Oral Boards

[deleted171991]

Again, if the world was filled with FFP and PGG, these courses themselves would've gone extinct. No one has money to burn on something that isn't useful. Courses that exist do so because they help!

Some of the courses do help some people. For me, the value was not in the courses but in the associated books, and the 20 mock orals I did (most with friends, a few with current or former board examiners). Nothing beats knowledge and a high number of mock orals with helpful people; this is what I believe in.

PS: For FFP and PGG, not everyone that scores higher than u is a better doc and not everyone that scores lower is a worse doc. Just like these tests can't determine who is better or worse based on a grade, passing and failing doesn't imply competence vs. incompetence.

I never said or implied that, especially with orals.

I admit that I don't have much professional respect for people who keep failing their orals, year after year after year, or those who are not able to even pass their written boards. I doubt that I am in the minority.

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[pgg]

I never said or implied that, especially with orals.

Nor did I.

II admit that I don't have much professional respect for people who keep failing their orals, year after year after year, or those who are not able to even pass their written boards. I doubt that I am in the minority.

You're not in the minority.

ether123, I grow weary of trying to convey my point to you.

I invite you to search the archives here to read what I've written about the ABA exams in the past, particularly the oral results thread when I took the exam and passed it (with relief). It is a beast of an exam.

I know great anesthesiologists who've failed the oral exam. I also know they passed next time around. I also know people who have failed for years to become board certified, and there is a reason apart from stage fright and lack of paid coaching. I also know what I saw at the Ho oral board review course I took: a room half filled with people who had previously failed for what were obvious reasons. And I bet a lot of them failed again.

I'm not irritated at them. I'm irritated at YOU ... the latest oral board review course shill to drop in this board around exam season who tell fear stories with obvious ulterior motives.

I will give you (sincere) credit though - at least you admit your affiliation, unlike most of the repeat-ban clowns who create an account to pretend to be recent passers who couldn't have done it without $3K paid to ________ Oral Board Review Inc.

 

[pgg]

You can read exactly how I felt about my oral board experience in this thread.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/oral-boards-spring-2010-atlanta-ga.716767/

I got a little indigestion reliving it just now ...

 

[ether123]

Some of the courses do help some people. For me, the value was not in the courses but in the associated books, and the 20 mock orals I did (most with friends, a few with current or former board examiners). Nothing beats knowledge and a high number of mock orals with helpful people; this is what I believe in.

I never said or implied that, especially with orals.

I admit that I don't have much professional respect for people who keep failing their orals, year after year after year, or those who are not able to even pass their written boards. I doubt that I am in the minority.

you are in the minority

 

[ether123]

...and like i said repeatedly, these courses wouldn't last if they didn't help. Here's a point we all can agree on: the ultimate board review course is a good residency. Unfortunately, many of us come from programs where rotting in the OR was the rule-of-thumb and not enough focus was on teaching and learning. Hence, the proliferation (and success) of the board review courses such as michael ho and justoralboards.com!

 

[Mac4]

practice, practice, and more practice. It doesn't matter whether you talk to your friends/wife, co-workers, board examiners or Dr. Jensen himself. I was pretty much speaking to a wall in the last week (I mean, who would you be able to get at 10 pm?).

 

[trahuidio]

I need an oral board practice partner with someone taking the orals next month. If interested, please email me at [email protected]

 

[Sonny Crocket]

Practice. Seriously. You need to have communicated out loud what you would do with the main scenarios that come up repeatedly.
For example, bleeding tonsil with no IV, stat c section that you cannot intubate etc...

Course or no course, everyone needs to practice. I did a lot of practice out loud by myself. My wife watched tv at the other side of the room giving me funny looks.

Also, read on The ABA website about how they score you. Adaptability is huge.

 

[G0S2]

"My examiners asked me questions equivalent to "what is my favorite color?" This threw me off and I would respond something like "uhhh... deeerrrr.... uhhh... red?" And they would respond "You REALLY think that's my favorite color EVERY day of the week? What about Thursdays? And if red is my favorite color on Thursdays, then what is the square root of purple?" It really was like I studied for the wrong test in the wrong language."-YoGabba


This is exactly the feeling I had yesterday.

 

[CaliforniaBound]

I feel destroyed! It was the worst test ever, not that I expexted anything else. They got me really flustered. I said some dumb things and missed some obvious ones. Even after they prompted me. I wonder what Raleigh is like in the fall?

 

[deleted171991]

Don't worry. We all felt like we failed the exam, and 85-90% of us passed. Hindsight is 20/20. The more you think about the exam, the more mistakes you'll remember.

 

[climbingdocs]

I feel destroyed! It was the worst test ever, not that I expexted anything else. They got me really flustered. I said some dumb things and missed some obvious ones. Even after they prompted me. I wonder what Raleigh is like in the fall?

I think it is pretty nice... I left the exam feeling OK, now I think I failed.

 

[KidAtHeart]

Seemed like one room was a breeze while the other was brutal. Anyone else have similar experience? Is it possible to stumble in one room and still pass?

 

[BuzzPhreed]

Seemed like one room was a breeze while the other was brutal. Anyone else have similar experience? Is it possible to stumble in one room and still pass?

Yes. 2008. Same M.O.

Got my ass handed to me in the first room. Thought I did well in the second. Was sure I failed. I didn't.

Onward to MOCA...

 

[climbingdocs]

Seemed like one room was a breeze while the other was brutal. Anyone else have similar experience? Is it possible to stumble in one room and still pass?

I sure hope so. Did you take it on monday?

 

[CaliforniaBound]

Ya my first room was an ass chewing. Second room better I think but I was so rattled from the first room I barely had time to formulate a thought on the second. I also had a super well known anesthesiologist in the second room who likes to roll his eyes a lot.....so I dunno....

 

[climbingdocs]

Eye rolling?? Not cool.

 

[CaliforniaBound]

Ya he seemed annoyed at me and the questions he was asking. It was almost comical. Almost.....

 

[climbingdocs]

That sucks. I got distracted by their score sheet. He kept marking stuff in the middle row, probably not good ...

 

[CaliforniaBound]

I couldn't see mine. Kept it well hidden...probably because it was bad lol. I've never felt so awful and whiplashed after a test!

 

[climbingdocs]

I couldn't see mine. Kept it well hidden...probably because it was bad lol. I've never felt so awful and whiplashed after a test!

I am sure if he was a hard grader they will adjust your score for it. He probably did this to all candidates.

 

[BuzzPhreed]

I think you guys need to be a little more existentialist about this. It's over. What happened happened. You'll soon find out.

I saved up all my angst and "Monday morning quarterbacking" for the 30 seconds before I logged in to find out... that I'd passed. Most worry is wasted.

 

[pgg]

I think it is pretty nice... I left the exam feeling OK, now I think I failed.

I left the hotel feeling ok, went to the bar at the airport and really started reliving my weaker answers, by the time the plane was at altitude I thought I'd be going back. I passed.

People tend to fixate on trivia that they didn't get quite right, not the important stuff they nailed.

Unless you specifically remember a kill error, you probably passed.

 

[biddi45]

I think it is natural to worry after a test. I took my text yesterday and felt beat as well. I failed the orals last year and took it again this year and noticed that the questions asked were somewhat different, so I also felt I studied for the wrong way. Since I failed in the past I am not really scared about failing again. If I failed just got to retake it all over again. However I agree with others in this thread and not worry about it too much, the ones that worry are usually the ones that pass.

 

[KidAtHeart]

I sure hope so. Did you take it on monday?

I took it Tuesday, but it probably doesn't matter which day.

 

[KidAtHeart]

I left the hotel feeling ok, went to the bar at the airport and really started reliving my weaker answers, by the time the plane was at altitude I thought I'd be going back. I passed.

People tend to fixate on trivia that they didn't get quite right, not the important stuff they nailed.

Unless you specifically remember a kill error, you probably passed.

I don't know... one of the examiners really made me feel flustered/intimidated. I know I answered a lot of his questions correctly, but there were some that even though I thought I was right, the way he asked made me feel uncertain. Then I started second guessing myself and it likely became a downward spiral...

What does "kill error" mean? As in, you did something so wrong/careless that the patient died as a result?

 

[KidAtHeart]

That sucks. I got distracted by their score sheet. He kept marking stuff in the middle row, probably not good ...

Yeah, it was distracting. Mine marked very obviously, often middle and sometimes side, but who knows what that means!

 

[CaliforniaBound]

What does "kill error" mean? As in, you did something so wrong/careless that the patient died as a result?[/QUOTE]

I was wondering the same thing. Both rooms had things go wrong, but I think it was scripted in. However, my buddy took it an hour after me, had the same stems but had other complications that I didn't. So did the examiner go off script?

I've never felt worse about a test in my entire life. Damn ABA.....lol.

 

[pgg]

A remembered kill error might be something like doing a spinal in a patient and then in the taxi to the airport you connect the dots between the patient's jaundice and abd pain and think "aw, maybe I shoulda checked some coags" ...

IE, not so much knowledge errors or answering a stupid TPN electrolyte question wrong (which I did and ruminated on for weeks post-exam) but if you remember making a genuine error in management that put a patient at risk.

 

[pgg]

Supposedly, the examiners have to stay on script unless your answers open up logical follow up questions. Complications are built into each script.

This is why it's a good idea to just answer questions directly and then STFU. They will let people hang themselves. If you get cut off, it's probably because they were satisfied with your answer and want to move on.

 

[BuzzPhreed]

This is why it's a good idea to just answer questions directly and then STFU.

And, succinctly.

The longer the leash you give them, the more able they are to choke the "dog" out of you. If they want you to follow-up or expand, they'll ask.

 

[nycitygas]

The oral board pass rate is 85-90%. If you can present a reasonable anesthetic plan and defend it, you will pass.

Second guessing yourself doesn't help, go have a beer! It's over!

 

[Impromptu]

They were very professional. No eye rolling. They didn't lead me right or wrong. I occasionally didn't know an answer, especially on the additional topics. I hope it was enough. I really want to move onto other things.

 

[chmd]

The more I think about it, the more in convinced I will be back next year. The good thing is that they appear to be monthly next year staying in February. Any idea when the application deadline would be for the February tests and whether or not repeat test takers are given date preference?

 

[Mman]

That sucks. I got distracted by their score sheet. He kept marking stuff in the middle row, probably not good ...

Since almost everybody passes, being in the middle is probably just fine.

 

[deleted171991]

Chmd, unless the rules have changed, you'll have to wait 1 year between attempts.

 

[chmd]

Chmd, unless the rules have changed, you'll have to wait 1 year between attempts.

That is awful news. Do you mean 12 months? Or if you failed in the fall could you take again and happen to be assigned to spring?

 

[deleted171991]

One of my colleagues failed his boards last fall and said that he was unable to schedule it for spring because of that rule.

This is what the Bulletin of Information says now on page 14:

In 2014, the Part 2 Examination will be administered twice (spring and fall). Beginning in 2015, the Part2 Examination will be administered more frequently at the ABA Assessment Center in Raleigh, NC. Individuals not passing the Part 2 Examination by the end of 2016 will begin taking the Standardized Oral Examination (SOE) component of the APPLIED Examination in 2017 at the ABA Assessment Center in Raleigh, NC; however, they can only schedule one examination appointment per calendar year. Details of these examinations can be found in the Staged Examinations Booklet of Information.

The good news is that it's calendar year, not 12 month-period.

 

[Crimson Oranges]

Received my test date for October...guess its 'go-time.'

I've read thru a lot of older posts and know how wonderful Ho, Jensen, Gallagher, Etc are.
If you're a 1st time post'r please refrain as I already have Ho and Jensen.

Friend of mine had 1 of the 6 Ultimate Board Prep books on PDF and I was flipping thru it, looked good.
Has anyone used these before for oral boards?

Thanks in advance,
CrazyJake

Is their a way to get copies of the pdf versions? I cant seem to find any. Amazon only sells the first practice set at an ebook.