Uh you think they would have actually asked something about how we use echo as cardiologists and not sonographers/physicists. What a bs exam.
Took the exam yesterday and also agree that was a very heavy physics exam- unfairly so.
Lots of topics not covered in the above review material.
ANYONE KNOW IF THIS EXAM IS BASED ON A CURVE FOR PASS FAIL? OR IS IT BASED ON NUMBER OF QUESTIONS YOU GET CORRECT?
SRS question.
What purpose do the echo boards serve you guys? Are you not allowed to read and bill without passing them? Seems a little ridiculous frankly...do you also have to pass EKG boards and beta blocker boards?
Do the radiologists have to pass separate MRI, CT, XR and US boards?
Seems like another case of ABIM going bats*** crazy.
I think we're the same person. Word-for-word, I was almost going to write what you did. This is not false humility either--it was really that bad for me. I went in knowing this stuff backwards and forwards, inside and out, and for around 70% of the ASE exam I either had no clue what they were asking, I felt there were two correct answers depending on how you interpret the question, or I had absolutely no clue where to start. I also had major time management issues on one block (7 minutes to answer the last 11 questions).Yeah, obviously can't talk specifics, but I feel like I was comfortable with maybe 20-30% after doing the Mayo course and doing Klein's question book twice and getting 70-80%.
I think we're the same person. Word-for-word, I was almost going to write what you did. This is not false humility either--it was really that bad for me. I went in knowing this stuff backwards and forwards, inside and out, and for around 70% of the ASE exam I either had no clue what they were asking, I felt there were two correct answers depending on how you interpret the question, or I had absolutely no clue where to start. I also had major time management issues on one block (7 minutes to answer the last 11 questions).
Agree with most the above. Hardest certification exam I have ever taken. Block 1 was just impossible. The last clinical section was not bad, IMHO, with facile calculations. Too many esoteric questions not covered in adult practice or in the board review, and too many questions in which the question stem deliberately held back on key information that would be freely available in the real world (was this zoomed in clip TTE or TEE?, sector angle could be widened, more views would be available etc.). I do not expect to pass...
Gutonc: the writing is on the wall; a piece of paper will soon be a prerequisite to bill for your read. I think that's why most people are taking the test.
This document states the pass rate is set at 68.5% questions correct. This info is a little old but that's probably why only 72% of people pass it. I thought the first block was so hard I almost laughed. Ridiculous!
http://www.onlinejase.com/article/S0894-7317(01)55987-8/pdf
I have not heard of too many places requiring echo boards to read echos. It's all hospital dependent. The credentialing committee makes the rules.SRS question.
What purpose do the echo boards serve you guys? Are you not allowed to read and bill without passing them? Seems a little ridiculous frankly...do you also have to pass EKG boards and beta blocker boards?
Do the radiologists have to pass separate MRI, CT, XR and US boards?
Seems like another case of ABIM going bats*** crazy.
Right...but the credentialing committee is made up of assh***s like me...PP oncologists, pediatricians, pathologists and endocrinologists with too much time on our hands and a lingering desire to pretend we're "academics". So the mere presence of a board cert (however irrelevant) will often lead committees to require them.I have not heard of too many places requiring echo boards to read echos. It's all hospital dependent. The credentialing committee makes the rules.
Right...but the credentialing committee is made up of assh***s like me...PP oncologists, pediatricians, pathologists and endocrinologists with too much time on our hands and a lingering desire to pretend we're "academics". So the mere presence of a board cert (however irrelevant) will often lead committees to require them.
Hence my initial question. Echo is part and parcel of the practice of a cardiologist. It's as if I had to pass a "bone marrow biopsy" board or the GI guys had to pass a separate colonoscopy board in order to do our jobs.
Yeah, quite anxious. Are we to get first notification by email, snail mail, or what?
Boyz of 4d or any other posters who used Edelman's lecture packet - can you pls tell me how I can get my hands on this? I purchased the ASE lecture series online but his lectures are not on there. TIA!I agree. I thought in general was a very difficult test. I thought a lot of the questions were not worded/explained very well or unclear about what they were going for. For the physics section I thought Dr. Edelman's lecture packet from ASE was awesome.
Harrypotter7 did you ever find the handouts. TIACan anyone tell me where can I find the edelman physics and congenital hand outs please..thanks
Misterpeppers can you pls tell me how I can get the Edelman' s handouts? I couldn't attend the course but did buy the online review course lectures. His isn't in there though. TIAAlso agree, test was hard, esoteric, impractical. I used ASE review course, Mayo echo course, Klein Textbook and pegasus questions to study. Probably the highest yield study material was Sid Edelman physics handout. Overall, I walked out ticked off. I am not sure what I could've studied better...I don't think you could answer some of the questions even if you had the Feigenbaum text open while taking the test.
I actually did use the resources that boyz of 4d posted above - the Mayo DVDs, Klein question book, and NBE questions. I also used the online ASE review course, which was better orchestrated, more concise, more board relevant, and cheaper than the Mayo course.
I realized later I could've saved a lot of money and time by just reading Feigenbaum and studying the accompanying echos. The answers were all there.
As far as other resources, it seems that studying the ASE congenital and physics (Edelman) handouts provided a nice advantage. Obtain those if you can.