Clinical boards

[PhotonBomb]

Well look at the position they are in to be fair - on one hand you have people questioning the utility of continuing testing to prove competency and on the other hand you have people saying that you should never be allowed to be done with testing

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[medgator]

Well look at the position they are in to be fair - on one hand you have people questioning the utility of continuing testing to prove competency and on the other hand you have people saying that you should never be allowed to be done with testing

One of those positions is probably closer to the truth... Hell you started a thread about it yesterday

 

[evilbooyaa]

Please, let's criticize ABR. Not only because they "hurt" us, the diplomates, but also because now I'm afraid they're hurting patients. And I don't say that lightly.

I meant in regards to the boards re-scheduling situation specifically. I agree with their other issues.

 

[PhotonBomb]

 

[deleted774703]

Study question

Is doing all of the old raphex questions for last 5 years or so enough to pass physics boards?

I don't like reading textbooks lol

 

[medgator]

Study question

Is doing all of the old raphex questions for last 5 years or so enough to pass physics boards?

I don't like reading textbooks lol

Over a decade ago it was. Khan is unreadable so i bought that green book to help explain things and did a bunch of raphex and passed

 

[deleted774703]

Over a decade ago it was. Khan is unreadable so i bought that green book to help explain things and did a bunch of raphex and passed

Thanks @medgator Which green book?

Anyone else have some non-conventional tips? McDermott boring too IMO

 

[PhotonBomb]

If too want to pass physics, remember IMPT is always the answer

Just ask Carbonionangle and Nancy Lee

 

[medgator]

Thanks @medgator Which green book?

Anyone else have some non-conventional tips? McDermott boring too IMO

Guess it is blue now

Applied Physics for Radiation Oncology, Revised Edition Amazon product

 

[metallica81788]

Study question

Is doing all of the old raphex questions for last 5 years or so enough to pass physics boards?

I don't like reading textbooks lol

Tons of RAPHEX - forgot how far back I went.
McDermott for things I was really bad at.
Question Based Review of Physics (blue book) really helped me

 

[evilbooyaa]

Study question

Is doing all of the old raphex questions for last 5 years or so enough to pass physics boards?

I don't like reading textbooks lol

Lots of Raphex is likely sufficient. ROQuestions was starting to rebuild its physics/rad bio sections last year so I didn't use it much, but they seem to have a robust bank of questions now.

That being said, it's been postponed from July. Not personally sure of the utility of doing any sort of 'hard core' studying more than 3 months out, IMO.

 

[Mandelin Rain]

I feel like having a strong mastery of similar triangle geometry answered about a third of the exam for me.

 

[dieABRdie]

Study question

Is doing all of the old raphex questions for last 5 years or so enough to pass physics boards?

I don't like reading textbooks lol

Not sure my advice is worth anything considering I failed the first time around... but I would highly recommend to be sure that you actually understand the material in the raphex questions rather than just going through the motions. I was loathe to read a physics textbook but wish I would have read Mcdermott from the start.

And the RO questions bank for rad bio/physics has gotten MUCH better. I think the physics questions were pretty representative of the style of the actual test.

 

[KHE88]

Study question

Is doing all of the old raphex questions for last 5 years or so enough to pass physics boards?

I don't like reading textbooks lol

In 2018, no you would have failed for sure.
In 2019, yes you probably would have been fine.
In 2020... ???????

With the utter nonsense in the reliability and consistency of these exams and the statistical voodoo of how they are graded, combined with the fact you can only take them once every 365 days, why in the world would you risk it?

The new normal is wasting months rather than weeks overstudying for these exams. You should at least read McDermott all the way through, understanding everything and taking notes, and ideally doing the chapter questions. At least the physics knowledge is fundamentally more practical for us than having to waste time learning most of bio, which is about as related a discipline as contract theory or something (probably more useful).

Just doing a couple of Raphex exams and hoping for the best is a fool's errand. You're going to be leaving a lot of holes and missing core concepts by doing that. Sorry.

Edit: For reference, I read McDermott cover-to-cover, taking time to understand and digest every word. Then I did inservices and 3 raphex exams, and I barely passed in 2018. I was always consistently 90+ percentile on inservice too. Don't underestimate the basic physics component (the first few chapters of McDermott). They LOVE to pick out random facts from that. For basic physics, you have to go a little beyond grasping fundamentals to outright rote memorizing particle s---.

 

[PhotonBomb]

In 2018, no you would have failed for sure.
In 2019, yes you probably would have been fine.
In 2020... ???????

With the utter nonsense in the reliability and consistency of these exams and the statistical voodoo of how they are graded, combined with the fact you can only take them once every 365 days, why in the world would you risk it?

The new normal is wasting months rather than weeks overstudying for these exams. You should at least read McDermott all the way through, understanding everything and taking notes, and ideally doing the chapter questions. At least the physics knowledge is fundamentally more practical for us than having to waste time learning most of bio, which is about as related a discipline as contract theory or something (probably more useful).

Just doing a couple of Raphex exams and hoping for the best is a fool's errand. You're going to be leaving a lot of holes and missing core concepts by doing that. Sorry.

Edit: For reference, I read McDermott cover-to-cover, taking time to understand and digest every word. Then I did inservices and 3 raphex exams, and I barely passed in 2018. I was always consistently 90+ percentile on inservice too. Don't underestimate the basic physics component (the first few chapters of McDermott). They LOVE to pick out random facts from that. For basic physics, you have to go a little beyond grasping fundamentals to outright rote memorizing particle s---.

No complaining. You need to pull yourself up by your bootstraps.

When it comes down to it, it’s all about personal responsibility. No one owes you anything.

 

[KHE88]

No complaining. You need to pull yourself up by your bootstraps.

When it comes down to it, it’s all about personal responsibility. No one owes you anything.

That's a good life philosophy in general. But in this situation the ABR has a monopoly and it's about holding them accountable to what their mission is supposed to be. Are we asking for handouts from the ABR? No, we're just asking that they certify us as competent doctors using criteria that actually measure competence.

Also, I know you were just trolling.

 

[deleted774703]

Thanks to all the responses! I appreciate the different viewpoints

@KHE88 @PhotonBomb @dieABRdie @Mandelin Rain @evilbooyaa @medgator @metallica81788

 

[evilbooyaa]

I will give the caveat that I studied more than I was planning to based on the class of 2019's pass rate issues in 2018, but then the pass rate was like 95% and most people who took the exam both years anecdotally felt that it was two radically different tests (where 2019 more similar to Raphex style, similar to 2017 and previous years).

I feel that the exam format will likely continue like it was in 2019 (and that 2018 was just an outlier both in exam content and resulting pass scores), but no guarantees in life.

 

[atomicMD2025]

For the radiobiology component of the exam what are people using? I like the RQB Radbio but that is about it. I want more questions but can't find good sources. Thanks!

 

[xrthopeful]

For the radiobiology component of the exam what are people using? I like the RQB Radbio but that is about it. I want more questions but can't find good sources. Thanks!

ASTRO exams

 

[evilbooyaa]

Revamped ROQuestions seemed pretty good.