Wednesday, May 16, 2007
oral boards
As you can see in the profile, I proudly proclaim myself as a "Board Certified" general surgeon. That designation actually just came into being. I passed the oral boards a few weeks ago. Now I'm a significantly more adept surgeon. Or so they would have you believe. I was surprised how benign the whole experience was. I had one guy out of six who was a little surly. Everyone else went out of his/her way to make me feel comfortable. It was a little disappointing actually. Other than those last five minutes standing outside the hotel door fighting back massive diarrhea, I never really felt utter panic. Where was the intimidation?!?! I'm not sure what the big deal is. Clearly, they are more interested in whether or not you are a SAFE surgeon rather than if you can describe in detail the specific steps of a Sugiura esophagogastric devascularization procedure. Just don't do anything outlandish and I think you'll be ok. And honestly, unless you struggled to pass the Absite exams during residency, don't waste your time or money enrolling in those Osler-type review courses. Take your spouse to Cancun or Cabo for the thousand buckaroos instead. Im still not convinced there's any validity to a system that bestows "board certification" upon a candidate by distilling 5 years of residency down to a 90 minute quiz session at your local Motel 6. It was over so quickly, the lobby bar wasn't even open yet. The goddam waitress wouldnt even splash a little vodka into my OJ. Well, it's over at least. No more tests to take for another 10 years. No more cram sessions at the coffee shop. Not a student anymore. I think I sense an identity crisis coming on. Go Cavs.
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1 comment:
congrats on passing the CE! I am about to take it in Sept. Sure feels good to know it seemed easy but then again.....I am the one yet to take it! Any suggestions on what study aids would help ? (besides mock oral boards, study guides etc).
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