I just took the echo boards today. It was brutal and I left the testing center with a bad feeling. Not sure what to make of it. It was a hard test and honestly don't know if I passed. Anyone else feel the same way about this test?
I just posted my concerns as well! Block 4 was an absolute bloodbath. I was barely able to hold it together. Full blown panic attack after getting home. Found the test very different than what was advertised by Mayo, ASE exam sim and Klein. Plus my program doesn't do strain or congenital at all. That was enough to ensure that I'll be seeing those folks at Prometric again next year.
Yeah it was tough specially blocks 1 and 4. If I don't pass I don't think I'll be taking it again. I'll be starting a subspecialty next year and between that and the cardiology board I won't be able to study adequately.
By 68.5% passin rate, does it mean that 68.5% people pass, or is it the actual percentage reqd to pass? I doubt i'm getting 68.5%
Some one has a user name EchoboardsPTSD. Come on! It can't be that bad
As an echocardiographer, I know the physics part of the test can be tough; did not realize that the other parts of the test were also considered to be tough. This becomes important as the test is perceived to be be 'doable' by level 2 training standards. Most fellowship programs tend to neglect theoretical or 'cognitive' training in echo (granted most programs can teach you how to do TEEs and read echoes). This is due to a multitude of factors- everyone is busy making RVUs, paucity of great educators in echo at most programs- may get worse as level 3 echo fellowships don't fill (except Mayo, MGH, Cleveland, UCSF and few others) and not many graduates are doing level 3 echo training (which ideally requires a separate dedicated year of training).
May be NBE needs to look in to this formally..polling all the cardiology/anesthesiology fellows and fellowship directors would be first step. But I would hate for this test to become a means to sell ASE board review and other board review courses, which appears to have already happened. It is the same group of academic '******' who go around the country giving board review lectures and then they make questions for the test (ditto for nuclear).
Got results today in email. Passed. Watching ASE videos / Mayo videos and reviewing physics was enough for me. Passed comfortably. The pass rate this year looks much better, about 81% I think based on my report.
I don't think pass rate was that high....only 1 person in my fellowship passed. I missed literally by 1 question. Congrats to those that passed.
On my score card the Minimum Passing Scale Score was 478. Based on the norm table provided, 460 was 13th percentile, and 480 was 19th percentile. Let us assume the Minimum Passing Scale score was 480 ( which would lower the passing rate), based on the norm table the passing rate would be 81% since 19% scored lower than 480.
Sorry about your result, this test was really brutal.