Just took the recert exam, tricks/tips:
1- Pearson VUE testing center usually has about 8-10 testing cubicles. Since they test all kinds of professions from Internal Medicine to Rad Onc to paralegal etc. etc., advanced booking is the key to get it in your city!
I made the mistake of booking the test ONLY 2 months ahead: guess what, no space in my city so I had to drive 60 miles to the next city!
So book yours about 6-8 months ahead to get the slot in your city.
2- About 200 questions (they give you 4h to do it).
3- Very fair questions, 95% clinically relevant and 5% is Basic Physics and Basic Radiobiology.
4- It was an interesting experience because I graduated in 1995, did it in 2001 (as a guinea pig for ABR) and now do it again.
- If you have been practising covering all sites, you should not have any issues passing it.
- If your practice is limited to a few sites (let's say you do only breast and prostate), it is helpful to get the Handbook of Radiation Oncology written by E. Hansen and M. Roach. About $60-80 online.
- It is good to keep up the knowledge of other sites even though you don't do it. It is part of being a rad. oncologist to be well-rounded.
- Know the AJCC staging well. It was changed to 7th version this year. You can see the
highlight of the CHANGES here:
http://www.cancerstaging.org/staging/changes2010.pdf
- Most of you are busy, so my recommendation is to start reading some 3-4 months ahead of the exam so you can go at a leisurely pace. Bring the book to your kids' soccer games and read it while waiting for the kids.
---> But again don't sweat too much, you should be able to pass the exam with minimal studying. But most of you want to be good doctors right? So read the
Handbook of Radiation Oncology written by E. Hansen and M. Roach to be a good radiation oncologist (don't become rusty!), it was fun reading for me.
So have fun keeping it up and I hope with time, as more ABR candidates with 10-yr certificate entering the pool, the yearly fees drop from the current payment of $380/year to a LOWER level!!! There are some 3500 rad. oncologists in the US, ABR should be able to lower the fees in the future!
Good Luck!
