I just found out I did not pass my oral boards. FWIW I’m a US med school grad, trained at a top residency, and in shock because I’ve passed all my boards in the pass. My score was fairly low and I have no breakdown of the score. I don’t understand how I could’ve scored so low. I prepped for the boards using Okuda and running cases with other colleagues who passed.
Could anyone tell me their experience when you didn’t pass the oral boards? Or if you know of a colleague who didn’t pass, what did they do? I didn’t get much info from ABEM when I called regarding my next steps. TIA
My personal opinion is that the ABEM oral boards should be stopped, given it's last right, put in a body bag full of concrete and buried at the bottom of the deepest part of the ocean, never to be spoken of or known to humanity, again. I personally think it's the stupidest test I've ever taken, from kindergarten, up through fellowship and subspecialty board certification. I'm not alone. Many specialties have eliminated their oral boards for these reasons. ABEM is sadly behind the curve on this. Here's why I think this test sucks.
You can absolutely be an extremely smart EM physician, be very smart, know EM top to bottom and back to front and fail this test. No other test we're ever given, is that way. You can have a 98th%ile knowledge base, with equally good clinical skills and fail. The only thing this test tests, is its own quirks and inherently flawed design. Plus, it's a way for ABEM to fund itself.
I'm sorry you failed this obviously worthless test. ABEM should give you your money back. This test is garbage.
Full disclosure, I passed this test. However, on one of the sections, I nearly failed. I did fail the one section, by one scoring method, but with the second scoring method, I passed. Back then, they tested each section with two methods and you have to pass each section by at least one of the scoring methods, or you failed the whole test. In case you failed by one scoring method, they scored it a different way. I'm not sure if they still score it this way (this way quite a few years ago now) but the fact that they ever did, is devastating red flag, as far as I'm concerned. You have so many otherwise, brilliant, hard working, highly trained professionals failing, that you need to build in a second back up way of scoring it, to keep everyone from failing? I'm sorry, but that's flawed testing, not flawed test takers.
This test should never have gotten out of the beta testing phase. I can only imaging the devastation I would have felt if they failed me on this test. I never even came within 200 miles of "failing" a test that I studied for, and yet this one, I almost did. If I had looked at the examiner wrong, coughed during the test, or worn the wrong color tie, I'm sure I would have. And this is after getting a 94% on the written, honors in medical school and doing great in residency per every attending I worked with, and studying literally with a guy that used to administer this oral board exam. I never had one bad clinical evaluation, ever. But ABEM wanted me to think I was "almost not ready" to go out into the world of practicing EM independently, which I had already been doing for a year?
Absolute crap.
I'm sorry you failed this obvious garbage test,
@MSIVWife. Do the right thing ABEM. Stop abusing your grads and eliminate this test.
But until that happens, you need to simply dig in, try to find out better how to play ABEM's oral board game, and take it again. That's all you can do. Keep your chin up, you will pass. And the EM oral boards will go on sucking. I'm sorry you had to go through this.
