oral boards clarification

[SleepIsGood]

Just out of curiosity. Say we are starting a fellowship in July.

We have to take the written boards in August 2010. ONce we've passed it, when is the earliest that one takes their oral exam?

Or, if you are doing a fellowship, do you wait a year to do orals? What's the common practice?

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[2ndyear]

Take it as soon as you can. You'll never be closer to the knowledge of the writtens. Being a fellow you'll also have practice talking things over with residents and attendings which is huge.

 

[cchoukal]

I'm actually not sure that you can wait (aside from holding out for the october date). I could be wrong but I thought the aba sort of pushes you to do it in sequence right after residency.

 

[Arch Guillotti]

I'm actually not sure that you can wait (aside from holding out for the october date). I could be wrong but I thought the aba sort of pushes you to do it in sequence right after residency.

IIRC unless you have an exceptional reason not to take the exam you must sign up for a date once you pass the writtens

 

[mille125]

I'm actually not sure that you can wait (aside from holding out for the october date). I could be wrong but I thought the aba sort of pushes you to do it in sequence right after residency.

You can wait if you want but you wont be board certified. If you think about it it is equivalent to a fail.

 

[Arch Guillotti]

go to the ABA website and peruse the "booklet of information"

 

[SleepIsGood]

Reason I'm asking, I'm not sure I should take a oral Board Review course NOW or while I'm in my Pain fellowship.

So you guys are saying typically, people find out if they passed or not. And then take the ORAL part in OCTOBER of their fellowship year? Or you can wait it out until April? Those are the two options?

 

[mille125]

No. You can take it in April of your fellowship year. You can take it October after your fellowship is over. Even if you sign up for April, you may end up taking it in October. I would just take the oral board course during your fellowship. You will likely get some academic time.

Take written near graduation time from residency. Take oral in April of fellowship year or the October after your fellowhip year. As a practicing pain physician, I would be reluctant to hire you without BC. Not because I am an SOB but because I may have a very difficult time getting you on any insurance panels. You would likely still be able to get hospital privileges but the clock is ticking. What if you end up failing? Please think about these things.

 

[SleepIsGood]

Take written near graduation time from residency. Take oral in April of fellowship year or the October after your fellowhip year. As a practicing pain physician, I would be reluctant to hire you without BC. Not because I am an SOB but because I may have a very difficult time getting you on any insurance panels. You would likely still be able to get hospital privileges but the clock is ticking. What if you end up failing? Please think about these things.

Great points.

If you take it April of yourfellowship year, does one get the results back soon enough so you have it when applying for jobs?

When do you take the Pain boards? Is it just written or are there Orals for it too?

 

[Gern Blansten]

You list whether you want the spring or fall as your first choice. Many do not get their first choice.

If you decide not to sign up, it counts as one of your attempts anyway barring some natural disaster such as a hurricane which you might get a waiver for. There is no advantage to waiting. The clock begins ticking once you graduate.

I also agree with the above poster that the further away from residency you get, the harder the test will be to pass. Many do not realize that they will be working longer hours in practice than they did in residency. There are no 80 hour rules in practice. The incentive and time to study will quickly go away as you get a real job and make real money.

 

[cchoukal]

Great points.

If you take it April of yourfellowship year, does one get the results back soon enough so you have it when applying for jobs?

When do you take the Pain boards? Is it just written or are there Orals for it too?

You'll probably start looking for jobs as soon as you start fellowship, so, no, you won't know if you passed when you start looking. As people have said, you'll take the WRITTEN in August right after you finish residency. You'll get the results around october, which is a good time to start the job search if you haven't yet. So you'll know the results of the written when you're on the job search, but not the oral.

 

[mille125]

Great points.

If you take it April of yourfellowship year, does one get the results back soon enough so you have it when applying for jobs?

When do you take the Pain boards? Is it just written or are there Orals for it too?

If you take it in April you have the results back in May. Pain boards are in September. You could end up taking the pain boards prior to taking your orals.