Part II Oral Boards

[Piebaldi]

Hey all, two questions - why does it take so long for the PM&R board to approve part II?
Second, how did you all study? I'm getting kind of anxious about it!
Did you buy any resources? Take courses?

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[RangerBob]

I have no idea why it takes so long to approve. I just accepted it as part of the process.

I bought a few board review books through Amazon for self study. Some were ok. I think writing my own sample cases probably would’ve been much better. What really helped was working with a colleague and running through some sample cases.

Watching the sample videos helped a lot to prepare for what the real test would feel like. It is not at all like an interview. The examiners are trained to give you zero feedback (verbal or nonverbal).

I did take a board study course, but it was over a year before I took part II because it was really more of a part I prep course.

I believe mayo offers a review course just before the exam, but I don’t know much about it.

 

[j4pac]

It’s all about gamesmanship. I did the Mayo course last year and I think that they do a good job of reviewing important topics and teaching you the gamesmanship. The instructors won’t be the ones giving your real exam (that’s not allowed) but many of them have been examiners. And they try hard to adapt the program based on feedback. Mock exams with realistic testing situations and critical feedback are really important.

 

[sambarnes]

Take a look at this post, was helpful: PM&R Oral Boards / Part 2 Review Books?

Grab a few oral board review books, work through all the cases with a study partner, and put effort into pretending you are at the real test. Brush up on rusty topics, and you'll do fine.

 

[Piebaldi]

Take a look at this post, was helpful: PM&R Oral Boards / Part 2 Review Books?

Grab a few oral board review books, work through all the cases with a study partner, and put effort into pretending you are at the real test. Brush up on rusty topics, and you'll do fine.

Another question - did you all fly into Minneapolis, MN? Was trying to look at tickets but noticed that there aren't any airports in rochester, MN?

 

[j4pac]

Another question - did you all fly into Minneapolis, MN? Was trying to look at tickets but noticed that there aren't any airports in rochester, MN?

There’s an airport in Rochester. It’s small but they do a good job. They receive flights primarily from Chicago, Minneapolis, and ATL.

Minneapolis is also a nice airport. There are two shuttle companies that go to Rochester for about $20 each way.

 

[sambarnes]

Another question - did you all fly into Minneapolis, MN? Was trying to look at tickets but noticed that there aren't any airports in rochester, MN?

There’s an airport in Rochester. It’s small but they do a good job. They receive flights primarily from Chicago, Minneapolis, and ATL.

Minneapolis is also a nice airport. There are two shuttle companies that go to Rochester for about $20 each way.

Agreed. The shuttle is pretty straightforward. Easiest way to find convenient flights/travel times is into Minneapolis, then shuttle to Rochester.

 

[Piebaldi]

Agreed. The shuttle is pretty straightforward. Easiest way to find convenient flights/travel times is into Minneapolis, then shuttle to Rochester.

Ok peeps so I've started to prepare for this thing, reading one of the prep books.
Questions are:
-When one asks for example for the history portion, do you just blurt out everything you want to know? for example, someone with knee pain, do you say, when did pain start, where is it at , radiation or not, what makes it better/worse, how do u describe it, etc et all in one chunk or do you ask one thing and then wait for the answer? i feel like if u wait for the examiner to answer it will take forever!
-Same with w/u - do u say I would get for example for a stroke, a non contrast CT, coagulation panel, if negative, tpa, etc etc? Or do u wait for the examiner to say, there is no bleeding on brain CT, and then u say ok let's do tpa for example?
-when u counsel - do u address the examiner as the patient/family or do u say I would say this to the patient bla bla?