2016 oral boards

[ashkenazi1234]

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i hear they are underway! anybody have good or bad experiences? curious to see how the new oral center is and whether they are still trying to make people cry

 

[ZzzPlz]

i hear they are underway! anybody have good or bad experiences? curious to see how the new oral center is and whether they are still trying to make people cry

I just heard from a friend that took the test. He said the content was surprisingly straightforward but he had a pretty hostile examiner. Even though he knew the material cold he felt like he did lousy. Pretty sure he cried but can't confirm.

I'll let you know about my experience soon.

 

[deleted171991]

They shouldn't make you cry. If they are hostile, it's in their script. How friendly do you think the average surgeon is (especially if he doesn't know/trust you), when you want to cancel his/her case or ignore his/her "anesthesia plan"?

Plus doctors should not be tentative; they should be able to defend their positions.

 

[twoliter]

They shouldn't make you cry. If they are hostile, it's in their script. How friendly do you think the average surgeon is (especially if he doesn't know/trust you), when you want to cancel his/her case or ignore his/her "anesthesia plan"?

Plus doctors should not be tentative; they should be able to defend their positions.

I'm pretty sure everyone already realizes what you said. I'm also pretty sure he was joking about the test-taker crying. I also think you're downplaying the stress associated with oral boards. Maybe it was a breeze for you without even having to study. But it's not that way for everybody.

Note: I've not taken oral boards yet, mine are this summer.

 

[deleted171991]

I'm pretty sure everyone already realizes what you said. I'm also pretty sure he was joking about the test-taker crying. I also think you're downplaying the stress associated with oral boards. Maybe it was a breeze for you without even having to study. But it's not that way for everybody.

Note: I've not taken oral boards yet, mine are this summer.

It was not a breeze. It was very stressful. And I have seen classmates crying from stress before the boards.

What I am trying to say is that board examiners are mostly regular people. They won't eat you. If the atmosphere is occasionally adversarial in the room, that's by design. It's part of the test. Apparently they have been working on weaning out the bullies, or they adjust their scores accordingly.

 

[ZzzPlz]

It was not a breeze. It was very stressful. And I have seen classmates crying from stress before the boards.

What I am trying to say is that board examiners are mostly regular people. They won't eat you. If the atmosphere is occasionally adversarial in the room, that's by design. It's part of the test. Apparently they have been working on weaning out the bullies, or they adjust their scores accordingly.

Yes all tests are scaled on both scenario and examiner. And all examiners are recorded and reviewed to ensure no one is uber malignant.

 

[kazuma]

Passed!!! What a relief. I thought I killed my 1st room, but I had some hang ups in the 2nd room in dealing with a rare disease and I had to say I don't know/not sure at least 3 times. Perhaps they were just pushing the limits of my knowledge because the level of detail they asked wasn't found in Barash/Miller. Overall I thought it was a pretty straight forward exam with fair examiners. Best of luck to those that haven't taken it yet!

Edit: to clarify a pm I got from a member, when I said I killed the 1st room I meant I smoked it, not a killing error. I've heard that killing errors result in a high likelihood of failure.

 

[HmmPie]

Examiners were challenging but not hostile. One attending took it a couple years ago and told me he said "I don't know" over 10 times and still passed, so don't be afraid to say I don't know and move on. I definitely said I don't know a few times because I got confused about something and just wanted to keep going. I felt pressured for time. Left the second room feeling like I failed, but I passed!!

 

[R-35]

Took it on week 2 and passed. It was faster paced than what I was used to. Rapid fire questions, with some opportunities to show off your knowledge. First examiner was very pushy/aggressive. Felt horrible immediately after. Questions and stems were fair.

 

[Chloroform4Life]

Congrats everyone. I haven't taken mine yet..... but soon.

Are subjects which are fellowship specific fair game on the oral boards? E.g. questions on how to do a pediatric heart case or questions on how to do specific pain blocks seen in pain clinic.

 

[pjl]

Congrats everyone. I haven't taken mine yet..... but soon.

Are subjects which are fellowship specific fair game on the oral boards? E.g. questions on how to do a pediatric heart case or questions on how to do specific pain blocks seen in pain clinic.

It is not as much "how to" as it is "why to." That said, you have to have the basics right, but the goal is supposed to be that you show off your judgement in evolving clinical scenarios, as well as your ability to communicate your rationale effectively and professionally, just like you should in real life.
There is a list of topics on the website, or at least there used to be.


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[GA8314]

Took it this week. Mostly fair questions but still feel like crap....... I know I missed some trivia and was a little annoyed at one of my stems the way the examiner jumped around changing scenarios and I wasn't sure what carried over. Before I knew it we were extubated in the PACU where we wouldn't have extubated that patient. So, I wasn't sure what else carried over (or didn't). So, that sucked but I got through it. We'll see folks!!

 

[Anesicudoc]

I did mine 2 weeks back! Practiced with board examiners who said I should pass! Did ubp and practiced with a classmate as well!
Could not sleep the night before exam as AC was switching on and off at Hilton coupled with my tension.
Looks like will fail part 1 was pathetetic , the junior examiner was aggressive and kept on pushing and nearly shouted once.
Rest 3 examiners were cool and cooperative!
Part 2 was ok though missed few things!
Everyday since exam waking up at 3-6 am with flashbacks from exam! All my co fellows passed!
Checking aba website daily for clues to whether result is out !
Counting every hour till Monday may 2 nd when the result will be out!
Most challenging would be to hide from everyone else people will judge especially working as staff from July !
It's pathetic how 1 bad day can ruin one's reputation!

 

[leaverus]

I did mine 2 weeks back! Practiced with board examiners who said I should pass! Did ubp and practiced with a classmate as well!
Could not sleep the night before exam as AC was switching on and off at Hilton coupled with my tension.
Looks like will fail part 1 was pathetetic , the junior examiner was aggressive and kept on pushing and nearly shouted once.
Rest 3 examiners were cool and cooperative!
Part 2 was ok though missed few things!
Everyday since exam waking up at 3-6 am with flashbacks from exam! All my co fellows passed!
Checking aba website daily for clues to whether result is out !
Counting every hour till Monday may 2 nd when the result will be out!
Most challenging would be to hide from everyone else people will judge especially working as staff from July !
It's pathetic how 1 bad day can ruin one's reputation!

good heavens, I cant even make sense of your post, maybe the junior shouted because he couldn't understand you!? seriously though, that's unusual for them to get to the point of nearly shouting at you - that's not their function. were you also aggressive and belligerent?? anyway, good luck but if you didn't pass it's not the end of the world.

 

[Anesicudoc]

good heavens, I cant even make sense of your post, maybe the junior shouted because he couldn't understand you!? seriously though, that's unusual for them to get to the point of nearly shouting at you - that's not their function. were you also aggressive and belligerent?? anyway, good luck but if you didn't pass it's not the end of the world.

No I was not aggressive and belligerent - That will be the last place to be! As I said rest of 3 examiners were cool! I found junior was bit impatient and probably she just started taking the exam. I was also not at my best in part 1 which combined with the examiner got me off balance few times!
It is stressful !

 

[deleted171991]

You have an 85% chance of passing. Stop worrying.

 

[Anesicudoc]

14 more hours to go! Never felt this much tension with heart in throat! Let see!

 

[GA8314]

Passed. The relief I feel is something I know you guys can relate to. Wow.

For anyone whom needs to revisit this, I know several very good folks that needed to do so as well, so please keep the faith.

 

[ZzzPlz]

I'm officially a board certified anesthesiologist!!!

FYI I stressed the last 10 days because I made a "kill the patient" mistake. Under duress I forgot the stem info and did something really dumb. Proof that one mistake will not result in an automatic failure.

 

[Anesicudoc]

Passed! Board Certified! For anyone doing in future- it's ok to say I don't know. One mistake won't fail you! Most imp- if you think you did worse in room1 just don't think about it when in room2. No one examiner can fail you! Good luck! Please feel free to pm me if any questions. I feel the pain!

 

[Machinery]

Well I just took the beast today. I completely mismanaged a grab-bag and I feel like I might be headed for a big F. This is going to be a looooong 2 weeks. Definitely keeping my books.

 

[confusingleaf]

i took them the week of april 1-7. it was actually not as bad as i was expecting, but i studied HARD for 3 months--i did one of michael ho's guaranteed plans and it worked for me.

i got two fairly straightforward cases and was surprised at how little the examiners tried to mess with me.

another person at my institution took it last week and she had a totaly different experience in one of her rooms--very hostile examiner. i think those are few and far between now. congratulations everyone!

 

[confusingleaf]

Well I just took the beast today. I completely mismanaged a grab-bag and I feel like I might be headed for a big F. This is going to be a looooong 2 weeks. Definitely keeping my books.

if it makes you feel better, the person i mentioned right above me felt as if she had mismanaged the whole stem in one room. i think mismanaging a grab bag is highly unlikely to fail you.

 

[Machinery]

if it makes you feel better, the person i mentioned right above me felt as if she had mismanaged the whole stem in one room. i think mismanaging a grab bag is highly unlikely to fail you.

Everyday I wake up and remember something I could have said different or brought up. Good thing we don't have to wait forever for the score anymore.

 

[deleted171991]

Everyday I wake up and remember something I could have said different or brought up. Good thing we don't have to wait forever for the score anymore.

This is why one should never go on vacation right after the exam, before the results are out.

 

[ZzzPlz]

This is why one should never go on vacation right after the exam, before the results are out.

This. I am leaving the country Saturday. Figured I would get results on Friday but they came earlier this week. Glad I passed or that vacation would have been very bittersweet.

 

[psychbender]

I disagree. I went on vacation as soon as I got back from oral boards, and it was amazing. I didn't have to study or review anything, and didn't stress over how I could have answered things differently.

 

[deleted171991]

I disagree. I went on vacation as soon as I got back from oral boards, and it was amazing. I didn't have to study or review anything, and didn't stress over how I could have answered things differently.

Then you are the exception to the rule, ColdBlood.

 

[Machinery]

This is why one should never go on vacation right after the exam, before the results are out.

To add insult on injury, I did go on vacation after the test. I am pretty sure when the TSA agent asked for my ID I thought he said "Induction".

 

[sigrhoillusion]

I just remember at the airport going to the hotel to take the exam, every old person I saw I assumed was an examiner. I swear I saw Stoelting like 10 times stalking me... haha

 

[Anesicudoc]

I just remember at the airport going to the hotel to take the exam, every old person I saw I assumed was an examiner. I swear I saw Stoelting like 10 times stalking me... haha

I also Had the same feeling from the point I landed in Raleigh that every old person could be examiner!

 

[Anesicudoc]

From my experience advice for all test takers
1. You won't fail unless you do bad in both rooms with long cases
2. Grab bags don't count much - I had a friend who screwed up 2/3 grab bags due to stress still passed
3. If you feel very stressed try excercising just 5-10 min in morning before exam
4. If you have accent- you will have to practice more but it's not the sole deciding factor
5. Most examiners are cool but you may get an aggressive one but one examiner can't fail you
6. Eye contact, confident tone is as important as content
7. Most people think they screwed up something - the key is each question is equally scored, when examiner asks you next question stop thinking about previous question's screwup similarly stop worrying about room 1 when you are ready to go to room 2
Good Luck!

 

[Anesicudoc]

Everyday I wake up and remember something I could have said different or brought up. Good thing we don't have to wait forever for the score anymore.

Don't worry dude! I had the same experience for nights after exam but as FFP said - you have 85% chance of passing

 

[sigrhoillusion]

Don't worry dude! I had the same experience for nights after exam but as FFP said - you have 85% chance of passing

"you have 85% chance of passing"

Let's say the chances of you passing are even better at 90%. With 10+ examinees per session (I think my session had 14) that still means that the odds are that at least 1 person in each group (4 groups per day) is going to fail (4-5 per day). So despite my great odds, all I could think of on the ride back to the airport was "Am I THAT guy?!" LOL... I kept thinking, especially when they talked about their "in-depth analysis and scaling methods" how exactly they go about grading. Like do they HAVE to make it so 85-90% pass? Like if all 14 people do well, do they watch the videos over and over and over again comparing the people and finding the 1 person who gave too small an intubating dose of sux? LOL. Or does everyone pass, and then they decide to grade more harshly or choose tougher stems for future dates to "Balance out" the results. I just assumed that the videotaping and review process and "scaling" only dealt with those examinees that might have had at least 1 examiner fail them, then they would audit the video. I can't imagine them sitting there for 2 weeks reviewing videos of everyone. I'm sure they look at examiner grades and determine who is easy and who is hard, and that might factor in when they get to a failed examinee, but can't imagine they could audit someone who "luckily" passed because they got 4 "easy" examiners. I'm sure they would get to that persons file, see 4 passes, cash their check (oh wait they did that months ago...), give them a stamp of certification and just move on

The worst was when you were talking to everyone on the bus and it seemed that despite having the same two stems, everyone seemed to have different thoughts or different questions asked. At that point it seemed to come down to "was I confident enough?" and "Did I do anything harmful?". It's funny on the ride to the testing center it was deathly silent, and nobody said a word to each other, but on the way back there was a lot of angst but everyone seemed to open up a little, and relieved that it was at least over, at least for then...

Those two weeks are BRUTAL... but it's such a relief to have passed. It was like being hazed for a fraternity, but despite giving them a ton of money, goig through the pledge process and being brutalized for a day, they could still decline you from their group. As the weeks go by my former co-residents have taken the test and all of us passed. There are still 2 more that have to take them. I feel sorry for them and wish them the best.

 

[Chloroform4Life]

"you have 85% chance of passing"

Let's say the chances of you passing are even better at 90%. With 10+ examinees per session (I think my session had 14) that still means that the odds are that at least 1 person in each group (4 groups per day) is going to fail (4-5 per day). So despite my great odds, all I could think of on the ride back to the airport was "Am I THAT guy?!" LOL... I kept thinking, especially when they talked about their "in-depth analysis and scaling methods" how exactly they go about grading. Like do they HAVE to make it so 85-90% pass? Like if all 14 people do well, do they watch the videos over and over and over again comparing the people and finding the 1 person who gave too small an intubating dose of sux? LOL. Or does everyone pass, and then they decide to grade more harshly or choose tougher stems for future dates to "Balance out" the results. I just assumed that the videotaping and review process and "scaling" only dealt with those examinees that might have had at least 1 examiner fail them, then they would audit the video. I can't imagine them sitting there for 2 weeks reviewing videos of everyone. I'm sure they look at examiner grades and determine who is easy and who is hard, and that might factor in when they get to a failed examinee, but can't imagine they could audit someone who "luckily" passed because they got 4 "easy" examiners. I'm sure they would get to that persons file, see 4 passes, cash their check (oh wait they did that months ago...), give them a stamp of certification and just move on

The worst was when you were talking to everyone on the bus and it seemed that despite having the same two stems, everyone seemed to have different thoughts or different questions asked. At that point it seemed to come down to "was I confident enough?" and "Did I do anything harmful?". It's funny on the ride to the testing center it was deathly silent, and nobody said a word to each other, but on the way back there was a lot of angst but everyone seemed to open up a little, and relieved that it was at least over, at least for then...

Those two weeks are BRUTAL... but it's such a relief to have passed. It was like being hazed for a fraternity, but despite giving them a ton of money, goig through the pledge process and being brutalized for a day, they could still decline you from their group. As the weeks go by my former co-residents have taken the test and all of us passed. There are still 2 more that have to take them. I feel sorry for them and wish them the best.

You had to ride a bus? Which hotel did you stay at?

 

[sigrhoillusion]

It was the Hilton which they designated as the "Official ABA Hotel"... Even if you don't stay at the Hilton you have to go there to register and everyone has to take the bus from there to the testing center. And it's literally looks like a private party bus. I was hoping tehre would be champagne and strippers in there when I got in, but alas...

Yeah, where do you think all that money you are paying goes to!? The faux party bus and the seats in the testing center with numbers on them...

 

[GravelRider]

I had champagne and strippers on my bus.

 

[ZzzPlz]

On the way to the airport after the test, our party bus got bashed by a meth head that subsequently fled the scene.

 

[WHOIZME]

I took it a few days ago. The first stem was difficult and I was paired with a very aggressive and unfriendly senior board examiner. He would interrupt me quite frequently and not give me a chance to answer his questions in a well thought out manner as I had practiced. He did a nice job trying to break my confidence and to second guess myself but I kept my composure and tried to remain confident. The junior board examiner was not as malignant. I'm pretty sure I failed the first part, although I feel I got at least half their questions right or more.

Going into the second stem I tried my best to shake off my performance from the first session, and it took me about a minute to recover before starting the second stem. The second stem and board examiners was like a whole new world. They were much nicer, allowed me to answer questions with well thought out answers and minimally interrupted me. The senior board examiner at times would redirect me at times to get the answer out of me, and the moment they asked the right question I gave them the answer they were looking for.

In summary I feel my first stem performance was anywhere from 2-4 out of 10, and second stem performance was 8-9 out of 10. I'm not sure if the senior board examiner failed me or not from the first stem, but I feel he did. As I left the first room, the junior board examiner said to take care of myself and I took it as a sign that he probably failed me.

I'm sure they will look at my two scores and see a huge discrepancy, and wonder why one examiner failed me or one session went so bad. I'm praying my second performance saved me.

 

[Jay82]

First, Do some research and you will find that there are other hotels within walking distance to the Hilton. You can save $80-100. The Hilton ABA rate is still kind of expensive.

The registration process went smoothly. One of the ladies was older and kept calling us her kids. That treatment somewhat awkward but warm and dripped with Southern Hospitality.

Our bus ride to the testing facility was ok. No one was there to make friends but it was not deathly quiet either. Maybe a bit of nervous laughter.

I only took my test a few weeks ago. It's funny how memories of something that traumatic becomes more and more fuzzy as time passes. My first set of examiners wouldn't let me complete my thoughts. I felt rushed through the stem. None of my examiners was particularly malignant. Both sets were fair. It went as SDN has described numerous times. I was pushed and prodded into difficult decisions. Examiners try and bait you to do unsafe things. Hold your ground if you believe that your decision is clinically sound.

The ride home was definitely more relaxed. People will inevitably talk about the test. It's almost unreasonable to expect anyone to not discuss his or her experience.

 

[Chloroform4Life]

First, Do some research and you will find that there are other hotels within walking distance to the Hilton. You can save $80-100. The Hilton ABA rate is still kind of expensive.

The registration process went smoothly. One of the ladies was older and kept calling us her kids. That treatment somewhat awkward but warm and dripped with Southern Hospitality.

Our bus ride to the testing facility was ok. No one was there to make friends but it was not deathly quiet either. Maybe a bit of nervous laughter.

I only took my test a few weeks ago. It's funny how memories of something that traumatic becomes more and more fuzzy as time passes. My first set of examiners wouldn't let me complete my thoughts. I felt rushed through the stem. None of my examiners was particularly malignant. Both sets were fair. It went as SDN has described numerous times. I was pushed and prodded into difficult decisions. Examiners try and bait you to do unsafe things. Hold your ground if you believe that your decision is clinically sound.

The ride home was definitely more relaxed. People will inevitably talk about the test. It's almost unreasonable to expect anyone to not discuss his or her experience.

If I stay at one of the other hotels and drive to the Hilton on the morning of the test, will parking be an issue?

 

[Jay82]

Nope.

 

[codeb1ue]

I took it a few days ago. The first stem was difficult and I was paired with a very aggressive and unfriendly senior board examiner. He would interrupt me quite frequently and not give me a chance to answer his questions in a well thought out manner as I had practiced. He did a nice job trying to break my confidence and to second guess myself but I kept my composure and tried to remain confident. The junior board examiner was not as malignant. I'm pretty sure I failed the first part, although I feel I got at least half their questions right or more.

Going into the second stem I tried my best to shake off my performance from the first session, and it took me about a minute to recover before starting the second stem. The second stem and board examiners was like a whole new world. They were much nicer, allowed me to answer questions with well thought out answers and minimally interrupted me. The senior board examiner at times would redirect me at times to get the answer out of me, and the moment they asked the right question I gave them the answer they were looking for.

In summary I feel my first stem performance was anywhere from 2-4 out of 10, and second stem performance was 8-9 out of 10. I'm not sure if the senior board examiner failed me or not from the first stem, but I feel he did. As I left the first room, the junior board examiner said to take care of myself and I took it as a sign that he probably failed me.

I'm sure they will look at my two scores and see a huge discrepancy, and wonder why one examiner failed me or one session went so bad. I'm praying my second performance saved me.

After speaking with numerous people, everyone I know seemed to have similar experiences in which the first examiner was more gentle and easy while the second examiner is the tiger. I'm surprised you had the opposite experience. I could've sworn it was the ABA MO to ease the examiner with the chill first part and then really get at your core with the second.

Anyways I just took mine this week and can't wait to finally get my results to be done with it.


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[leaverus]

First, Do some research and you will find that there are other hotels within walking distance to the Hilton. You can save $80-100. The Hilton ABA rate is still kind of expensive.

i stayed at the extended stay America that's right across the street for like $60 and walked over the next morning. yeah i'm a cheapskate.

 

[Arch Guillotti]

I took it a few days ago. The first stem was difficult and I was paired with a very aggressive and unfriendly senior board examiner. He would interrupt me quite frequently and not give me a chance to answer his questions in a well thought out manner as I had practiced. He did a nice job trying to break my confidence and to second guess myself but I kept my composure and tried to remain confident. The junior board examiner was not as malignant. I'm pretty sure I failed the first part, although I feel I got at least half their questions right or more.

Going into the second stem I tried my best to shake off my performance from the first session, and it took me about a minute to recover before starting the second stem. The second stem and board examiners was like a whole new world. They were much nicer, allowed me to answer questions with well thought out answers and minimally interrupted me. The senior board examiner at times would redirect me at times to get the answer out of me, and the moment they asked the right question I gave them the answer they were looking for.

In summary I feel my first stem performance was anywhere from 2-4 out of 10, and second stem performance was 8-9 out of 10. I'm not sure if the senior board examiner failed me or not from the first stem, but I feel he did. As I left the first room, the junior board examiner said to take care of myself and I took it as a sign that he probably failed me.

I'm sure they will look at my two scores and see a huge discrepancy, and wonder why one examiner failed me or one session went so bad. I'm praying my second performance saved me.

I think this is pretty common. One good room and one bad one. Chances are you passed.

 

[Chloroform4Life]

i stayed at the extended stay America that's right across the street for like $60 and walked over the next morning. yeah i'm a cheapskate.

Lol. I dont want to get stabbed in my sleep so I booked the residence inn down the street. Still only $100 compared to $175 Hilton. Writing it off on my tax as well.

 

[GA8314]

"you have 85% chance of passing"

Let's say the chances of you passing are even better at 90%. With 10+ examinees per session (I think my session had 14) that still means that the odds are that at least 1 person in each group (4 groups per day) is going to fail (4-5 per day). So despite my great odds, all I could think of on the ride back to the airport was "Am I THAT guy?!" LOL... I kept thinking, especially when they talked about their "in-depth analysis and scaling methods" how exactly they go about grading. Like do they HAVE to make it so 85-90% pass? Like if all 14 people do well, do they watch the videos over and over and over again comparing the people and finding the 1 person who gave too small an intubating dose of sux? LOL. Or does everyone pass, and then they decide to grade more harshly or choose tougher stems for future dates to "Balance out" the results. I just assumed that the videotaping and review process and "scaling" only dealt with those examinees that might have had at least 1 examiner fail them, then they would audit the video. I can't imagine them sitting there for 2 weeks reviewing videos of everyone. I'm sure they look at examiner grades and determine who is easy and who is hard, and that might factor in when they get to a failed examinee, but can't imagine they could audit someone who "luckily" passed because they got 4 "easy" examiners. I'm sure they would get to that persons file, see 4 passes, cash their check (oh wait they did that months ago...), give them a stamp of certification and just move on

The worst was when you were talking to everyone on the bus and it seemed that despite having the same two stems, everyone seemed to have different thoughts or different questions asked. At that point it seemed to come down to "was I confident enough?" and "Did I do anything harmful?". It's funny on the ride to the testing center it was deathly silent, and nobody said a word to each other, but on the way back there was a lot of angst but everyone seemed to open up a little, and relieved that it was at least over, at least for then...

Those two weeks are BRUTAL... but it's such a relief to have passed. It was like being hazed for a fraternity, but despite giving them a ton of money, goig through the pledge process and being brutalized for a day, they could still decline you from their group. As the weeks go by my former co-residents have taken the test and all of us passed. There are still 2 more that have to take them. I feel sorry for them and wish them the best.

I hear you on this. I honestly felt "hazed" by this process. It's not the way we SHOULD feel but I did. I went into the exam knowing more than going into my writtens and having practiced quite a bit. I felt as if it would have been a major blow to have failed GIVEN how much I prepared and how hard I worked....

The "subjectivity" of it all makes us all uncomfortable. The relief I feel is substantial, but I would say to anyone that needs to revisit this to keep the faith and give yourself enough time to prepare. Work hard and go in with a positive attitude.

While I passed the first time, I know two good guys who had trouble the first time around, so it happens. Keep your chin up if this becomes you and attack it the next time. This is a hard process, but good preparation does make you better and you will feel more professional going in having prepared thoroughly. I don't see any other way......

That said, the process is very imperfect.

 

[sigrhoillusion]

I hear you on this. I honestly felt "hazed" by this process. It's not the way we SHOULD feel but I did. I went into the exam knowing more than going into my writtens and having practiced quite a bit. I felt as if it would have been a major blow to have failed GIVEN how much I prepared and how hard I worked....

The "subjectivity" of it all makes us all uncomfortable. The relief I feel is substantial, but I would say to anyone that needs to revisit this to keep the faith and give yourself enough time to prepare. Work hard and go in with a positive attitude.

While I passed the first time, I know two good guys who had trouble the first time around, so it happens. Keep your chin up if this becomes you and attack it the next time. This is a hard process, but good preparation does make you better and you will feel more professional going in having prepared thoroughly. I don't see any other way......

That said, the process is very imperfect.

I think the best feeling is knowing that after I passed, I would never ever ever EVER have to take it again! I feel like the writtens, if you're prepared you will pass. If you know your stuff you know your stuff, and you could have to take them every year and still pass. With the subjectivity, travel and variability of the orals, I feel like passing once doesn't guarantee a pass the second time and vice versa for failure.

 

[GA8314]

I think the best feeling is knowing that after I passed, I would never ever ever EVER have to take it again! I feel like the writtens, if you're prepared you will pass. If you know your stuff you know your stuff, and you could have to take them every year and still pass. With the subjectivity, travel and variability of the orals, I feel like passing once doesn't guarantee a pass the second time and vice versa for failure.

Yep, I feel the same way. Oh well, glad it's over.

 

[WHOIZME]

Results are out. Was worried but passed! What a relief.