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I highly recommend getting a study partner and running through cases. Where you get the cases doesn’t matter as much as practice with the test format and simulating cases.
 
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I’m prepping for oral boards as well. I think the most frustrating thing is that almost all oral board review resources were published prior to the changes in the exam. Not only is the test 100% virtual, but the format has changed drastically. I’m working through the Mayer oral board prep book and doing practice cases on my own. There are some sample cases/ videos on the abpmr website. I wish there was a better board review book.

If you find a helpful resource please let me know.
 
j4pac said:
I highly recommend getting a study partner and running through cases. Where you get the cases doesn’t matter as much as practice with the test format and simulating cases.
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This is the way. You will find that you can get a bulk of your points in the oral exam just by following a process. By that I mean using acronyms like OLD CARTS(onset, location, duration, characteristic, aggravating/alleviating, radiation/relieving, timing severity) for history taking and coming up with you physical exam method. Then shoot off from there. It is easy to freeze up or get flustered if not used to getting asked questions in an exam setting and practice practice practice drills it in and make its just like muscle memory that you can do without thinking.


Even if you dont know the specific condition, being able to get in the ballpark of the type of condition give you exam things and testing things to ask for when doing oral exams. For example a back pain question, a progressive weakness question, a peds development question. My residency program was pretty good at getting the graduated/graduating residents together to work on these things. Id start with reaching out to your fellow residents preparing for it.
 
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Momentum70 said:
This is the way. You will find that you can get a bulk of your points in the oral exam just by following a process. By that I mean using acronyms like OLD CARTS(onset, location, duration, characteristic, aggravating/alleviating, radiation/relieving, timing severity) for history taking and coming up with you physical exam method. Then shoot off from there. It is easy to freeze up or get flustered if not used to getting asked questions in an exam setting and practice practice practice drills it in and make its just like muscle memory that you can do without thinking.


Even if you dont know the specific condition, being able to get in the ballpark of the type of condition give you exam things and testing things to ask for when doing oral exams. For example a back pain question, a progressive weakness question, a peds development question. My residency program was pretty good at getting the graduated/graduating residents together to work on these things. Id start with reaching out to your fellow residents preparing for it.
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Agreed. They have gotten away from checking boxes as part of the grade. You don’t even need to have the right diagnosis. You just need to be able to be organized and be able to explain your rationale for diagnosis, treatments, and interpersonal issues. You can’t do that by reading reading a text or even reading cases. You do that by actually practicing the cases in a simulated test environment.
 
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Scottie Dog said:
I’m prepping for oral boards as well. I think the most frustrating thing is that almost all oral board review resources were published prior to the changes in the exam. Not only is the test 100% virtual, but the format has changed drastically. I’m working through the Mayer oral board prep book and doing practice cases on my own. There are some sample cases/ videos on the abpmr website. I wish there was a better board review book.

If you find a helpful resource please let me know.
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Is the Meyer book the orange one? I was in the class that took oral boards virtually for the first time (it was a cluster!) but I didn't like the orange book, I used the other book that has a bunch of cases (I think it was green/blue?) and it was sufficient.
I am not sure that the changes to the exam are that significant that they truly affect studying.
A lot of the cases in my opinion are things that are learned in the course of residency/fellowship, I don't think that they are hard per se, it's just sometimes the reviewers/examiners ask questions in a weird way/incorrect way (I remember the interviewers clearly not being knowledgeable in certain Pain cases for example, as I was in the midst of my pain fellowship and I knew the management down packed for some cases and what they were asking was totally way off, etc).
There are a number of questions that are not really knowledge based, but rather "opinional" in my experience, which is hard to prepare for. The "what would you do if..." type things.
Additionally at times you don't even need to get to the right diagnosis if I remember correctly but rather need to explain how you got there, why, etc.
 
Iamnew2 said:
Is the Meyer book the orange one? I was in the class that took oral boards virtually for the first time (it was a cluster!) but I didn't like the orange book, I used the other book that has a bunch of cases (I think it was green/blue?) and it was sufficient.
I am not sure that the changes to the exam are that significant that they truly affect studying.
A lot of the cases in my opinion are things that are learned in the course of residency/fellowship, I don't think that they are hard per se, it's just sometimes the reviewers/examiners ask questions in a weird way/incorrect way (I remember the interviewers clearly not being knowledgeable in certain Pain cases for example, as I was in the midst of my pain fellowship and I knew the management down packed for some cases and what they were asking was totally way off, etc).
There are a number of questions that are not really knowledge based, but rather "opinional" in my experience, which is hard to prepare for. The "what would you do if..." type things.
Additionally at times you don't even need to get to the right diagnosis if I remember correctly but rather need to explain how you got there, why, etc.
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I agree with this part. You can take the current cases from whatever resource you want, and then reframe it based on the changes. ABPMR is the enemy right? (I Kid, you know I love you ABPMR)...but their website is actually a pretty good resource on how the test is conducted. They have mock cases. If you have that...and have any number of cases...that would probably suffice.
 
With it being virtual, I'm afraid my internet is gonna drop in my apartment. It tends to be spotty sometimes any recommendations?
 
Ogliodendrocyte said:
With it being virtual, I'm afraid my internet is gonna drop in my apartment. It tends to be spotty sometimes any recommendations?
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Go to your parents’/friends’ or the library. Or plug into ethernet port if it’s just the WiFi that’s the issue.

I agree with all the others that live prep with a partner was the best prep
 
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Ogliodendrocyte said:
With it being virtual, I'm afraid my internet is gonna drop in my apartment. It tends to be spotty sometimes any recommendations?
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I got a hotel room that had free wifi and my back up was my phone as a hot spot. I checked it out before hand to make sure I had good cell service in the room. For me the expense was worth it to get into the right mind set and not worry about my toddler and newborn at the time. My wife was all for it also as the other option was her having to be out of house the entire time and much easier to take care of the little ones in our home.
 
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RangerBob said:
Go to your parents’/friends’ or the library. Or plug into ethernet port if it’s just the WiFi that’s the issue.

I agree with all the others that live prep with a partner was the best prep
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The Ethernet port is great advice. I think that lots of younger folks don’t even know what it is unless they are hardcore gamers
 
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RangerBob said:
I guess I really am getting a bit older…
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Lol we use to have to use it out of necessity. High speed internet has made it a relic.
 
Momentum70 said:
I got a hotel room that had free wifi and my back up was my phone as a hot spot. I checked it out before hand to make sure I had good cell service in the room. For me the expense was worth it to get into the right mind set and not worry about my toddler and newborn at the time. My wife was all for it also as the other option was her having to be out of house the entire time and much easier to take care of the little ones in our home.
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I know this thread is old but this is a great idea, I’m in the same situation with a toddler, thank you!
 
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