Anesthesia Oral Board Prep

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GassiusClay said:
In your post on anesthesia oral boards, you mention the ABA character. What do you mean by that?
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johan hasn't posted in a while, what i think he meant is that they want you to answer the questions their way.
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Still looking for HO's oral prep book and workbook. Pm me if you have one. Thanks.
 
Don't delay contacting Dr. Ho at [email protected] or 800-772-1242. The sooner you make contact, the better. His course is simply awesome! Believe me, he has the right formula for passing the orals. If you decided to use his service, his emails are invaluable; don't ignore them.

Practice, pratice, practice verbalizing. Use anyone for practice tests; they don't have to be medical personnel to ask you questions. Your response is the key.

Good luck!
 
poi890 said:
Don't delay contacting Dr. Ho at [email protected] or 800-772-1242. The sooner you make contact, the better. His course is simply awesome! Believe me, he has the right formula for passing the orals. If you decided to use his service, his emails are invaluable; don't ignore them.

Practice, pratice, practice verbalizing. Use anyone for practice tests; they don't have to be medical personnel to ask you questions. Your response is the key.

Good luck!
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Michale ho is hysterical. He has so much passion for helping people pass his boards, He stays up til all hours of the night. I remember following him around the hotel at like 11 pm asking him questions. and he was as enthusiastic as he was at 7 am when we started. I met his son who is like 7 or 8 now and he looks just like mike just a smaller and younger version.
 
I have a copy of Mike Ho's most recent course textbook (700+pages) as well as 10 must know cases from one of his courses. Need to unload them to make space on bookcase for non-anesthesia related reading.
 
The most common reason for failing the oral boards is lack of knowledge. So you have to study and fully understand anesthesia beyond being able to pass the written boards. For written boards you just have to pick an answer that sounds good. For the oral boards you have to state that answer from scratch, consisely and in a timely manner. Beyond knowledge you are also being tested on your problem solving ability and adaptability. Reading and building your knowledge base is just the begining. You need to practice aloud and prcatice a lot. By the time I did my oral boards I had performed over 50 practice exams. I also helped my wife get ready for hers and she did about the same number. Some might say this was overkill, but by the time we both got to our exam we felt pretty confident with almost anything they could throw at us. While people pass every year without going to course, I nevertheless strongly recommend that you attend one. My personal favorite is Michael Ho. His approach to studying for the boards is essentially to make you a good, knowledgeable and competent anesthesiologist. Other courses recommend that you memorize "spiels" and barf them back at the examiners after you have camoflaged them. Both my wife and I attended Ho's course, have read his prep book and we both feel that his course and the oral board preparation not only allowed us to pass but made us better at our jobs. Rarely does a week go by that I don't find myself explaining to a surgeon or a family member or a patient as to why I am performing (or cancelling) a particular anesthetic in very much the same way I did for my board examiners. Practice aloud, practice often and take the Ho course early.
 
I am trying to decide between Gallagher's board stiff course or Michael Ho. Has anyone gone to either of these this year? A friend of mine just got back from Ho's and was very disappointed with the examiners during the mock orals. However, I have heard good things from others about Ho. I just haven't heard much about Board Stiff. Any input would be appreciated.
 
the reason your friend was disappointed is because he took the 2 day course or the f4 day course. which is good. but the examiners he hires (faculty members at universities) are not that good. the way to do it is to take the 2 or 4 day course.. read the whole text once over or twice. then take 20 must know cases like 3 sessions of it. Then you will be prepared
 
maceo said:
the reason your friend was disappointed is because he took the 2 day course or the f4 day course. which is good. but the examiners he hires (faculty members at universities) are not that good. the way to do it is to take the 2 or 4 day course.. read the whole text once over or twice. then take 20 must know cases like 3 sessions of it. Then you will be prepared
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Thanks for the input. Does anyone have any new info on Gallagher?
 
Hi,
Can someone tell me if the Anesthesia Oral Board Review Course offered by Rashad University is good?
 
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No posts here for a while. Need some revival!
Just found out I passed writtens, now looking for oral board prep. I'm a smart guy and do very well IF I take a prep course. This was true for MCATs. Failed to take writtens seriously since I had received a "passing" score as a CA-3 without any real prep. So I did the same thing after completing residency, i.e., little prep. Failed on the first attempt. Miserable for a year, took Jensen's Big Blue textbook and read it five times. Nailed the freaking exam (I thought while taking it) and just found out I passed. Not sure of the score, but I'm pretty sure I did damn well. Now the Q.
I thought Big Blue was full of typos, repetitive, strong in parts and weak in others. It seemed a bit dated. But then on the real exam I found out it ROCKED. I think the exam really doesn't change that much over the years.
Now it is time for orals. Go with Jensen cause he served me well on writtens? Or go with Ho cause that seems to be the prep course of choice these days? I saw a post from a few years ago from a guy who said he had taken both and had plusses and minusses for both. Anyone else taken both or have special insight.
I will definitely take a course. Don't want another year like the last.
Hope others had a some good news this week, and hope to see y'all in Atlanta.
 
Passed my oral boards. Started off with Ho's 2 day course, didn't really like it much, but it got me started. Mostly used Yao & Artusio's Clinical Anesthesia and practiced with the retired ABA exams with faculty and friends.
 
I thought Big Blue was full of typos, repetitive, strong in parts and weak in others. It seemed a bit dated. But then on the real exam I found out it ROCKED. I think the exam really doesn't change that much over the years.
Now it is time for orals. Go with Jensen cause he served me well on writtens?

Don't Buy Big Red if you already have Big Blue. Big Red is basically Big Blue rearranged with some deletions and 2 or 3 new chapters. I had a friend😀 who read through both and made copies of all the new info in big red and stuffed it in his big blue notes. I went through this souped up version of big blue two months before the boards. I also took Micheal Ho which was good and BoardStiffLive in Las Vegas...which was OK.

My oral boards questions in Phoenix were very basic questions..... my examiners were friendly unlike Micheal Ho who basically called me a ******* in front if my class. Doesn't matter because I passed. HAHA
 
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looking for an oral board study partner for Oct exam. we can do it over the phone or skype.
 
The definition of a Ho is someone who screws you for money.....just saying!
 
ether123 said:
I agree with an earlier post that practice is the key. ultimately everyone needs to find what works for them, but I think www.justoralboards.com is a solid course. The whole premise is doing mock exams and u learn as u are in the hot seat, which i think is better than the jensen/ho lecture style. just me 2 cents...
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And this is just the 20th time you've said that, or am I missing a zero?
 
If the flurry of reported posts is any indication, and I think it is, I'm not the only one who has grown weary of this Groundhog Day testimonial blitz every spring and fall when oral board results are released.


The line between an ad (spam) and a helpful personal anecdote intended to help others can be thin and blurry ... but on the whole I think unsolicited testimonials, especially just after board results are released, are too close to the ad side for the forum.

Posts that offer nothing more than endorsements of a product or service will be flagged as spam and removed. Let's limit replies to congratulating those who passed, offering support to those who will next time, and discussing preparation strategies that aren't simply testimonials. Thanks.
 
no but seriously don't take these exams lightly. Some may do well without any help but if u need some extra help, then don't feel ashamed about getting it. whatever course you think works for u, try it and see. it can't hurt?
 
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