Best study guide for clinical and oral Rad Onc board exam

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peach12

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What is the best study guide for rapid review and preparation for the clinical and oral Rad Onc Board exams?

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peach12 said:
What is the best study guide for rapid review and preparation for the clinical and oral Rad Onc Board exams?

Thank you
Click to expand...

There is no "rapid" review unless you want to do it again.

The Ward (essentials of clinical RO) and Triffiletti (Absolute clinical RO review) books will get you through. Read both all the way through taking your own notes of what to memorize. The Videtic handbook of treatment planning is also extremely helpful for studying how to describe planning.
The MDACC PDF is helpful to go through as a flowchart for practice cases. I would not use it as a standalone study resource although I know some do.
Do a mock oral somewhere so the format is not a surprise. Use ASTRO refresher materials finally to polish with any new updates to be aware of.
 
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Oral boards is prep for academic chart rounds. Just apologize for what you said, accept their advice, and set the dmax at 45 Gy. Should get you by. And all of what moonbeams said. I did Osler, which was meh, but helpful. I think the biggest help was having study partners and going through old powerpoints you hopefully have access to.
 
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For clinical writtens, RadOncQuestions is king. I hesitate to say it's "all" you need, mostly because I have absolutely NO idea what is the line between passing and failing. I'm pretty sure it'll get you through though.

Orals...well, far and away the best prep is having a very busy clinical job as a generalist.

Since that's not something you can generalize, I really like Absolute Clinical RadOnc. Just ignore the pages where they summarize study data. Osler was helpful to get a feel for it.

Since everyone has varying levels of access to "inherited" PowerPoints and whatnot, if I had to study from absolute scratch, I would basically make a list of the most common indications for radiation from each disease site.

So for breast I'd say DCIS, early stage, locally advanced. Then, using a combo of NCCN, Absolute Clinical, and other resources, I'd make a "Top 5-10 most likely cases". Know anatomy, constraints, doses, and what makes one case different from the other.

While I definitely had some weird cases...and weird examiners...I'd say the majority of my exam experience was based on "Top 20 Things Coming Through The Door on Any Given Day".
 
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Ray D. Ayshun said:
Oral boards is prep for academic chart rounds. Just apologize for what you said, accept their advice, and set the dmax at 45 Gy.
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Interesting. PP chart rounds is the opposite. F off, how dare you question me, I'll give 90 Gy EQD2 to bowel if I want to...

elementaryschooleconomics said:
So for breast I'd say DCIS, early stage, locally advanced. Then, using a combo of NCCN, Absolute Clinical, and other resources, I'd make a "Top 5-10 most likely cases". Know anatomy, constraints, doses, and what makes one case different from the other.

While I definitely had some weird cases...and weird examiners...I'd say the majority of my exam experience was based on "Top 20 Things Coming Through The Door on Any Given Day".
Click to expand...

I disagree for breast. Breast is an exercise in torturing you with stuff you never do. Lets start with reading this mammogram and looking at some path slides. Oh you're struggling with that? Interesting, lets spend 10 minutes digging into that and freak you out that you're going to fail because we haven't even got to dose and fractionation on the first case yet. It is a Special section to prepare for, that's for sure.
 
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Moonbeams said:
Interesting. PP chart rounds is the opposite. F off, how dare you question me, I'll give 90 Gy EQD2 to bowel if I want to...



I disagree for breast. Breast is an exercise in torturing you with stuff you never do. Lets start with reading this mammogram and looking at some path slides. Oh you're struggling with that? Interesting, lets spend 10 minutes digging into that and freak you out that you're going to fail because we haven't even got to dose and fractionation on the first case yet. It is a Special section to prepare for, that's for sure.
Click to expand...
Hahahaha, this made my night.

Until I read your post, I had literally blocked out the mammogram stuff. Honestly forgot. My brain was really trying to protect me. I definitely learned how to read mammograms solely for orals, and haven't looked at one since.

My examiner for breast was awesome (verified outside my experience by a friend who trained with her), and I treat A LOT of breast so that wasn't a memorable section.

But that's the BEST PART about orals. While I found breast and gyn to be a breeze, I know that's not the norm. Conversely, I had insanely strange cases...and people...in sections most of my friends felt like they waltzed through.

Fun!
 
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elementaryschooleconomics said:
For clinical writtens, RadOncQuestions is king. I hesitate to say it's "all" you need, mostly because I have absolutely NO idea what is the line between passing and failing. I'm pretty sure it'll get you through though.

Orals...well, far and away the best prep is having a very busy clinical job as a generalist.

Since that's not something you can generalize, I really like Absolute Clinical RadOnc. Just ignore the pages where they summarize study data. Osler was helpful to get a feel for it.

Since everyone has varying levels of access to "inherited" PowerPoints and whatnot, if I had to study from absolute scratch, I would basically make a list of the most common indications for radiation from each disease site.

So for breast I'd say DCIS, early stage, locally advanced. Then, using a combo of NCCN, Absolute Clinical, and other resources, I'd make a "Top 5-10 most likely cases". Know anatomy, constraints, doses, and what makes one case different from the other.

While I definitely had some weird cases...and weird examiners...I'd say the majority of my exam experience was based on "Top 20 Things Coming Through The Door on Any Given Day".
Click to expand...

For orals - I know they are the devil but ABR actually has a list of diagnoses within each section that you may get asked on that I used as a guide of what sorts of cases to talk through when we were talking out cases with one another. It's a bit much to get super bogged down in (better used as a "basic checklist" of stuff to consider) but at least gives you an exhaustive list of what they can ask you.

I am fortunate enough to not received a mammogram image on my breast. Although I argued with my examiner for about 10 minutes across two different cases b/c he/she managed the cases in a different way. Not wrong per se, just a true variation in practice and wanted me to basically do WBI alone when I was recommending RNI
 
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Thanks so much for your advice guys :)
What are your best resources for Rad Bio and Rad Physics prep?
 
peach12 said:
Thanks so much for your advice guys :)
What are your best resources for Rad Bio and Rad Physics prep?
Click to expand...

In addition to RadOncQuestions, physics and rad bio have practice tests, RAPHEX and ASTRO (maybe?) makes them, respectively.

Here is the ABR list mentioned above, I agree it's too general to be helpful. It also includes a link to the "non-clinical" topics you might be asked about, including QI, safety, questions about computers, etc.

ABR

Study Guide for Clinical (General and Radiation Oncology) Last verified on September 7, 2023 Download this study guide in printable .pdf format This exam is designed to assess your understanding of the entire field of oncology and radiation oncology. Included are questions on the following...
www.theabr.org www.theabr.org
 
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At least noobdy has to relive Louisville.. amirite?

What a shythole that place was.. and the joy certain examiners took in pleasuring themselves while destroying residents. You guys don't even have to worry about the dark ages.. you know.. like when competing institutional ego blowhards used to fail each others residents just to be nasty..
 
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Osler. Louisville. (Shudders). Unngh. Distant dark memories. Dank self-righteous examiners in some cases, causing harm to hapless residents.

I'll never forget one of mine, who naturally still works at big boi academic center. I walked in and was met with INSTANT FULL BLOWN HOSTILITY. Something wasn't right.

"Please draw me the borders of a typical bladder cancer patient."

"But, there is no target, you're showing me a simple radiograph."

"Fine, pretend there is a target and draw me standard borders."

"yeah, but what if the bladder is huge? the standard boarder anteriorly won't cover it. (thinking this was a trick question)"

"JUST DO IT ANYWAY!" ok..

moving on..

then.. this POS then gave me a PRONE PATIENT and asked me about something something prostate. ARE YOU F'N KIDDING ME. I lost my mind trying to figure out what was going on -because as you might expect under exam conditions, I was seriously rattled by this absurd nonsense. Then asked me some esoteric question about isodose lines. The examiner said "the patient is prone" and I nearly yelled out loud "oh my god! why? why would anyone do that? no wonder I'm so confused."

Yeah, got dinged. Retaken with 2 more examiners, no nonsense questions, passed without issue. First and only negative test taking mark in my entire academic career. As in, for reals.

Yeah, see you next tuesday is exactly right. Its been more than 20 years. I haven't forgotten.

And I have a pretty good suspicion of why it was done, at the behest of another. Don't worry though, I got my chance later to deliver some well deserved karma to the likely instigator.
 
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peach12 said:
What is the best study guide for rapid review and preparation for the clinical and oral Rad Onc Board exams?

Thank you
Click to expand...
mskcc has a tons of old board recalls on their network drive. Much bigger help than any book or study guide.
 
RickyScott said:
mskcc has a tons of old board recalls on their network drive. Much bigger help than any book or study guide.
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Widely accessible to all, no doubt?

Oh, guess not. How naive of me.


Seriously though would be nice to see
 
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Osler has a video archive of mock oral exams. Just use your CME money
 
RickyScott said:
Heard a rumor that a rotating outside resident once downloaded the files off the drive.
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When I joined my multi-institution oral boards study group, it became apparent that my home institution's slides were actually just Harvard's slides re-labelled. Also, this was true for several other institutions. :rofl:
 
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TheWallnerus said:
Are such recalls "illegal" nowadays
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Never understood why "recalls" are illegal for the orals - you still have to say the correct things and walk through the case to show your knowledge
It's not like getting a copy of the questions from a multiple choice test
That's just lazy from the examiners if they're going to repeat the exact same things year after year
 
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A struggling PGY5 here. Is anyone interested in a study group to do radoncquestions.com to prep the written board exam in May? Please feel free to message me. Thank you!
 
New grad looking for a study group for oral boards. If anyone is interested PM me.
 
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I used radoncquestions for my clinical boards and did just fine.

For oral boards, joining a study group, making your own topic presentations particularly in weak topics, and doing mock orals with one another.

I did use the Osler Review too. Part of it is getting comfortable with presenting and hearing different ways questions are being asked.
 
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PharMed2016 said:
I used radoncquestions for my clinical boards and did just fine.

For oral boards, joining a study group, making your own topic presentations particularly in weak topics, and doing mock orals with one another.

I did use the Osler Review too. Part of it is getting comfortable with presenting and hearing different ways questions are being asked.
Click to expand...
You used the osler review for oral boards? Did you find it helpful for the oral section or just written?
 
Osler: wow thats a 20+ year old memory. I recall a couple people going thru the course who were prior failures, one wore a cast on their arm. I wonder if they passed the 2nd time.
 
d32 said:
You used the osler review for oral boards? Did you find it helpful for the oral section or just written?
Click to expand...
Used only for orals not written. Thought it was valuable mainly for the confidence boost of mock orals and a better feel for the style of questions. Prior years videos were invaluable.

Imo not meant for gaining knowledge but best used to polish delivery/get used to format.
 
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d32 said:
You used the osler review for oral boards? Did you find it helpful for the oral section or just written?
Click to expand...
Only for oral boards and it was like literally the week or two prior. As someone mentioned, more of a confidence booster. If you haven't been practicing with a group... could be useful in helping you identify weak areas.
 
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