This course is delivered by the country's top dynamic lecturers who will 'WOW' you with their expertise in their field. The syllabus is dictated by nothing but exam relevance. Thus, making this course the perfect choice for those who are preparing for the written or oral board exam and simultaneously feel a need to broaden their knowledge. The fall course provides CME Credits - 34 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits TM jointly sponsored by Oakstone Medical Publishing and ExamPro. The spring course provides CME Credits - 36.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits TM jointly sponsored by Oakstone Medical Publishing and ExamPro.
Thanks to our strategic alliance with AIM (American Institute of Multiple Choice Questions [MCQ]), we are now able to offer for written exam candidates registering for our spring board review course, a FREE MCQ test-taking skills course. This exciting course is designed to teach MCQ test taking technique, and thus obtain higher scores in CREOG and OB/GYN Written board exams. AIM is the only course that is specifically designed and delivered by OB/GYNs, exclusively for OB/GYNs! Whereas others provide a general version of our course for a hefty fee, this is free to ExamPro registrants. Not only have Johns Hopkins OB/GYN residents specifically, found it to be extremely beneficial, but AIM has also had phenomenal results from its registrants in general. Reserve your spot today for this superb course.
Registration fee for residency directors: Free
Click Here For More Information and To Sign Up
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
OBGYN Board Review Course
This course is delivered by the country's top dynamic lecturers who will 'WOW' you with their expertise in their field. The syllabus is dictated by nothing but exam relevance. Thus, making this course the perfect choice for those who are preparing for the written or oral board exam and simultaneously feel a need to broaden their knowledge. The fall course provides CME Credits - 34 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits TM jointly sponsored by Oakstone Medical Publishing and ExamPro. The spring course provides CME Credits - 36.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits TM jointly sponsored by Oakstone Medical Publishing and ExamPro.
Thanks to our strategic alliance with AIM (American Institute of Multiple Choice Questions [MCQ]), we are now able to offer for written exam candidates registering for our spring board review course, a FREE MCQ test-taking skills course. This exciting course is designed to teach MCQ test taking technique, and thus obtain higher scores in CREOG and OB/GYN Written board exams. AIM is the only course that is specifically designed and delivered by OB/GYNs, exclusively for OB/GYNs! Whereas others provide a general version of our course for a hefty fee, this is free to ExamPro registrants. Not only have Johns Hopkins OB/GYN residents specifically, found it to be extremely beneficial, but AIM has also had phenomenal results from its registrants in general. Reserve your spot today for this superb course.
Registration fee for residency directors: Free
Click Here For More Information and To Sign Up
Thanks to our strategic alliance with AIM (American Institute of Multiple Choice Questions [MCQ]), we are now able to offer for written exam candidates registering for our spring board review course, a FREE MCQ test-taking skills course. This exciting course is designed to teach MCQ test taking technique, and thus obtain higher scores in CREOG and OB/GYN Written board exams. AIM is the only course that is specifically designed and delivered by OB/GYNs, exclusively for OB/GYNs! Whereas others provide a general version of our course for a hefty fee, this is free to ExamPro registrants. Not only have Johns Hopkins OB/GYN residents specifically, found it to be extremely beneficial, but AIM has also had phenomenal results from its registrants in general. Reserve your spot today for this superb course.
Registration fee for residency directors: Free
Click Here For More Information and To Sign Up
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
The Dreaded MOC Part Written Exam
The Part 3 portion of the Maintenance of Certification is the written exam. This is the one that is ruffling so many feathers. Why? Because virtually everyone in clinical practice has to do it. The only exempt obgyns are those, who graduated prior to 1986 and are thus ‘grandfathered-in’.
Most have not taken a written exam for at least 10-15 year, and since this exam has never been given before, no one is sure what to expect. As if this is not bad enough, we are obliged to get a passing grade failing which, we will (at least temporarily) lose our board certification status and our membership as a fellow of ACOG! Clearly, this is serious business!!
Although no one knows precisely what to expect in the exam, there are some basic principles we can use to guide ourselves as we prepare for this exam (which will first be taken in 2012).
1) ABOG has already stated that it will expect physicians to:
a. incorporate ‘new information obtained by their participation in the MOC Part 2 process’.
b. Have ‘retained and are currently employing basic information learned during their training’
2) It seems reasonable to expect that it will probe the candidates understanding of routine standard of care
3) It seems reasonable that will have a reasonably high pass rate, since there is a potential to cause nationwide havoc in the provision of OBGYN services, if a significant percentage find themselves losing their board certification status!
At the end of the day, many OBGYNs will probably find themselves going to a refresher review course, or one that specifically attempts to prepare them for this specific exam.
Most have not taken a written exam for at least 10-15 year, and since this exam has never been given before, no one is sure what to expect. As if this is not bad enough, we are obliged to get a passing grade failing which, we will (at least temporarily) lose our board certification status and our membership as a fellow of ACOG! Clearly, this is serious business!!
Although no one knows precisely what to expect in the exam, there are some basic principles we can use to guide ourselves as we prepare for this exam (which will first be taken in 2012).
1) ABOG has already stated that it will expect physicians to:
a. incorporate ‘new information obtained by their participation in the MOC Part 2 process’.
b. Have ‘retained and are currently employing basic information learned during their training’
2) It seems reasonable to expect that it will probe the candidates understanding of routine standard of care
3) It seems reasonable that will have a reasonably high pass rate, since there is a potential to cause nationwide havoc in the provision of OBGYN services, if a significant percentage find themselves losing their board certification status!
At the end of the day, many OBGYNs will probably find themselves going to a refresher review course, or one that specifically attempts to prepare them for this specific exam.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Implications of failing the MOC Process!
OBGYNS have never before had to consider the possibility of losing their board status on an on-going annual basis. This is the new reality with the new Maintenance of Certification (MOC) process which began in 2008. While ABOG has not been overly explicit as to the consequences of MOC failure, here is what is known.
In order to maintain certification status, a diplomate must successfully complete all 4 components of the MOC process (discussed in a previous article). It is your responsibility to subject yourself (voluntarily) to the MOC process. You must not allow your certificate to expire. There should be no blemish of significance on your state licenses and you must successfully complete each year, the appropriate parts of the of the MOC process. Failure to do so will result in:
1) Loss of Diplomate status with ABOG. This means you will no longer be able to promote yourself as being board certified!
2) If you allow you license to expire, you may have to take a proctored written exam amongst other potential requirements yet to be announced.
3) You may lose your status with ACOG
-If you should fail the ABC exam, you will have an opportunity to retake the exam for an additional fee.
-Diplomates failing to be actively involved in the MOC process for 2 consecutive years will lose board certification status. If, within the subsequent year, they wish to regain certification, they will be required to complete the 2 ‘lost’ years in the next year and thereafter continue with the MOC process. If they wait more than 1 year to regain their certification status, they will have to take a proctored written exam and then recommence the MOC process.
-A license may also be revoked for violations of ABOG rules and ethics, as well as any felony conviction!
The bottom line is that this is a serious business with the potential for a physician to lose his/her license with huge professional, social, legal and financial implications. Make sure you know and play by the rules. Do whatever it takes to be compliant with MOC.
In order to maintain certification status, a diplomate must successfully complete all 4 components of the MOC process (discussed in a previous article). It is your responsibility to subject yourself (voluntarily) to the MOC process. You must not allow your certificate to expire. There should be no blemish of significance on your state licenses and you must successfully complete each year, the appropriate parts of the of the MOC process. Failure to do so will result in:
1) Loss of Diplomate status with ABOG. This means you will no longer be able to promote yourself as being board certified!
2) If you allow you license to expire, you may have to take a proctored written exam amongst other potential requirements yet to be announced.
3) You may lose your status with ACOG
-If you should fail the ABC exam, you will have an opportunity to retake the exam for an additional fee.
-Diplomates failing to be actively involved in the MOC process for 2 consecutive years will lose board certification status. If, within the subsequent year, they wish to regain certification, they will be required to complete the 2 ‘lost’ years in the next year and thereafter continue with the MOC process. If they wait more than 1 year to regain their certification status, they will have to take a proctored written exam and then recommence the MOC process.
-A license may also be revoked for violations of ABOG rules and ethics, as well as any felony conviction!
The bottom line is that this is a serious business with the potential for a physician to lose his/her license with huge professional, social, legal and financial implications. Make sure you know and play by the rules. Do whatever it takes to be compliant with MOC.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
What do OBGYN Oral Exam Candidates Fear Most About The Exam?
Candidates of the oral OB/GYN exam are terrified at the thought of spending 3 hours with 6 examiners in a room, the result of which will have a major impact on their professional, social and financial security. An informal poll was taken from candidates attending a board prep course in Baltimore in September 2008. The exam registrants were asked the following question: “What is the single most important concern you have as you prepare for the exam?”
Of 134 polled at the course, 127 completed responses were received (representing almost 10% of all candidates taking the oral exam).
The single most common response was: ‘What is the most common issue that causes a candidate to fail?’ Other responses (some examples are given) could be grouped as:
1) Positively motivated responses (29%)
-What are you most looking for in a candidate?
-What is the most important piece of advice that you have for any candidate
preparing to take the oral board exam?
-If you could give one suggestion on what we can do in the exam room to give a
positive impression to the examiner, what would it be?
-What are the basic things you expect to pass a candidate?
2) Negatively motivated responses (51%)
-What is the single most common reason that people fail the exam?
-Are there any situations/answers that a candidate gives, that result in automatic
failure?
-What characterizes a passing vs. a failing candidate?
3) Responses relating to the case list (8%)
-Does a well organized case list have any impact on your impression of the candidate and the potential exam outcome?
-Is there any risk of having a high number of cases on your list, especially surgical
cases?
-If the case list showed that the candidate was a subspecialist taking the general board exam, would you conduct the exam any differently?
4) Miscellaneous responses (12%)
-Explain the scoring system for the exam.
-How are examiners selected? Are they assessed for
examining-ability prior to examining?
-If a candidate gets upset and is in tears, will they give you a minute to collect
yourself? Or will you fail?
-Are the examiners practicing general OBGYN, or are they primarily educators or
program directors?
Virtually all questions (over 95%) were constructive appeals for (in the opinion of the author) reasonable information.
Conclusion: It is the opinion of the author that candidates merely wanted feedback so as to improve their presentation in the exam.
The governing authority which does a superb job in administering the exam, currently does make available to candidates information regarding the exam. It would probably be well received if this information were to be better promoted and be more informative to provide a realistic expectation of the oral exam itself. This can assist candidates in better preparing themselves and reducing their anxiety (which cannot be underestimated!)
Of 134 polled at the course, 127 completed responses were received (representing almost 10% of all candidates taking the oral exam).
The single most common response was: ‘What is the most common issue that causes a candidate to fail?’ Other responses (some examples are given) could be grouped as:
1) Positively motivated responses (29%)
-What are you most looking for in a candidate?
-What is the most important piece of advice that you have for any candidate
preparing to take the oral board exam?
-If you could give one suggestion on what we can do in the exam room to give a
positive impression to the examiner, what would it be?
-What are the basic things you expect to pass a candidate?
2) Negatively motivated responses (51%)
-What is the single most common reason that people fail the exam?
-Are there any situations/answers that a candidate gives, that result in automatic
failure?
-What characterizes a passing vs. a failing candidate?
3) Responses relating to the case list (8%)
-Does a well organized case list have any impact on your impression of the candidate and the potential exam outcome?
-Is there any risk of having a high number of cases on your list, especially surgical
cases?
-If the case list showed that the candidate was a subspecialist taking the general board exam, would you conduct the exam any differently?
4) Miscellaneous responses (12%)
-Explain the scoring system for the exam.
-How are examiners selected? Are they assessed for
examining-ability prior to examining?
-If a candidate gets upset and is in tears, will they give you a minute to collect
yourself? Or will you fail?
-Are the examiners practicing general OBGYN, or are they primarily educators or
program directors?
Virtually all questions (over 95%) were constructive appeals for (in the opinion of the author) reasonable information.
Conclusion: It is the opinion of the author that candidates merely wanted feedback so as to improve their presentation in the exam.
The governing authority which does a superb job in administering the exam, currently does make available to candidates information regarding the exam. It would probably be well received if this information were to be better promoted and be more informative to provide a realistic expectation of the oral exam itself. This can assist candidates in better preparing themselves and reducing their anxiety (which cannot be underestimated!)
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