Oral Boards 2023

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Some of my co-examiners mentioned it last week, presumably talking about late March/early April. I wouldn't rely on that rumor, but we might get lucky.
 
FiO2@21 said:
Some of my co-examiners mentioned it last week, presumably talking about late March/early April. I wouldn't rely on that rumor, but we might get lucky.
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For the two exam groups so far, scores have come out 3 Tuesdays after the test. So if you tested late in the week, then it’s slightly under 3 weeks. None of them have been released within 14 days though.
 
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stormn12 said:
For the two exam groups so far, scores have come out 3 Tuesdays after the test. So if you tested late in the week, then it’s slightly under 3 weeks. None of them have been released within 14 days though.
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Oh gotcha.. What counts as a "group" anyway? I assumed there were exams every week for the last couple months.
 
FiO2@21 said:
Oh gotcha.. What counts as a "group" anyway? I assumed there were exams every week for the last couple months.
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A group is the people who took it during a given week (they test Monday through Thursday). It’s not every week, I took it April 24-27 which the website says was week 4, some of my buddies took it week of March 6 which was week 1.
 
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FiO2@21 said:
I heard some people were lucky enough to only wait 2 weeks.
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I think it’s going to be the 16th, cos I got an email from the ABA to update my name by the 15th of May if I were to be certified.
 
FiO2@21 said:
I heard some people were lucky enough to only wait 2 weeks.
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I think it’s the 16th cos I got an email from the ABA to update my name by the 15th, if I were to be certified.
 
My exam is in September this year. Looking for a study buddy. Please PM me if interested. Thanks. And congrats to all who passed.
 
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I keep rereading it to make sure. Walking into the unit with a grin on my face.
 
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Passed. Don’t know how with how absolutely terrible it went but to anyone reading this you will feel terrible and that means you passed.
 
Passed the oral, failed the osce. Which I am actually a bit relieved/annoyed. I totally was expecting the opposite result. Worst part is having to wait over a year before taking another crack at it. Admittedly I focused way way way more of my study on the SOE. I fumbled on a part of the monitor section but thought everything else went OK, hoping there may be something helpful on the results letter.
 
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dododr said:
Passed the oral, failed the osce. Which I am actually a bit relieved/annoyed. I totally was expecting the opposite result. Worst part is having to wait over a year before taking another crack at it. Admittedly I focused way way way more of my study on the SOE. I fumbled on a part of the monitor section but thought everything else went OK, hoping there may be something helpful on the results letter.
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Just found out that I failed osce as well. Hopefully more test dates will open up for us. Still in shock for sure
 
Also failed the OSCE. Passed the SOE at least. All I have available for retake currently is October 2024. We can still take our fellowship board exam but can’t actually get our certification until OSCE is passed, right? This is such bull****.
 
Also failed OSCE lol. Passed SOE though. Curious to know what I failed. Monitors were for sure tough.

FWIW
4-5 weeks of studying UBP after pain clinic and on the weekends. Maybe got through it 1.25-1.5 times. I did 3 mocks.
 
anes1990 said:
Also failed the OSCE. Passed the SOE at least. All I have available for retake currently is October 2024. We can still take our fellowship board exam but can’t actually get our certification until OSCE is passed, right? This is such bull****.
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I was under the impression that you cannot take your subspecialty boards until you are certified. Someone correct me if I'm wrong though
 
ohzozo said:
I was under the impression that you cannot take your subspecialty boards until you are certified. Someone correct me if I'm wrong though
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That is my understanding, but if someone can verify otherwise I would appreciate it.
 
I will say the ultimate board prep OSCE prep is very spot on for the exam for anyone wanting a structured way to study for that section. I would say that UBP is just as helpful for OSCE as it is for the SOE. It might even be more helpful for OSCE because of how similar it is to the actual test though.

For the SOE I thought doing the old ABA exams with multiple different partners and then going over each answer using uptodate was the main beneficial thing to simulate the real type of questions and the pace of the actual exam. I did some real ABA exams with two board examiners too and one of the practices I did was with two attendings like how it is on the real exam. We did two mocks in residency too.

The other resources I used to study was the Stanford Emergency manual, the Lange Flashcards, and the green more recent version of the rapid review. I read that Cleveland clinic oral boards study tips guide too.
 
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Licious_1 said:
Results are up!
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WiltsOnStilts said:
Passed. Don’t know how with how absolutely terrible it went but to anyone reading this you will feel terrible and that means you passed.
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dododr said:
Passed the oral, failed the osce. Which I am actually a bit relieved/annoyed. I totally was expecting the opposite result. Worst part is having to wait over a year before taking another crack at it. Admittedly I focused way way way more of my study on the SOE. I fumbled on a part of the monitor section but thought everything else went OK, hoping there may be something helpful on the results letter.
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When did you guys take it?
 
If anyone is interested in the Ho 4-day crash course review material, you can PM me or let me know if you have any questions. I found the prep material and course helpful.
 
I remember when the OSCE, someone had started a pdf outlining what to study point by point. That should still be floating around on sdn. That and an echo practice app I bought on my iPad were all you need. I wrote this test 4-5 years ago
 
TheLoneWolf said:
I remember when the OSCE, someone had started a pdf outlining what to study point by point. That should still be floating around on sdn. That and an echo practice app I bought on my iPad were all you need. I wrote this test 4-5 years ago
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The ABA has a PDF but it’s incorrect. My echo on the monitor definitely wasn’t something I have ever seen in my life. And the grading is BS. I know for sure I nailed 2/3 of the hands on ultrasound, missed 1/3 of it, got about half the monitors. I did as close to perfect as possible on the talking parts, I historically have a very accurate perception of my performance and I nailed 5 out of the 7 stations. Something seems fishy to me with how many people failed the OSCE that week...
 
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anes1990 said:
The ABA has a PDF but it’s incorrect. My echo on the monitor definitely wasn’t something I have ever seen in my life. And the grading is BS. I know for sure I nailed 2/3 of the hands on ultrasound, missed 1/3 of it, got about half the monitors. I did as close to perfect as possible on the talking parts, I historically have a very accurate perception of my performance and I nailed 5 out of the 7 stations. Something seems fishy to me with how many people failed the OSCE that week...
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I might have been lucky but the views I had were off the list of "standard" TEE views on that PDF. Same with the diagnoses from the TEE.
 
popnull said:
I will say the ultimate board prep OSCE prep is very spot on for the exam for anyone wanting a structured way to study for that section. I would say that UBP is just as helpful for OSCE as it is for the SOE. It might even be more helpful for OSCE because of how similar it is to the actual test though.

For the SOE I thought doing the old ABA exams with multiple different partners and then going over each answer using uptodate was the main beneficial thing to simulate the real type of questions and the pace of the actual exam.
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I agree, UBP was great for the OSCEs. The principals/buzzwords were all there even if the cases were different. Monitors section was nice but I also re-reviewed Josh Zimmerman's Rescue TEE videos on University of Utah's website. I read through the outline and made sure I wouldn't have any issues diagnosing any of the items listed.

I've been away from the OR all year so I had to review all the blocks on their list. Specifically I drew out the ultrasound images, labelled muscles, vessels, nerves, and said where I'd put local.

I thought the SOE cases were good. Their answers were not meant to be what you actually said on the exam but more of an informational reference to look at after you said your actual answer. There were times my friends and I strongly disagreed with their approach for a case and said our own answer in a way that still demonstrated thoughtfulness. I looked at UpToDate a lot or polled experienced attendings I trusted for some sketchy situations/niche topics. I drilled with friends almost daily up until a couple weeks before when I felt I was hitting some diminishing returns. But when I went through cases alone I still said them out loud.

I still felt that the actual SOE was faster paced than I expected, and they'd nitpick on simple/obvious answers sometimes to confirm you knew why you were doing it. They also didn't really let me announce my perfectly formulated anesthetic plan at the beginning. The case would proceed at a fast clip and put me in a situation that I felt could have been avoided if my amazing anesthetic had been followed. But I overall felt like I was able to keep a cool head and navigate most of the grilling because of my preparation.

Didn't stop me from panicking for 3 weeks!
 
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Did anybody get the results letter that’s supposed to be posted to the portal today? There’s nothing posted on my dashboard. They are very incompetent and frustrating.
 
anes1990 said:
Did anybody get the results letter that’s supposed to be posted to the portal today? There’s nothing posted on my dashboard. They are very incompetent and frustrating.
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It’s under Account Settings > Posted Documents. Never made sense to me, but that’s where advanced results were as well. It’s just a letter. Nothing too exciting, and no breakdown of performance.
 
For those looking for OSCE prep, let me echo those that are recommending the UBP OSCE modules. They are fantastic. Some of the stations you just need to memorize a bunch of high points to hit. Sure, we can all talk to surgeons and talk to patients about complications or consent, but you really have to have a very formulaic way of going through the stations to get all the points. For instance, consent requires that you specifically talk about indications, risks, benefits, what will be done to minimize risk, how the procedure is performed, asking if they have questions, providing answers, proposing alternatives and then confirming aloud their consent all while being genuinely empathetic. The patient in my consent station constantly interrupted and derailed me but I kept going back to the mental checklist and got through it all. The QI station is another one where you absolutely need to just memorize the outline or you won’t pass the station.

When studying for the OSCE, use UBP and go line-by-line with the ABA OSCE outline and you will do fine. If you underestimate this portion of the exam, you run a high risk of failing.
 
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Reveler said:
For those looking for OSCE prep, let me echo those that are recommending the UBP OSCE modules. They are fantastic. Some of the stations you just need to memorize a bunch of high points to hit. Sure, we can all talk to surgeons and talk to patients about complications or consent, but you really have to have a very formulaic way of going through the stations to get all the points. For instance, consent requires that you specifically talk about indications, risks, benefits, what will be done to minimize risk, how the procedure is performed, asking if they have questions, providing answers, proposing alternatives and then confirming aloud their consent all while being genuinely empathetic. The patient in my consent station constantly interrupted and derailed me but I kept going back to the mental checklist and got through it all. The QI station is another one where you absolutely need to just memorize the outline or you won’t pass the station.

When studying for the OSCE, use UBP and go line-by-line with the ABA OSCE outline and you will do fine. If you underestimate this portion of the exam, you run a high risk of failing.
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Not necessarily. I did all that and still allegedly failed. Even specifically made sure to hit line by line on the ABA outline. The actors are terrible, they won’t stay on topic and will perseverate on things that have already been clearly discussed and addressed, it is asinine that some low quality actor can screw with people becoming board certified. The whole thing is a money grab that needs to be abolished; unfortunately in 5 years, there will probably be 6 more tests and $20,000 more dollars people will have to pay to become certified.
 
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After reviewing the osce feedback, failed all the stupid stuff; qi project, professional comminication, ethics discussion. So incredibly frustrating, I felt like I did fine on all those. Have frequently been praised on having good bedside manner; actually am above average on my practices pt surveys...I did not use the aforementioned resources so I guess I'll run it back with trying out those in 1.5 yrs...to be fair I really didn't prepare much for those stations and figured they would be freebies...nope definetly not
 
dododr said:
After reviewing the osce feedback, failed all the stupid stuff; qi project, professional comminication, ethics discussion. So incredibly frustrating, I felt like I did fine on all those. Have frequently been praised on having good bedside manner; actually am above average on my practices pt surveys...I did not use the aforementioned resources so I guess I'll run it back with trying out those in 1.5 yrs...to be fair I really didn't prepare much for those stations and figured they would be freebies...nope definetly not
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Oh. Sorry to hear.

Honestly, you can have good communication skills and fail those stations. It seems the trick for these is to follow the specific format in the ABA content outline, especially for the consent and QI project. I would imagine if you hit all of their points you will get full credit for the station.

UBP has a pretty good review for ethical issues and professional communication.
 
dododr said:
After reviewing the osce feedback, failed all the stupid stuff; qi project, professional comminication, ethics discussion. So incredibly frustrating, I felt like I did fine on all those. Have frequently been praised on having good bedside manner; actually am above average on my practices pt surveys...I did not use the aforementioned resources so I guess I'll run it back with trying out those in 1.5 yrs...to be fair I really didn't prepare much for those stations and figured they would be freebies...nope definetly not
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There are a few key points they want you to hit that you probably didn't. I don't remember the exact details but it was like "how do you set up a project" and there was some 4 letter acronym that you needed to follow for the plan.
 
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for those all saying follow the content outline and UBP sure, but where do you find more info for some stations:

The "Communication with other professionals" says:

Candidates may also be asked to demonstrate understanding and application of team- related skills, including:
• Leadership - team orientation and coordination
• Mutual performance monitoring
• Backup behavior
• Adaptability
• Providing formative feedback and facilitated debriefing

where the do you find info on this? i like others thought i hit most of these points or maybe i thought i did

The ethical issues was not your traditional type of ethics case but per the outline
"Anesthesiologists face ethical issues related to patients, colleagues, organizations, and society. "
needless to say i thought i addressed the station and followed the prompt and directions. Where are you supposed to find resources for these things? UBP does a great job sure for patient related issues but nothing else.

the content outline is good for some stations but seems majorly lacking for others, where can you find more resources?
 
addoncase said:
for those all saying follow the content outline and UBP sure, but where do you find more info for some stations:

The "Communication with other professionals" says:

Candidates may also be asked to demonstrate understanding and application of team- related skills, including:
• Leadership - team orientation and coordination
• Mutual performance monitoring
• Backup behavior
• Adaptability
• Providing formative feedback and facilitated debriefing

where the do you find info on this? i like others thought i hit most of these points or maybe i thought i did

The ethical issues was not your traditional type of ethics case but per the outline
"Anesthesiologists face ethical issues related to patients, colleagues, organizations, and society. "
needless to say i thought i addressed the station and followed the prompt and directions. Where are you supposed to find resources for these things? UBP does a great job sure for patient related issues but nothing else.

the content outline is good for some stations but seems majorly lacking for others, where can you find more resources?
Click to expand...

Just followed the outline on the aba websitr
 
addoncase said:
for those all saying follow the content outline and UBP sure, but where do you find more info for some stations:

The "Communication with other professionals" says:

Candidates may also be asked to demonstrate understanding and application of team- related skills, including:
• Leadership - team orientation and coordination
• Mutual performance monitoring
• Backup behavior
• Adaptability
• Providing formative feedback and facilitated debriefing

where the do you find info on this? i like others thought i hit most of these points or maybe i thought i did

The ethical issues was not your traditional type of ethics case but per the outline
"Anesthesiologists face ethical issues related to patients, colleagues, organizations, and society. "
needless to say i thought i addressed the station and followed the prompt and directions. Where are you supposed to find resources for these things? UBP does a great job sure for patient related issues but nothing else.

the content outline is good for some stations but seems majorly lacking for others, where can you find more resources?
Click to expand...


UBP covers the ethical issues pretty well in their materials. I had a similar case to the one I had on the actual exam.
 
for those doing a fellowship and waiting for may results seeing a registration available for their subspecialty on the dashboard?/ does it mean anything?
 
Ravenclaw90 said:
It sure seems like maybe it means we passed? Bc I can now pay for my subspecialty exam if i want to
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Score is likely coming out Tuesday morning. Had the option to sign up and pay for pain boards yesterday. However, it’s not there anymore. Probably just a glitch.
 
Anyone taking the oral boards in September/October and are interested in studying over skype?
 
PM me if you guys are interested doing some mock orals im taking mine in oct. also interested in any review materal y'all have
 
When should results for the Sept 11 -14, 2023 exam dates be posted?
 
I came here to ask the same question. Earlier in the thread someone mentioned 3 Tuesdays after so maybe next Tuesday? Or the Tuesday after that.

Good luck!
 
I believe the result will be up on 10/3 if previous pattern holds
 
Results from 9/14 were released around 9AM (Eastern Time) this AM, so it ended up being 3 Tuesdays after my exam date for results. Seems like that’s their usual timeline now
 
InGen said:
Results from 9/14 were released around 9AM (Eastern Time) this AM, so it ended up being 3 Tuesdays after my exam date for results. Seems like that’s their usual timeline now
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Yeah.. just found out at 6:15am PST this morning that I passed!!! Board certified now. Great relief.
 
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