FYI - To be CORE faculty in a residency program, ACGME requires board certification within 2 years of graduation of residency.
What exactly do you mean by this?
If I become board certified in year four of my eligibility period, the entire time working in the community, and then apply for an academic job, I can't be a core faculty member eventually? That doesn't sound right. Can you clarify?
If you're willing to share more detail in private, shoot me a PM. I'd be interested in learning more about your experience pursuing research and a doctoral degree post-residency.
Thanks for your interest! I'm a weirdo, and my passions took me in an unorthodox direction, but it seems to be working out great thus far... I'll shoot you a message with a vague but a bit less vague elaboration.
I think one other thing that may come up is the fact that lots of new attendings are busy and still manage to take and pass their boards. While it sounds like you have some significant accomplishments during that time, your situation as explained so far is not unique enough to explain not taking boards (I know people who worked 200 hrs/ month and while opening up businesses, people who had triplets while getting ready, etc)
Let me put it this way for you: I was way busier in the last couple years than during residency. Shrug. I'm not trying to compete with anyone, and I realize other people are busy in life too. I'm simply stating that I was stretched thin.
Choosing to delay them tends to convey the message (rightly or wrongly) that you are not confident in your ability to pass your boards. How much time are you anticipating to spend on taking your boards? The written test lasts less than a day. Most people study for and pass it by simply doing some practice questions for a few hours a day for a week or so. The oral boards tend to kill a weekend give or take when you include travel time. People have different approaches to studying for oral boards, but if you are time-pressed there are several 2-3 day review courses that adequately prepare you.
I'm not trying to be harsh on any of this, just trying to help you see this from an employer's standpoint.
I'm not worried at all about passing the boards, as I've never had a problem with tests, and this certainly won't be the first time suddenly. However, there is some obscure information on the boards, which I would need to brush up on before taking the exam. Yes, if I took it literally this second, I'd probably fail because of that. But, given the regular amount of time one studies for such a test, I'll do just fine. Also, I don't simply want to pass the test, but I want to use it as an opportunity to consolidate knowledge. I anticipate studying for the test over the course of 1-2 months while working and doing other things. Ideally, one run of Hippo EM would be great, along with questions for a few days.
As a side note, my personal experience has been that people tend to heavily understate how much they studied for such exams, I suppose to look innately smarter. Shrug. Just my opinion.
Having said all that, I hear you loud and clear. I'm heavily debating forcing myself to fit the boards this year, which is the whole reason I opened this thread, to help with that decision. It will be tough--and I don't truly know if it will be possible given what I have planned this year--but, I think I can give it a decent shot. I'm just trying to think in my head how many hours it would take to listen to the Hippo EM videos.... On the other hand, I'm wondering if I can cut down the time by picking up a board review book. I'll have to search the forum for a thread on this topic to see if there is such a text available, which can suffice. Anyhoo, I'm talking to myself now... I hear you loud and clear. I'm debating in my head.
Thanks all!
