board results everyone?
Started by radonc
Everyone I've spoken with has passed radbio and physics (n=5), but I also haven't actively pursued the issue with the other residents I know. I personally thought that physics was harder than what I expected, and radbio much easier. Apparently the scoring from previous years gave a quartile rank of your performance on each test, but on this year's exam, it was merely "passed" or not. According to the ABR website, last year 95% and 98% passed physics and radbio respectively. http://www.theabr.org/RO_Pri_Score.htm
Previous years gave you a percentile rank (0-100%), not just a quartile range. Moreover, for the clinical board exam, you get a breakdown of how you did in different sections (like they do for the inservice exam). Oral exam is just pass/fail. You don't get your actual scores.
Everyone I've talked to said that physics was very different than expected in terms of what it covered. Ironically, the physics boards curriculum update was published in the red journal AFTER the boards.
i felt the physics was do-able and the biology was tougher for me than the physics...but its just a personal opinion. a lot of people felt the opposite as me.
yeah they didnt publish the percentile/quartile rank...and people have been complaining about that...people have said that they wouldnt have studied as hard if they knew they wouldnt have been given a 'score'. there really is no need for a percentile/quartile, unless you just want to boost your ego.
Personally, after the sinking feeling I had following the physics section, I was almost relieved to not receive a score (given that I passed). The biology section was much more what I expected (although that just means the scores would have been very tightly bunched, so my percentile might not have been any better). I'm just glad it's over.
For those of us applying to programs currently, are the average board scores or pass rates of the various programs ever published anywhere?
