oral review

[hotdogz]

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Hi all, so i just found out that my oral exam is in April...For those that have recently taken it, which prep if any did you use, jensen vs ho oral review? Do you recommend the essential 2 day review or must know cases course? When is a good time to take the course as well? What other resources/books did you use? Thanks.

dogz

 

[rsgillmd]

There are several old threads on this same topic. You should be able to easily find them if you do a search. Perhaps one of the moderators may be able to give you a specific link.

I took the Ho course (4 days I think -- the middle of the road option), but in retrospect I don't feel it was absolutely necessary. It was more to calm my nerves -- so I could feel confident I had done everything to pass. The key is really practice exams, assuming you have your base knowledge down pat.

I bought some of the practice books (Board Stiff 2 -- I think there is Board Stiff 3 out now -- Yao, Reed) etc. You get Ho's book when you sign up for his course, if you don't have it already. I didn't finish any of those books.

The best thing for me was the mock orals I did during my residency/fellowship and the feedback I got from them. That was also what I got out of Ho's course -- the feedback from the examiners. One of the examiners was hard to understand and just gave an unreasonable case also, but the rest were good.

 

[chocolate]

Just curious whether anyone who has taken Ho's course felt that it was better to do it early on (i.e., before any real studying has been done) or later after you've tried to really consolidate some information.

Alternatively, maybe simply buying the book is the most important thing for those of us still at academic centers with access to potential oral board exam practices....

Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

[rsgillmd]

Just curious whether anyone who has taken Ho's course felt that it was better to do it early on (i.e., before any real studying has been done) or later after you've tried to really consolidate some information.

Alternatively, maybe simply buying the book is the most important thing for those of us still at academic centers with access to potential oral board exam practices....

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Ho's book is full of information presented in a very concise manner. If you want to get through the whole book, you should try to get it separately early.

Ho's course suited me well because I agree with his philosophy that knowledge is important. You need knowledge/experience to help you come up with options for a question, and to be able to defend your choices. Doing practice sessions with different people will teach you the practical aspects of formulating a defense.

So to answer your question, I would say take Ho's course later when you have already put in a solid effort. If you go in with a weak knowledge and practice base, you'll get frustrated because you will be leaving for your mock exams in the middle of his lectures/discussions.