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.