Having lost my patience under pressure of my boss and other colleagues (did you get the results yet over and over again🙂) I called ABP. I took FP on Sep. 1, and it was administered on this day only. Its been about 6 weeks, but no results yet. It appeared that the results will be released 4-6 weeks after the LAST examination day, which was HEME on Sep. 28th. How freaking ridiculous is that? Are they gonna grade unrelated tests? And its all on a bloody computer anyway. The Canadian boards are hand-written, with an oral component, and the results are available in 2 business days. Im disgusted, but at least folks around me stopped asking🙂.
Subspecialty boards results
- Thread starter Gorlum
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Seriously, they wait until ALL the subspecialty exams have been graded? Absolutely ******ed - no wonder the ABP figured it out. Why do they have to grade the hemepath tests before they can release the cytopath scores? I guess this is the awesome customer service you get for $1800.
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when you're the only one selling the product, and it's a product people must buy, there's not much incentive for quality customer service.
We aslo took FP Sept 1st and believed you but we had to experience the ridiculousness for ourselves. we just called and were told the same thing, and with a nice snotty attitude to boot.
they DID NOT say this on exam day. they told us 4-6 weeks after we took the exam. i no longer have to words to describe how angry i am at the ABP. 😡
they DID NOT say this on exam day. they told us 4-6 weeks after we took the exam. i no longer have to words to describe how angry i am at the ABP. 😡
QUOTE=HbyHA;11686612]We aslo took FP Sept 1st and believed you but we had to experience the ridiculousness for ourselves. we just called and were told the same thing, and with a nice snotty attitude to boot.QUOTE]
Yeah, first thing this woman said was: "so you think you've passed and want your certificate, don't you"? after I asked about the results. I suppose they genuinely enjoy people failing the test but tough – almost everyone passes FP🙂.
Yeah, first thing this woman said was: "so you think you've passed and want your certificate, don't you"? after I asked about the results. I suppose they genuinely enjoy people failing the test but tough – almost everyone passes FP🙂.
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please don't taunt the ABP. i'm next round, and don't wanna piss them off and then get a bunch of questions to the effect of: what is the 17th word on page 42 of DiMaio? a) the b) abrasion c) and d) possibly
Yeah, first thing this woman said was: "so you think you've passed and want your certificate, don't you"? after I asked about the results. I suppose they genuinely enjoy people failing the test but tough almost everyone passes FP🙂.[/QUOTE]
I'm not sure where you get the notion that "almost everyone passes FP🙂" as when I took the FP boards (late 90's) they had the highest rate of failure amongst all of the subspecialty boards. Perhaps that has changed. To the original poster, I distinctly remember having to wait > 8 weeks to get my results from the ABP.
I'm not sure where you get the notion that "almost everyone passes FP🙂" as when I took the FP boards (late 90's) they had the highest rate of failure amongst all of the subspecialty boards. Perhaps that has changed. To the original poster, I distinctly remember having to wait > 8 weeks to get my results from the ABP.
I've heard it all from the old timers: "the toughest exam on the planet, bla-bla". I don't know about 90's but more or less current statistics is here:
http://www.abpath.org/2009ABPExaminer.pdf
Now you know who to blame if you find the exam difficult🙂. C'mon, they are aware of statistics, and a number of things you can ask on FP are limited. If it comforts you, I didn't remind 'em on the phone that "everybody passes" - didn't have time to socialize🙂. Keeping this fact in mind, I answered this charming lady that yes, I think I've passed and would like to get a formal confirmation. Would she be so kind to inform us why 6 weeks have stretched into 12? 😀
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I can't believe how long it takes for the ABP to get results back. Completely ridiculous. The computerization aspect of the match doesn't even take this long. There's no excuse -- except for maximal inefficiency.
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They might issue your certificate on the same date so that you all have the same board expiration date.
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I saw that last night on my profile too. I am still waiting for either a) a letter or b) a certificate number. What if they do that to everyone and then sort it all out later? I wanted to do a cartwheel last night but I was eating. Good luck and I hope we find out soon.
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Took hematology and have that too.
I'm skeptical; wouldn't put it passed those asstards to get your hopes up and pull the rug out or just be plain stupid enough to load that into every profile that sat for an exam before they confirmed you actually passed.
Did anyone take a fall test and does not have that? (presumed no pass)
I'm skeptical; wouldn't put it passed those asstards to get your hopes up and pull the rug out or just be plain stupid enough to load that into every profile that sat for an exam before they confirmed you actually passed.
Did anyone take a fall test and does not have that? (presumed no pass)
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According to the ABP website:
10/20/11
Results have been posted for the following subspecialty examinations: Chemical Pathology, Dermatopathology, Forensic Pathology, Medical Microbiology, Molecular Genetic Pathology, Neuropathology, and Pediatric Pathology. Please login toPATHway to view your Board Correspondence tab. 10/20/11
Results have NOT been posted for Blood Banking/Transfusion Medicine, Cytopathology, or Hematology. We expect the results will be released the week of October 24.
10/20/11
Results have been posted for the following subspecialty examinations: Chemical Pathology, Dermatopathology, Forensic Pathology, Medical Microbiology, Molecular Genetic Pathology, Neuropathology, and Pediatric Pathology. Please login toPATHway to view your Board Correspondence tab. 10/20/11
Results have NOT been posted for Blood Banking/Transfusion Medicine, Cytopathology, or Hematology. We expect the results will be released the week of October 24.
I called ABP and s/w Renee- when the certification letters and certificates were posted for all the other sub specialities that received their letters today, the computer system sent them to ALL exam takers (including TM, cytopath, heme). Those certificate dates that some of you witnessed we're taken down soon thereafter, once they were noticed by them. So, for those of us still waiting for results, she said they will be posted Monday or Tuesday next week.
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Were they accurate though, that is the question. Or did they get sent to everyone and then taken down?
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Sorry I am not understanding. So are you saying that people who got that change under the certification tab were people who passed the test but the official certificates have not been made? Or that the computer sent an updated certificate to everyone who took the test regardless of whether they passed?
What I'm saying is you didn't pass or fail yet if you took either of the following exam: Transfusion Medicine, Cytopathology, or Hematology. What you saw (if you did see anything) on your profile page regarding any sort of certificate was an ERROR in the computer system. No certificates were issued for any of those 3 exams. Cliff Notes version: you will find out your results next week. I don't know how else I can clarify the situation..
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For those people whose salaries may be affected by their board status (or the delay in reporting it), keep in mind that your board status will be from the date you took the exam in September although validation will be through the end of the calendar year 10 years later. This may be worth enough money to you to clarify very specifically with your employer/future employer as to whether you'll get appropriately retro-compensated for technically being board certified back in possibly early September, and substantial delays could be a problem for the ABP if people wanted it to be. As for ABP oversight, as far as I know there isn't much except either very large numbers of pathologists agreeing & acting, or the ABMS.
As for whether 4-6 weeks (really, 8'ish weeks for those early in the cycle) is an appropriate delay, it's hard to judge without being on that side of it. Yeah, everything's computerized these days so in theory it should be an extremely simple matter. In practice I really don't know what kind of checks are in place to limit problems with the results, except for talk about reviewing every question with unusual answer profiles to determine if any were written wrong or should be thrown out (which generally benefits the test takers), but that should only apply to individual exams, not every subspec lumped together.
I get the impression that some people these days fiddle with what computers can do but don't seem to trust that they'll do it right so end up manually looking over everything anyway. Kinda like how the computer revolution was supposed to drastically reduce paper consumption, but instead everyone duplicates hard copies of almost everything in the business world, plus hard copy faxing, giving everyone a generally useless 40 page handout at every meeting and lecture, etc., and we drastically increased paper consumption instead. Computers can help efficiency, but can also destroy it if not appropriately used and if it's not simply an add-on rather than replacement or partial replacement.
As for whether 4-6 weeks (really, 8'ish weeks for those early in the cycle) is an appropriate delay, it's hard to judge without being on that side of it. Yeah, everything's computerized these days so in theory it should be an extremely simple matter. In practice I really don't know what kind of checks are in place to limit problems with the results, except for talk about reviewing every question with unusual answer profiles to determine if any were written wrong or should be thrown out (which generally benefits the test takers), but that should only apply to individual exams, not every subspec lumped together.
I get the impression that some people these days fiddle with what computers can do but don't seem to trust that they'll do it right so end up manually looking over everything anyway. Kinda like how the computer revolution was supposed to drastically reduce paper consumption, but instead everyone duplicates hard copies of almost everything in the business world, plus hard copy faxing, giving everyone a generally useless 40 page handout at every meeting and lecture, etc., and we drastically increased paper consumption instead. Computers can help efficiency, but can also destroy it if not appropriately used and if it's not simply an add-on rather than replacement or partial replacement.
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Just thought I would mention on here that I asked Betsy Bennett why it took so long to get board exam results during her session at ASCP last week. Although the session and my question were for the normal AP/CP path boards, I would assume it would apply in a fairly similar fashion to the subspecialty board grading process.
She essentially said (I'm paraphrasing obviously):
1) Need to wait for everyone to take the exam (duh)
2) It can take up to a week for the computer to compile everyone's results and give the graders an itemized list of what percentage of people got each question correct/incorrect (I'm not sure if I actually believe this or not...maybe if their computer system really, really sucks?)
3) Once this data is available they decide which questions to throw out for various reasons, such as nearly everyone getting it right or wrong or many people complaining about the question being factually incorrect or having multiple correct answers or something. This process sometimes requires them to contact various members of the subcomittees that actually write the questions for different topics to confirm information/validity of questions and they need time for that back and forth communication
4) Once they decide which questions aren't going to count, the computer has to re-compile everyone's scores
5) The computer system used for grading is completely separate from the computer system used to post the results on the website, so the data needs to be transferred.
6) Apparently they have had problems in the past with the transfer process causing mistakes (specifically posting on the site that some people had passed when the really hadn't), so they have to then double-check it all manually to make sure it is correct.
She essentially said (I'm paraphrasing obviously):
1) Need to wait for everyone to take the exam (duh)
2) It can take up to a week for the computer to compile everyone's results and give the graders an itemized list of what percentage of people got each question correct/incorrect (I'm not sure if I actually believe this or not...maybe if their computer system really, really sucks?)
3) Once this data is available they decide which questions to throw out for various reasons, such as nearly everyone getting it right or wrong or many people complaining about the question being factually incorrect or having multiple correct answers or something. This process sometimes requires them to contact various members of the subcomittees that actually write the questions for different topics to confirm information/validity of questions and they need time for that back and forth communication
4) Once they decide which questions aren't going to count, the computer has to re-compile everyone's scores
5) The computer system used for grading is completely separate from the computer system used to post the results on the website, so the data needs to be transferred.
6) Apparently they have had problems in the past with the transfer process causing mistakes (specifically posting on the site that some people had passed when the really hadn't), so they have to then double-check it all manually to make sure it is correct.
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They released results letters. I was one of the people who saw the "glitch" last week. I just have to say that this was some amateur bullcrap.
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Mine has both
passed FP, as expected.
that test was nowhere near as hard as AP/CP but they still certainly managed to pull some random trivia out of their asses. i know people who went to very small fellowship programs who did not feel adequately prepared for that test.
and we made sure not to give our names or what test we took just in case we did piss anyone off ha!😀
this makes sense for AP/CP which is quite a few test takers over several weeks. i call bull**** when there were 35 test takers for ONE EXAM on ONE DAY.
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I'm sure some people would like to have that information prior to electing not to throw money at the ABP for a rescore when the process was implied to be all electronic. If there is a manual component involved, then I have to change my general recommendation that a rescore isn't useful to a recommendation that if one is at all close then one MUST get a rescore. And if they were wrong get your frikkin' rescore money back. That's just crazy.
As for taking a week to do 3 or 4 seconds worth of calculations and report generation, give or take (alright, -maybe- minutes for AP/CP with thousands of takers and howevermany hundreds of questions per taker, including report generation), it sounds more like since the systems are separate they may be going through another company to handle it which has their own internal processes which slows things down. At least that would be a somewhat reasonable explanation, and it's pretty common for that kind of question to get such an oversimplified and nonspecific answer. At any rate it really can't be hitting one button and waiting up to a week waiting solely on one process to finish. If so, I can lend them my phone to do it next time.
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How many more people sit for the USMLE whose exam integrity is equally as vital to protect, yet that test is done in a Sylvan scheduled very flexibly for a fraction of the cost of Path boards. Its a total money scam joke that continues on only because nobody questions/ challenges them. Where is there any justification for why it costs $2,000 to take a fuchin computer test with a handful of glass slides?? Where does this money go? These monkeys cant even execute new certifications in to any satisfactory degree; whats going to happen when they are trying to juggle recerts alongside newcomers? We will be submitting things 4 and 5 times as these ******s misplace or lose everything meanwhile wasting excessive time and money jumping through one hoop after another to maintain our 'privilege' to earn a living.
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Now that we all found out we passed. I assume we get certificates for subspecialty boards similar to the certificates we got for the AP/CP boards - is this correct? For $1800 I expect a nice piece of paper with a shiny seal on it.
