Oral Board Course-which one ? here are some tips

[Sunshine 88]

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I have been the unfortunate one who has taken 3 different ones ,so here is My opinion about them.
Ho
I took the must know cases.here u take abunch of exams with a partner at the course, who may not really challenge you ,as a board examiner does.so this was not useful.Ho teaches one or two cases and then briefly goes over the answers of the stems.
Jensen
He swears that Big Red is the whole and sole and will get u through.It is a good summary of what u need to know but,some material is outdated.His case stems are somewhat close to the real deal.
Board stiff
This is an expensive one.I liked it initially but by the end of the long day,it seemde like the the same tips were given over and over again.Also they make u feel u can say some things on the exam and get away with that,but do not do that!
I do not recommend this one.

The real exam
Very tough stems with many co morbities and complicating scenarios.You have only 30 mins to prove yourself!!
Preg,trauma,smoke inhalation all together and then complications like arrest,delivery,fetal brady etc etc...

So the best advice is study hard on your own and practice with someome who will challenge u well. You have be very concise and organized in your answers!

 

[PinchandBurn]

I have been the unfortunate one who has taken 3 different ones ,so here is My opinion about them.
Ho
I took the must know cases.here u take abunch of exams with a partner at the course, who may not really challenge you ,as a board examiner does.so this was not useful.Ho teaches one or two cases and then briefly goes over the answers of the stems.
Jensen
He swears that Big Red is the whole and sole and will get u through.It is a good summary of what u need to know but,some material is outdated.His case stems are somewhat close to the real deal.
Board stiff
This is an expensive one.I liked it initially but by the end of the long day,it seemde like the the same tips were given over and over again.Also they make u feel u can say some things on the exam and get away with that,but do not do that!
I do not recommend this one.

The real exam
Very tough stems with many co morbities and complicating scenarios.You have only 30 mins to prove yourself!!
Preg,trauma,smoke inhalation all together and then complications like arrest,delivery,fetal brady etc etc...

So the best advice is study hard on your own and practice with someome who will challenge u well. You have be very concise and organized in your answers!

Ho's course is likely the best.

It's not just a course for the 'boards'. I think it also allows you to pull together in a very unique way everything you learned in residency. Listening to him rationale through any predicament is truly a marvel to observe. You learn so much just hearing the guy get out of tough situations.

I highly recommend his course.

 

[Gern Blansten]

Ho's course is likely the best.

It's not just a course for the 'boards'. I think it also allows you to pull together in a very unique way everything you learned in residency. Listening to him rationale through any predicament is truly a marvel to observe. You learn so much just hearing the guy get out of tough situations.

I highly recommend his course.

I would agree with this. I liked Ho's course the best, granted, it was many years ago. As he has gotten larger, I am not sure if he still maintains the intimacy that he used to have. When I took it, there were only about 40-50 in the class. Agree that getting exams from fellow course takers is less than desirable. For that reason, I was not a fan of the must know cases. His regular course was outstanding. He mixes in some lectures on common board scenarios and does a much nicer job of dissecting the stem question and telling people in the audience how HE would have answered the difficult questions.

Jensen's course, for me, was several days of listening to poorly performed public exams. So basically, you watch people take public exams all day long. 75% of them are terrible and many speak very poor english, making the exam difficult to follow from the audience. Usually, the examinee was so terrible, that the 5-10 minute debrief afterwards only scratches the surface of the questions that you wish Niels would address (such as, how would YOU have answered that question?). After watching so many candidates do so poorly on so many exams, it starts to seem normal, which is bad. Little to no lecture or instruction, just observation. In addition, Big Red is Big Blue rearranged slightly with little new information. The audio is decent if he would cut out all of the fluff about boiling coffee and all the military stuff. I can watch the History Channel if I want to hear that. I have not yet met anyone who was inspired by that. The exam, tho difficult, is not "war" and I think it is insulting to our military to say it is. Kellen Winslow Jr (the football player) took a lot of heat a few years back for saying he was a "soldier" going to war everyday.

I have no opinion on Board Stiff, the course. I thought the book was a bit silly, but it had a lot of good info and I would use it again if I had to go through it (which I thankfully do not).