One of my partners who graduated from residency the same year as I did (2003) just passed his boards. I told me last year he was just getting ready to take his written (in EM there are written and orals and you recert every 10 years with a written) and I was surprised. I took mine in '04 and I assumed he had as well because you have to be boarded to be in our group. He said he'd just kept putting it off and none of the credentials boards had cared until '08.

So here's the thing. He's now boarded until 2019 and I have to recert in 2014. I'm pretty envious about that so part of me thinks he was really smart. But the other part of me would never want to take the initial cert exams now 6 years out of residency. So I alternate between thinking this guy was brilliant and insane.

Well, if you're really, really good, ABEM will let you take the 10 year recert after 9 years.

I think that that guy just got lucky - I don't think he's that smart, because, 10 years ago, who would have thought that you would need to be board-certified to remain credentialed by a hospital? You say the group required him to be boarded, but (as you can see) there was a time block given to become boarded.

At my last job, the hospital credentials committee gave 5 years on-staff to be board certified, or else you would be dropped from staff.

As to 6 years out of residency, I don't think that that is much of the issue, as long as one studies and, coincidentally, lives in Las Vegas, where there are a BUNCH of review courses for the written!

I alternate between thinking this guy was brilliant and insane.Maybe he failed his attempt at the Boards twice before, and wasn't inclined to share that information. This happened to one of my practice associates, but wan't commonly known. So maybe he was non-brilliant.

Maybe he failed his attempt at the Boards twice before, and wasn't inclined to share that information. This happened to one of my practice associates, but wan't commonly known. So maybe he was non-brilliant.

Possible but I don't think so. I think this was the perfect storm of laziness, procrastination and credentialing loopholes.

One of my partners who graduated from residency the same year as I did (2003) just passed his boards. ...He said he'd just kept putting it off and none of the credentials boards had cared until '08.

...But the other part of me would never want to take the initial cert exams now 6 years out of residency. So I alternate between thinking this guy was brilliant and insane.Possible but I don't think so. I think this was the perfect storm of laziness, procrastination and credentialing loopholes.I first and for most find no brilliance in it.... Everyday, we forget more about medicine then we remember. It is consistently a mistake to delay taking the exams. Folks that delay even for a single year will often tell you how much they regretted it. IMHO, I suspect it is more likely that he failed his first attempt.... One with such laziness is not likely to find themselves six years out of training and then successfully studying to pass the primary examinations. The two scenarios are fairly incongruent. That kind of laziness and/or level of distraction kind of precludes the discipline to come back 5 years later and aggressively study.... Or, maybe the boards are just so easy and really a joke.

JAD