ABEM introduces Structured Interview for Virtual Oral Boards

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[Porfirio]

Didn’t order a lipase??

 

[CliveStaples]

So next year's board takers are going to pay full price for their boards, get a 3 hour online exam, and have to pay full price for this in order to get 5 years of certification instead of 10 years? Is that a joke?

 

[JacobMcCandles]

I'm glad I'm passed that. There was a decent amount of bad and/or unnecessary medicine in there.

Examiner: "Doctor, why did you order a BMP?"

Examinee: "Uh, because you apparently can't admit someone to a hospital without one."

 

[Brigade4Radiant]

So next year's board takers are going to pay full price for their boards, get a 3 hour online exam, and have to pay full price for this in order to get 5 years of certification instead of 10 years? Is that a joke?

I think they changed the 5 year to everyone

 

[HoosierdaddyO]

Call me crazy but they should not only reduce the fee for the test but they should extend eligibility by a year or two secondary to all the speed bumps and delaying the oral boards this past spring and now not having enough seats for the written boards this winter bc if covid!!!

 

[Cinclus]

They should just certify us already. If the exam is anything like the Okuda book, we will be tested on outdated practices.

 

[CliveStaples]

I think they changed the 5 year to everyone

It’s 5 years for everybody who certifies starting in 2021. For everybody before, they’re still honoring the 10 year.

So if written and oral boards costs the same as it did for last year and the year before, it’s charging the same amount for 5 years of certification as they charged for 10 year. It’s a money grab.

 

[GeneralVeers]

What a scam. Why can't we rebel against these con artists?

 

[CajunMedic]

JFC, that's painful to watch.... We're supposed to pay for the privilege of taking that? I know I went to a strip mall DO school, but damn, I will have managed to make it through a decent residency....

 

[wareagle726]

Those were the kind of questions I remember in simulated cases in 2nd year med school. What are your top 3 differential diagnoses? 1.) Terribleness in any one of 5 abdominal organs 2.) Terribleness in the heart 3.) Pretty much terribleness that could be anywhere and referred to dead center of the body. Why did you order a CT scan? Because I can't see through the muggle skin with my eyes.

 

[WilcoWorld]

JFC, that's painful to watch.... We're supposed to pay for the privilege of taking that? I know I went to a strip mall DO school, but damn, I will have managed to make it through a decent residency....

I still am proud to say that I attended the cheapest medical school in the country

 

[Vandalia]

I still am proud to say that I attended the cheapest medical school in the country

USUHS?

To move on to serious stuff, according to what I have seen in modern education theory, the perfect assessment tool already exists: an EM residency. It used to be that board certification was an "over and above" qualification not meant for every physician in a specialty. Since that no longer applies, we might as well make board certification and residency graduation the same thing.

If there was any value to the oral boards, it was to separate out those who were good on tests but folded under pressure; that element cannot exist in a "structured" interview.

 

[bravotwozero]

USUHS?

To move on to serious stuff, according to what I have seen in modern education theory, the perfect assessment tool already exists: an EM residency. It used to be that board certification was an "over and above" qualification not meant for every physician in a specialty. Since that no longer applies, we might as well make board certification and residency graduation the same thing.

You bring up an interesting point. There already are a number of specialties that allow you to take the specialty boards prior to completion of your senior year of residency, such as FM. That way if you take and pass the boards, you are board certified upon graduation. Perhaps we should go in that direction as well.

 

[Fox800]

Just watched the sample video.

One of the questions was "Doctor, why did you palpate the abdomen?"

"Why did you reassess the patient?"

Seriously? This is what our money is going towards? You can't figure this **** out by the time we've already finished residency? This is med student stuff.

 

[TheComebacKid]

Just took my written boards, and hopefully will pass and will be able to sit for this *****ic oral boards exam as well.

I understand the frustration with everyone regarding ABEM and the money grab with this bogus exam. However, isn't the 5 year re-cert supposed to be an easier process than sitting for the exam again in 10 years? I was under the impression the recertification was going to be more in line with a "continuing education" type of model as opposed to just taking tests. Or is it just "twice the money" for ABEM?

Who the hell gets the money in ABEM? The leadership? The test writers?

 

[Cinclus]

Just watched the sample video.

One of the questions was "Doctor, why did you palpate the abdomen?"

"Why did you reassess the patient?"

Seriously? This is what our money is going towards? You can't figure this **** out by the time we've already finished residency? This is med student stuff.

It's almost offensive.

 

[Zebra Hunter]

The worst part of these exams was the lack of standardization between proctors. I'd have several that would allow me to shotgun physical exams, and then of course in one of my triple cases, the proctor forced me to not only go through each system individually, but asked for the specific exams I wanted on every system regardless of relevance to the case. Of course I nearly ran out of time on that triple purely due to wasting so much time on physical exams that I already knew were of little importance.

 

[Buckeye1992]

Now that USMLE has permanently canceled CS does that increase the likelihood oral boards go away? With format changes and virtual format does 1300$ for a 98% pass rate make sense?

 

[Brigade4Radiant]

Now that USMLE has permanently canceled CS does that increase the likelihood oral boards go away? With format changes and virtual format does 1300$ for a 98% pass rate make sense?

No you see ABEM likes money they need to “test empathy”

 

[AlmostAnMD]

Yeah they're already hard about the virtual exam. They posted a FAQ on their website about it, and it's hilarious because half the questions are them defending why oral boards still exists

They're also jerks about scheduling. I already have my march schedule for work. Then I got an email last week saying my oral exam was in march...while I work.

So I asked for a change which was denied. If I appeal "I lose my place for the entire 2021 year."

So it's MY problem ABEM wasn't prepared at all. They had a year to schedule me and just did it last week for 5 weeks from now. So now I have to inconvenience my SDG and look like a fool.

I hate ABEM. I hate them so much. This is such a monumental and unjustifiable scam. It's important to have a professional certifying organization but it's also important not give money to thieves.

Unfortunately we collectively lack the balls to propose an alternative organization so I'm going to bend over and take some oral

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Is this real? What is this even?