Oral Boards 2022

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carpediemcanem said:
Hi guys I just took my oral boards and it was horrible. I had a horrible flight in and the weather was not on my side. I wasn't feeling well as a result. I ended up not being able to sleep as a result and frankly a nervous wreck. It was a train wreck. I was shaking the whole time for both stems. I for some reason could not get my composure together. I got led into some traps and it was just awful even though I know the material well. I know I definitely failed. And the nerves continued into the OSCE component.

I haven't failed any standardized test so feeling really really bummed. I am of course going to wait for the official result. I feel so beat up in this field - studying over and over and over. After caring for patients relentlessly through even the worse of times like COVID ICUs and at this point in training, still trying to have to prove ourselves. And then this in light of the recent world affairs, I just am so exhausted and tired of it!

Does anybody have any tips to re-study and/or how to reschedule for sooner?
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I know it’s hard but take some time for yourself and go do something you enjoy. Or get something nice for yourself. You just took one of the toughest exams and made it through! As others have said you don’t have a grade yet and you may have very well passed. I took the exam last year and I thought I failed. I don’t think anyone I knew came out confident. After the exam I thought about every incorrect answer I gave. The number of times I said “I don’t know”. I was losing sleep and the wait for the grade was terrible. 4 weeks later I ended up passing. And trust me I was also extremely nervous on the exam. I had my attendings at my program telling me I should be taking a beta blocker but didn’t. Hang in there. And the worst case scenario you would have to take it again. It doesn’t mean you are a terrible physician. Sometimes our anxiety on exams get the best of us. The best thing is to practice as much as you can. But again don’t think about restudying yet until you know your results.
 
For all those looking for empathy…

Took it this last week. Went OSCE first. Went fine enough i think.

Long stem intraoperative wasn’t bad, but post operative turned into an absolute cluster f***. Dude was after me, asking rather complex renal physiology which I couldn’t keep straight on my head and at no point in any physicians life have they ever had 0.5 seconds to answer any clinical scenario that may be relevant to.

Saw me floundering so he just kept pounding and pounding. I tried asking, “next question” thinking that would help.

Nope. Just kept right at it.

Short stem I think went better but I couldn’t get the immediate prior experience out of my head.

Feel like total hell the last few days.
 
I also felt like i failed. My first senior examiner appeared to not want to help but hurt in any situation possible. Felt cornered during the postop portion. Second stem and examiners went super smooth.
 
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floridagirl22 said:
The ABA clarified its 15 business days (meaning Saturday and Sunday do not count). Another way to look at it is it will post 3 weeks after your test date, ie if you took it 3/4 you should have results 3/25. Good luck!
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I do not think this is correct…I took it on 2/28 and still do not have my results. If that was the case then I would have gotten my results today.
 
SFDMJ said:
I do not think this is correct…I took it on 2/28 and still do not have my results. If that was the case then I would have gotten my results today.
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Could be wrong! It was just the answer given to me by the ABA last week. They were pretty responsive if you want to reach out
 
Took mine 2/28. Havent gotten my result yet either. Called the ABA, one person said 3 weeks, another said any day now.
 
abolt18 said:
If you do this, would recommend doing it a few times when practicing to figure out how it makes you feel, in case it slows you down TOO much and makes you feel bad somehow.
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I could use some propranolol while waiting for these results to come.
 
Took my exam last week. Drove down due to concern for possible flight cancellations. Couldn't fall asleep until 1am, then woke up at least once/hr until 0445 when I finally decided to just get up and shower. 0615 check-in. For those that asked questions, you can bring snacks and they provide water, you just have to leave the snacks in the locker (can access it between OSCE and oral boards). I had OSCE first, thank goodness. That got some of the nerves out of the way.

First prompt, not too bad. Said "I don't know" a couple times, waffled a bit on one of the grab bags, but ultimately felt okay. Very conversational overall.

2nd stem, much more aggressive examiners, constantly interrupting, once even asked the next question as the first word of my response was leaving my mouth. (I am NOT long-winded either) This def. threw me off a bit. All I can remember really is the stupid things I said or forgot to say or do and the sense of stress.

I left the exam feeling like I PROBABLY (60-70%?) passed but have since been haunted constantly by all the mistakes/ommissions I remember that have led me to feel more like MAYBE (50/50) I passed.

All in all, done by ~11am, back to the hotel before 1130. For those flying out, the shuttle took them straight from the hotel to the airport.

I didn't feel compelled to give "oral boards only" type answers. I'd say I was honest in my approach to everything. I just imagined myself in the described scenarios and said what I would really do. If they fail me for that, I don't know what to tell you, as I feel that I am conscientious and safe in my care of patients. It felt much more straightforward than a lot of the crazy UBP stems.
 
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Congratulations to those that passed! Any tips on prep?

Currently doing UBP but definitely getting caught up on how long winded their answers and differentials are.

At the same time going to read a primary source like Yao, Baby Miller etc also seems daunting. Any advice?
 
The Dr. Ho course—Anesthesia Consultants—is very solid. I used it and passed. The videos help fill in any knowledge deficiencies and the mock oral exams are challenging but help replicate the actual experience.
 
Passed! I also used the Dr. Ho course, it was great - its much more concise than UBP, and tells you exactly what to say without any of the extra fluff. Also, he takes you through almost any possible scenario that you could probably see on the boards so you will know how to handle anything that they throw at you. On the real exam, you literally have like 20 seconds to answer the question.
 
gaschicago said:
Congratulations to those that passed! Any tips on prep?

Currently doing UBP but definitely getting caught up on how long winded their answers and differentials are.

At the same time going to read a primary source like Yao, Baby Miller etc also seems daunting. Any advice?
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Don't read baby miller now. I read yao over my ca3 year and used ubp for a few weeks.

I think the best thing was actually practicing with a friend which I did a few times.

I'd like to put a shoutout for accrac. Jed Wolpaw does a few practice oral exams on his podcast and I thought that it was pretty good for exam prep help.
accrac.com

Episode 221: Oral Board Prep with Anna Gitterman

In this 221st episode I welcome Dr. Anna Gitterman to the show to put me through the oral board ringer. She takes me through a stem and we break down strategy for you. CME: Link StemDownload Random…
accrac.com accrac.com
 
Ho
JOB
UPB
Jensen

Ho - some people love him, some people don’t. Heard that he can be over tough on some.

JOB - “I don’t need someone who make me feel bad, that why I go to JOB”.

UPB - lots of written material out, not met anyone who actually used their instructors for mock

Jensen - was the man, back in the day. Not sure if he’s still around.
 
Passed as well. For reference, current chronic pain fellow, so been out of the OR for the past 9 months.
Mostly read UBP, but agree with others that its too much and too long, I started answering a few questions the way it is in UBP, and the examiner cut me off and directly asked me what I would do rather than all the background stuff UBP says. Basically "get to the point", but in a slightly nicer way. After that I always tried to answer the question they were asking first and then if they didn't cut me off, I would say something about how I would prepare for possible complications.
I really liked studying from Rapid review Oral Boards by Gupta and Tran. Felt the stems and the answers were more to the point, and more realistic of the scenarios I got on my exam.

For prep-took 2 months, which I felt like wasn't enough, but I passed so make of that what you will. Read UBP about 1.5 times, read rapid review twice. Practiced for the OSCE for maybe 3 days total, one day in the sim lab on a dummy. In between just did mock sessions with my wife and my co-fellows. I did not practice with any examiners, which is something I wish I did, just to ease the nerves.

OSCE was pretty straightforward, you don't need to spend too much time on it.

My 2 cents- treat it like real life. What would you really do, and I feel you should always start your answer with the answer to the question, rather than the fluff. So if the question is would you use an IV or an inhaled anesthetic--start by saying I would do inhaled, because blah. If you have time then you can say but IV also works because blah, but don't start with "well both work so either option is acceptable". Also, saying I don't know, I would ask a colleague for help is a perfectly good answer. Probably said that 3-4 times throughout the exam.

Good luck to everyone that still has to take it....Now on to studying for pain boards
 
gaschicago said:
Congratulations to those that passed! Any tips on prep?

Currently doing UBP but definitely getting caught up on how long winded their answers and differentials are.

At the same time going to read a primary source like Yao, Baby Miller etc also seems daunting. Any advice?
Click to expand...
I was a pain fellow last year, in practice this year, little more than 1.5 hrs out of anesthesia residency.

Read the UBP written practice tests, had my spouse ask me the stem and practiced out Loud, this was the most helpful.

Read Yao and Artusio, the main chapters such as cardiac, OB, peds, gen surg, amazing book but too big to go through extensively, but would highly recommend.

I had CME funds so I bought audiodigest anesthesia board review, pretty good and easy to listen to, but expensive, they give you a visa gift card for buying it, so it’s worth it if you have the CME funds to do it.
 
My two cents from someone who failed last year on zoom and passed this year.

Last year I went in cocky. I had always done well on the ITEs (90th% percentile all three CA years, passed basic and got a personalized letter from the president of the ABA that I was in the top 10 percent of my advanced exam). I had done a lot of prep pre covid, but when my test was delayed I stopped studying. About a month in advance of my rescheduled exam I started “studying” which meant just doing ubp, sometimes by myself and sometimes with friends. It wasn’t enough. As another person posted above, ubp is too in depth. Studying with friends is fine, but it’s not enough. You need someone more experienced (ideally a board examiner) to give you more direct feedback. Friends will be too nice and you’re going to ignore your mistakes if it’s by yourself.

I ended up signing up for the Ho course. It was expensive, but it made me want to study a lot harder since I had paid a **** ton of money. Some of the videos are really helpful and helped me review some of my weaker topics (I’m peds trained). I went through every practice test that was included in the course and watched the relevant videos. I did all the mock orals and attended the mock oral practice session via zoom. The examiners in the Ho course are generally pretty good and they provided good feedback. Some more than others. One of the scenarios i got ended up being similar to the ones I had in the real exam. I also reread a few textbooks (Stoelting was probably the best). I did a few practice sessions with real board examiners as well. The board examiners in my practice sessions really went in on my answers. The feedback they provided was that I talked too much, probably because I relied too heavily on UBP previously. If it’s a yes or no question, say yes or no. They may not want to know why, so don’t say why. You’re just wasting their time. It’s the examiner’s exam - they just want to get through the script, go back to the hotel, and drink at the ****ty hotel bar.
 
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My personal opinion is that unless you have CME money to burn, why waste your money if it’s your first time taking the test in an expensive course. 90 percent pass rate or something on the oral exam for first time takers I beleive, if you fail then paying to retake and extra study time will be comparable to the cost of a expensive prep course.
 
To be fair, the hotel they're being housed at had a much nicer bar (Renaissance). The hotel we had to stay at had a decent lobby but man those rooms...especially at that "discounted" price.
leuven said:
My two cents from someone who failed last year on zoom and passed this year.

Last year I went in cocky. I had always done well on the ITEs (90th% percentile all three CA years, passed basic and got a personalized letter from the president of the ABA that I was in the top 10 percent of my advanced exam). I had done a lot of prep pre covid, but when my test was delayed I stopped studying. About a month in advance of my rescheduled exam I started “studying” which meant just doing ubp, sometimes by myself and sometimes with friends. It wasn’t enough. As another person posted above, ubp is too in depth. Studying with friends is fine, but it’s not enough. You need someone more experienced (ideally a board examiner) to give you more direct feedback. Friends will be too nice and you’re going to ignore your mistakes if it’s by yourself.

I ended up signing up for the Ho course. It was expensive, but it made me want to study a lot harder since I had paid a **** ton of money. Some of the videos are really helpful and helped me review some of my weaker topics (I’m peds trained). I went through every practice test that was included in the course and watched the relevant videos. I did all the mock orals and attended the mock oral practice session via zoom. The examiners in the Ho course are generally pretty good and they provided good feedback. Some more than others. One of the scenarios i got ended up being similar to the ones I had in the real exam. I also reread a few textbooks (Stoelting was probably the best). I did a few practice sessions with real board examiners as well. The board examiners in my practice sessions really went in on my answers. The feedback they provided was that I talked too much, probably because I relied too heavily on UBP previously. If it’s a yes or no question, say yes or no. They may not want to know why, so don’t say why. You’re just wasting their time. It’s the examiner’s exam - they just want to get through the script, go back to the hotel, and drink at the ****ty hotel bar.
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USCTrojan11 said:
To be fair, the hotel they're being housed at had a much nicer bar (Renaissance). The hotel we had to stay at had a decent lobby but man those rooms...especially at that "discounted" price.
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The Hilton Raleigh was the biggest waste of money I’ve ever spent. If only registration for the morning session wasn’t at 6AM in the hotel lobby 🙁
 
Also, having taken this exam, I can now confidently say that the oral board offers no value and does not adequately assess an anesthesiologist, it’s a waste of time. Just a really expensive trip to North Carolina .
 
dipriMAN said:
Also, having taken this exam, I can now confidently say that the oral board offers no value and does not adequately assess an anesthesiologist, it’s a waste of time. Just a really expensive trip to North Carolina .
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I thought it was useful, if anything to improve the ability to articulate my thought process in a coherent way and not sound like a rambling idiot.

But I agree that oral board is an expensive and time consuming ordeal.
 
coffeebythelake said:
I was 99th percentile on my boards and never got a personalized letter. wtf is this a new thing?
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Dunno. 2019 for what it’s worth. One of my co residents got 100th percentile. Literally all questions correct and got a hand-written letter I believe.
 
dipriMAN said:
My personal opinion is that unless you have CME money to burn, why waste your money if it’s your first time taking the test in an expensive course. 90 percent pass rate or something on the oral exam for first time takers I beleive, if you fail then paying to retake and extra study time will be comparable to the cost of a expensive prep course.
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True. I had CME money and opened a new credit card to pay for it with a welcome offer that partially paid for my honeymoon. I’m the type of person that needs organization when studying. FWIW I had ADHD as a child/teen and thought it was relatively under control until I studied for the boards that I failed. Having a format to follow with a course was helpful, but I agree it isn’t for everyone. If you start planning mock orals with actual board examiners months in advance and set up and stick to a schedule to study yourself (and are doing well), then you probably don’t need it.
 
Argg guys, I took mine one week ago, and I can't stop thinking about it. Truly felt like I've failed... I keep thinking back about the things I answered wrong or could have done better. In my first room, it felt like the senior examiner was done with me from the beginning. Kept on telling me to cut to the chase. When I practiced, I thought we were supposed to show them our thought process, and do exactly what we would start off with, so "examine the patient or look at monitors." She hated that phrase and was like "just answer the question." Feels like everything I practiced doing was wrong. There was also multiple times I tried jolting down ABGs and lab values, but she kept saying "you don't have to write it down, it'll stay up." Completely messed up the usual way I think about things and made me lose confidence. Took that lack of confidence with me to the 2nd room. There was no time to think about anything. Definitely blurted out bone headed bad answers. If I were the examiners, I would not pass me, that's how bad my answers were.
 
typicalEM2016 said:
Argg guys, I took mine one week ago, and I can't stop thinking about it. Truly felt like I've failed... I keep thinking back about the things I answered wrong or could have done better. In my first room, it felt like the senior examiner was done with me from the beginning. Kept on telling me to cut to the chase. When I practiced, I thought we were supposed to show them our thought process, and do exactly what we would start off with, so "examine the patient or look at monitors." She hated that phrase and was like "just answer the question." Feels like everything I practiced doing was wrong. There was also multiple times I tried jolting down ABGs and lab values, but she kept saying "you don't have to write it down, it'll stay up." Completely messed up the usual way I think about things and made me lose confidence. Took that lack of confidence with me to the 2nd room. There was no time to think about anything. Definitely blurted out bone headed bad answers. If I were the examiners, I would not pass me, that's how bad my answers were.
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Sometimes it’s the opposite….. you already passed, then they just **** with you….. maybe.
Good luck. Worse case scenario, go back again. Waste another 3 months of your life. It’s done now, nothing you can do.
 
typicalEM2016 said:
Argg guys, I took mine one week ago, and I can't stop thinking about it. Truly felt like I've failed... I keep thinking back about the things I answered wrong or could have done better. In my first room, it felt like the senior examiner was done with me from the beginning. Kept on telling me to cut to the chase. When I practiced, I thought we were supposed to show them our thought process, and do exactly what we would start off with, so "examine the patient or look at monitors." She hated that phrase and was like "just answer the question." Feels like everything I practiced doing was wrong. There was also multiple times I tried jolting down ABGs and lab values, but she kept saying "you don't have to write it down, it'll stay up." Completely messed up the usual way I think about things and made me lose confidence. Took that lack of confidence with me to the 2nd room. There was no time to think about anything. Definitely blurted out bone headed bad answers. If I were the examiners, I would not pass me, that's how bad my answers were.
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Hey man, i think most of us feel like we failed when we leave. its pretty normal. I certainly did and still some how passed. And oh yes, i remember exactly what questions i got wrong and in the most detail i have ever remembered something in my life.
 
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leuven said:
True. I had CME money and opened a new credit card to pay for it with a welcome offer that partially paid for my honeymoon. I’m the type of person that needs organization when studying. FWIW I had ADHD as a child/teen and thought it was relatively under control until I studied for the boards that I failed. Having a format to follow with a course was helpful, but I agree it isn’t for everyone. If you start planning mock orals with actual board examiners months in advance and set up and stick to a schedule to study yourself (and are doing well), then you probably don’t need it.
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Thats genious! I too paid for all the micheal Ho stuff - all the MOPS, a bunch of mocks, anything i could get my hands on, and it was totally worth it. One thing i didnt have access to was a board examiner, i think that would have been really helpful as well.
 
USCTrojan11 said:
To be fair, the hotel they're being housed at had a much nicer bar (Renaissance). The hotel we had to stay at had a decent lobby but man those rooms...especially at that "discounted" price.
Click to expand...
dipriMAN said:
The Hilton Raleigh was the biggest waste of money I’ve ever spent. If only registration for the morning session wasn’t at 6AM in the hotel lobby 🙁
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And it was such a ****ty hotel too. Dirty, no water pressure, thin walls.

Also I’m pretty sure I saw my board examiner the night before my exam in the lobby bar, but I could be wrong.
 
typicalEM2016 said:
Argg guys, I took mine one week ago, and I can't stop thinking about it. Truly felt like I've failed... I keep thinking back about the things I answered wrong or could have done better. In my first room, it felt like the senior examiner was done with me from the beginning. Kept on telling me to cut to the chase. When I practiced, I thought we were supposed to show them our thought process, and do exactly what we would start off with, so "examine the patient or look at monitors." She hated that phrase and was like "just answer the question." Feels like everything I practiced doing was wrong. There was also multiple times I tried jolting down ABGs and lab values, but she kept saying "you don't have to write it down, it'll stay up." Completely messed up the usual way I think about things and made me lose confidence. Took that lack of confidence with me to the 2nd room. There was no time to think about anything. Definitely blurted out bone headed bad answers. If I were the examiners, I would not pass me, that's how bad my answers were.
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I’m pretty sure I could see my junior examiner rolling his eyes a handful of times. Pretty sure I heard a scoff as well. Was quite aggravating as I felt I was doing very well…then that BS got me all in my own head.
 
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GlowInTheDark said:
I’m pretty sure I could see my junior examiner rolling his eyes a handful of times. Pretty sure I heard a scoff as well. Was quite aggravating as I felt I was doing very well…then that BS got me all in my own head.
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Dude, that's what my senior examiner was doing in my first room too. Def heard her sigh and shake her head like I was doing everything wrong when it was the junior examiner's turn to quiz me.
 
typicalEM2016 said:
Dude, that's what my senior examiner was doing in my first room too. Def heard her sigh and shake her head like I was doing everything wrong when it was the junior examiner's turn to quiz me.
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I could have sworn I saw my senior examiner smirking while the junior examiner was questioning me but maybe my stress in the situation was messing with me.
 
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