Taking board exams abroad

[amaranth]

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For reasons I cannot change, I will be abroad the year right after residency. I saw that the Pediatrics boards (only given in October) seem to be administered at Prometric sites abroad such as in Bangkok Thailand. I was wondering if anyone has had experience with taking the initial certifying boards internationally or I should just wait a year and take it in the States. Thanks for any constructive advice.

 

[ThoracicGuy]

For reasons I cannot change, I will be abroad the year right after residency. I saw that the Pediatrics boards (only given in October) seem to be administered at Prometric sites abroad such as in Bangkok Thailand. I was wondering if anyone has had experience with taking the initial certifying boards internationally or I should just wait a year and take it in the States. Thanks for any constructive advice.

I'm not sure if your boards are like the surgical boards, but you have a limited number of years to take the exam and if you skip a chance, you lose that chance.

I would probably look into taking it.

 

[mvenus929]

I'm not sure if your boards are like the surgical boards, but you have a limited number of years to take the exam and if you skip a chance, you lose that chance.

I would probably look into taking it.

Peds boards are offered every year and you have 7 years from graduation to pass. You do not lose anything by skipping a year (plenty of people with various life circumstances—new child, clinically demanding fellowship, need for additional study time due to the concern of not passing, etc—skip it for a year and take it in subsequent years without issue.

You do have to have an unrestricted license to take boards. If whatever is having you go abroad for a year prevents you from having that license, you can’t sit.

Also, make sure you have the time to study. If not, it may be worth waiting for a year for that purpose.

 

[ThoracicGuy]

Peds boards are offered every year and you have 7 years from graduation to pass. You do not lose anything by skipping a year (plenty of people with various life circumstances—new child, clinically demanding fellowship, need for additional study time due to the concern of not passing, etc—skip it for a year and take it in subsequent years without issue.

You do have to have an unrestricted license to take boards. If whatever is having you go abroad for a year prevents you from having that license, you can’t sit.

Also, make sure you have the time to study. If not, it may be worth waiting for a year for that purpose.

Are you allowed 7 chances to pass?

 

[Piebaldi]

Are you allowed 7 chances to pass?

Same with PM&R. 7 years from graduation. I believe you are allowed 7 chances yes.

 

[gutonc]

Are you allowed 7 chances to pass?

Not sure about Peds, but IM allows you 2 years in a row and if you fail the 2nd time, you have to sit out a year.

 

[mvenus929]

Are you allowed 7 chances to pass?

I think if you fail a certain number of times before you have to sit out a year. But I only know of one person where that question even remotely came up and the idiot waited like 3 years after finishing residency to sit for the boards, then failed multiple times and ran out of his clock. Then had to do a 6 month residency remediation, and still failed it again after that. Finally passed it in 2017.

Everyone else I know (who has failed), failed once or twice and then got their **** together and passed after that.

Now, subspecialty boards are only offered every other year, but you still only have a 7 year window, so you essentially get 3 chances and then you’re out.

 

[Piebaldi]

I think if you fail a certain number of times before you have to sit out a year. But I only know of one person where that question even remotely came up and the idiot waited like 3 years after finishing residency to sit for the boards, then failed multiple times and ran out of his clock. Then had to do a 6 month residency remediation, and still failed it again after that. Finally passed it in 2017.

Everyone else I know (who has failed), failed once or twice and then got their **** together and passed after that.

Now, subspecialty boards are only offered every other year, but you still only have a 7 year window, so you essentially get 3 chances and then you’re out.

6month residency remediation? Like you'd have to go to residency for another 6months? How would that be helpful? Just curious.

 

[Raryn]

6month residency remediation? Like you'd have to go to residency for another 6months? How would that be helpful? Just curious.

I think most of the boards if you time out without passing and are no longer eligible to take the exam, you can actually regain eligibility by repeating the last 6-12 months of residency. Not sure why anyone would do that to themselves though.

 

[Piebaldi]

I think most of the boards if you time out without passing and are no longer eligible to take the exam, you can actually regain eligibility by repeating the last 6-12 months of residency. Not sure why anyone would do that to themselves though.

Wow. That seems crazy. Not sure how going back into residency would be helpful, not to mention that it would be humiliating.

 

[mvenus929]

6month residency remediation? Like you'd have to go to residency for another 6months? How would that be helpful? Just curious.

Supposedly it helps you prepare for the boards again. I was said person’s nursery senior and his day job was as a neonatal hospitalist. The number of questionable decisions he made was a little frightening and I was not at all surprised that he failed boards so many times.

 

[Piebaldi]

Supposedly it helps you prepare for the boards again. I was said person’s nursery senior and his day job was as a neonatal hospitalist. The number of questionable decisions he made was a little frightening and I was not at all surprised that he failed boards so many times.

Wow. That would be awkward.

 

[ThoracicGuy]

Supposedly it helps you prepare for the boards again. I was said person’s nursery senior and his day job was as a neonatal hospitalist. The number of questionable decisions he made was a little frightening and I was not at all surprised that he failed boards so many times.

Did he get better by the end, or too stuck in his ways?

 

[mvenus929]

Did he get better by the end, or too stuck in his ways?

I was only his senior for like 2 weeks, and he only attended deliveries for like 3 of those days (the interns rotated the delivery pager amongst themselves, and he was the 4th 'intern' that month), so not much data to go on. I heard lots of complaints as he continued to move through his rotations, though. He seemed to harbor some resentment that the residents knew more about how to manage patients than he did and wasn't super receptive to feedback from the attendings. Which I get, but... he failed boards multiple times.

I also hated coming on before or after him when I got my attending job two years later. That was the year he finally passed.