domains with a remediation plan.