How to prepare for oral boards?

[Angry Birds]

How did you guys do it? I realize it's around the corner...

I can't seem to find any online courses for this...

I think I'm just gonna check out First Aid and/or this boring looking book here. Going out to a course seems way too expensive...

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[Angry Birds]

Never mind, I forked out the cash for AAEM. Better safe than sorry.

 

[NYEMMED]

How did you guys do it? I realize it's around the corner...

I can't seem to find any online courses for this...

I think I'm just gonna check out First Aid and/or this boring looking book here. Going out to a course seems way too expensive...

I used the Okuda book, went through it 2-3 times and it was fine, passed.

 

[arandazzo88]

In the long run, it'll be worth the money. The return on investment will be worth it!

 

[swamprat]

Never mind, I forked out the cash for AAEM. Better safe than sorry.

I did the exact same thing and took the course. Taking the exam in a month or so but the course was great I am very happy I forked over the cash although it took a lot of back and forth before I bit the bullet. I am not just using the okuda book but everything makes more sense now that I have the context of the course under my belt.

 

[deleted859535]

Another vote for the Okuda book. This plus prepping with a friend or two, mock oral board style as some residencies do, was adequate.

Felt horrible walking out. I would have been more comfortable having taken a review course. But I still passed.

 

[slurpy15]

Wear a suit.

 

[deleted497653]

+1 for Okuda book. Read about five cases a day. I personally didn’t practice with someone else but made sure to read out loud and write down things like I would on the real thing. You want to go “by the book” so to speak...ie IV, O2, full history, must ask all patients allergies and other meds, and monitor for all patients (even when it seems overkill)and then methodically. Don’t use the book as a general guide but rather follow it to the T

 

[deleted497653]

Wear a suit.

Actually you can get away with just dress pant and dress shirt (+tie for men). As usual women can get away with more choices on wardrobe but nothing too different from the norm

 

[Groove]

I did the AAEM course and it was extremely high yield. Otherwise, I did the Carol Rivers review (with audio) and read about half the Okuda book. Test day was easy and I felt overly prepared. I had a couple of cases that were almost identical to ones from the AAEM course. It's expensive, but worth the $$$ IMO.

 

[trackrunner321]

All you need is the Okuda book. Read through it a couple times and practice doing cases with friends.

 

[Angry Birds]

Thanks for the input, folks. I'm doing the Okuda book and will do the AAEM course after all. I get especially nervous with oral boards.

Question: do we need to know doses for everything?

 

[deleted859535]

Thanks for the input, folks. I'm doing the Okuda book and will do the AAEM course after all. I get especially nervous with oral boards.

Question: do we need to know doses for everything?

ACLS/RSI, yes. Common meds, ideally. Not everything. If you forget some dose of something and want to verify it, that's okay. You can say that.

 

[Groove]

It’s a game man... The cases aren’t difficult and there aren’t any trick questions. The challenge lies in the artificial nature of the exam and the odd format. Familiarize yourself with the scoring criteria so you know what they need to hear to ”check that box”. Otherwise, anything that gives you a sense of confidence and familiarity with the exam format decreases your chance of having a brain fart, freezing or forgetting something incredibly simple yet required for the case. Master the fundamentals first and memorize cases last. Most of the cases, in reality are ones you’ve seen a million times and could manage with a hand tied behind your back on a real pt.

 

[Angry Birds]

ACLS/RSI, yes. Common meds, ideally. Not everything. If you forget some dose of something and want to verify it, that's okay. You can say that.

''

Thanks for the answer, Veil and Groove.

I was thinking about stuff like Dextrose for kids... I can never remember that without cramming it into my brain before an exam...

 

[Groove]

I wouldn’t waste a lot of time memorizing dosing. Basic stuff... you can always say “I’d check with pharmacy or Epocrates to get the correct dose of X”. If you said something like “Give weight based dose of Tylenol to the kid, they might say “what is weight based?”, but it’s not one of the major scoring criteria and they aren’t going to belabor you if you suddenly go blank on the dose of a particular med. I would recommend memorizing your dosing on acls/rsi/sedation/anaphylaxis/common drugs but it’s not a big part of the exam. Most of the dosing for these cases you’re going to automatically know because you give them all the time.

Remember, >95% of people pass this test on the first try. The odds are overwhelmingly in your favor so try and relax on test day.

 

[deleted109597]

Rocephin for meningitis is sometimes brought up.
Always say D10, and state "that's what we use at my local shop." They won't count off for not knowing dosing of d50 etc.

 

[Angry Birds]

Next critical action? Consult pepid.

 

[gro2001]

I used the Okuda book and practiced those cases mock oral boards style. The book is written in a way that even someone with no medical background can help you practice.