part 2 prep courses

[VincentAdultman]

If anyone has a good prep course to recommend for the Oral Exam id love to hear it. Getting ready to take it this July.

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[militaryPHYS]

The guys I knew who were at Maine while I was there for Part I seemed very pleased with the review they got there.

 

[VincentAdultman]

Now that I’m officially board certified in case anyone is thinking about this down the road I’d recommend two courses:

The Maine course is five days long and has multiple examiners per subspecualty. So it’s plenty of time to get through all twelve cases and some more than once. Also lobster.

The AAOS 1-2 Day course in Chicago is probably harder than the real thing. It’s also closer to actual test conditions than the Maine course. Need to focus on your most difficult to defend....because you probably couldn’t get through all of them even in two days.

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

Now that I’m officially board certified in case anyone is thinking about this down the road I’d recommend two courses:

The Maine course is five days long and has multiple examiners per subspecualty. So it’s plenty of time to get through all twelve cases and some more than once. Also lobster.

The AAOS 1-2 Day course in Chicago is probably harder than the real thing. It’s also closer to actual test conditions than the Maine course. Need to focus on your most difficult to defend....because you probably couldn’t get through all of them even in two days.

Congrats. Painful process. I didn’t do courses for part 2.... I went to Maine for part 1 review, stayed in that dingy little cubicle for two weeks, and you would literally have to break both my legs in order to drag me to that horrible place again. I still have ptsd every time I’m at a lobster bake.


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[VincentAdultman]

Congrats. Painful process. I didn’t do courses for part 2.... I went to Maine for part 1 review, stayed in that dingy little cubicle for two weeks, and you would literally have to break both my legs in order to drag me to that horrible place again. I still have ptsd every time I’m at a lobster bake.


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Hahaha I stayed in a Days Inn. No way in a hell was I going to live in a dorm.

And you’re right about the process being painful. I would say the actual two hour exam was by far the least painful thing of the whole ordeal.

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

Hahaha I stayed in a Days Inn. No way in a hell was I going to live in a dorm.

And you’re right about the process being painful. I would say the actual two hour exam was by far the least painful thing of the whole ordeal.

Agree.
God that dorm was awful. No AC, I had this crappy little fan and a creaky old bed. I felt like I was in a prison.


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[militaryPHYS]

Agree.
God that dorm was awful. No AC, I had this crappy little fan and a creaky old bed. I felt like I was in a prison.


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Were you guys never an undergraduate?!

Brought me back to the good ol’ days. And hey, it was definitely better than my bunk at Paris Island


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[OrthoTraumaMD]

Were you guys never an undergraduate?!

Brought me back to the good ol’ days. And hey, it was definitely better than my bunk at Paris Island


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Oh I went to a state school and my dorm was miles better than that rotting disaster in Maine.


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[militaryPHYS]

Oh I went to a state school and my dorm was miles better than that rotting disaster in Maine

Man! We apparently got shafted @ my state school. Plus there was no scenic Maine trees and ponds to buffer the dorm environment.

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

Man! We apparently got shafted @ my state school. Plus there was no scenic Maine trees and ponds to buffer the dorm environment.

Yeah. I got lucky I think. When I have visited dorms in other colleges, things were falling apart. Like.... in one building (I won’t name it but it was an Ivy League school), the floorboards were so rotten I thought I would fall through the floor! There was actually a hole in the floor by the wall, I asked the students about it and they said it had been like this for years. I was shocked because the tuition was astronomical (and despite that, students had to bring their own furniture!) and they didn’t even have decent floors.
My state school was industrial and built like a bunker, but it was solid and well kept, and clean, and they provided the furniture. I was so happy that I went state and not ivy. Not only did they give me a scholarship, I didn’t have to drag in my own furniture like those poor bastards.
Maine dorms reminded me more of that ivy...”charming” but that’s about it.


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[VincentAdultman]

Were you guys never an undergraduate?!

Brought me back to the good ol’ days. And hey, it was definitely better than my bunk at Paris Island


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I’d rather reminisce tbh. I don’t need to relive those experiences.

I went to MRC for Part One when I was a chief. They put us in the Westin. It’s one thing to live in a dorm as a nineteen year old. Another when you’re a grown up doctor.

 

[militaryPHYS]

I went to MRC for Part One when I was a chief. They put us in the Westin. It’s one thing to live in a dorm as a nineteen year old. Another when you’re a grown up doctor.

I went to AAOS (more for my own OCD) before Maine and stayed at a nice hotel. Accommodations were nice, lectures were awesome and super high yield. Maine lectures were so-so, not super high-yield. The benefit though, in my opinion, for Maine is complete seclusion for 2 weeks. No distractions, multiple places to study/work (including libraries, study halls, etc) during that time. While the hotel at AAOS was great for my comfy bed and room service, studying in my room got old and the only other places were a busy hotel lobby or local starbucks. I can't study like that. There is a lot to be said for 2 weeks of pure focus on studying in a college atmosphere right before the exam that Maine offers.

BUT, to each their own. We all study differently and handle "the rustic" accommodations differently.

If money and time were no object I would recommend AAOS (or Miller, but I have no personal experience) for high-yield lectures and access to valuable mentors/resources. Both are short courses I believe (AAOS was 3 days). Then, Maine is great if you need to get away from family/friends/distractions for 2 weeks right before the exam to hone in on your studies. Their lectures and resources are sub-par at best but does offer the chance to get away. I guess you could just travel somewhere else for seclusion and studying...but the networking, discussions, venting with other residents and instructors was also beneficial to break up the 10 to 12 hour study days.

 

[VincentAdultman]

I went to AAOS (more for my own OCD) before Maine and stayed at a nice hotel. Accommodations were nice, lectures were awesome and super high yield. Maine lectures were so-so, not super high-yield. The benefit though, in my opinion, for Maine is complete seclusion for 2 weeks. No distractions, multiple places to study/work (including libraries, study halls, etc) during that time. While the hotel at AAOS was great for my comfy bed and room service, studying in my room got old and the only other places were a busy hotel lobby or local starbucks. I can't study like that. There is a lot to be said for 2 weeks of pure focus on studying in a college atmosphere right before the exam that Maine offers.

BUT, to each their own. We all study differently and handle "the rustic" accommodations differently.

If money and time were no object I would recommend AAOS (or Miller, but I have no personal experience) for high-yield lectures and access to valuable mentors/resources. Both are short courses I believe (AAOS was 3 days). Then, Maine is great if you need to get away from family/friends/distractions for 2 weeks right before the exam to hone in on your studies. Their lectures and resources are sub-par at best but does offer the chance to get away. I guess you could just travel somewhere else for seclusion and studying...but the networking, discussions, venting with other residents and instructors was also beneficial to break up the 10 to 12 hour study days.

Hahahaha yeah I get that. I’m pretty sure we went to Denver multiple nights.

 

[militaryPHYS]

So wait. I got distracted with all this Part I discussion. Did you do both Maine and AAOS in Chicago for Part II ??

Trying to game my plan next summer since I am stationed overseas. Likely can only do one thing (if any)

 

[VincentAdultman]

So wait. I got distracted with all this Part I discussion. Did you do both Maine and AAOS in Chicago for Part II ??

Trying to game my plan next summer since I am stationed overseas. Likely can only do one thing (if any)

Yeah I did them both (also shared my cases with my partners, my residency PD, and anyone else who would listen.) I wasn’t going to leave any doubt that there was more I could do.

 

[militaryPHYS]

Yeah I did them both (also shared my cases with my partners, my residency PD, and anyone else who would listen.)

I'm the same way, just limited in my ability to double up on confidence this time given current practice location.

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

I'm the same way, just limited in my ability to double up on confidence this time given current practice location.

I did not do either course. I just harassed my partners and friends. I passed.


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