Tuesday, October 14, 2003
THE HARDEST TEST I'VE EVER TAKEN...
The 2003 administration of the American Board of Surgery's qualifying exam (the written board) is tomorrow. It is the first of two parts that lead to a young surgeon becoming Board Certified in general surgery. The test is hard because it covers so much, a great deal of which a community surgeon does not see everyday. Questions about head and neck tumors, urology, gynecology, basic science (leukotrienes, physiology, ect...), and transplants are common. "Send them to a (urologist,gynecologist, the patient's transplant surgeon)" is not usually one of the options given as an answer. The pass rate last year was 75 percent.
The second part is the Certifying exam (oral boards). As I have written before the difficulty is mainly psychological, as the situations are those seen by a general surgeon in the community. A community without urologists, cardiologists, or pulmonologists, that is.
Passing the tests the first time is important, not only for one's ego, but with the written costing $675 and the orals $800, passing is important for your wallet as well. If a certain number of graduates from your program do not pass, your program may be placed on probation. You are given a limited number of times (I believe three) to pass the test over five years. If you fail to do so, you must repeat a year of residency. No fun.
If you pass, you get to take a recertification exam in ten years.
Anyway, best of luck to those who are taking the test tomorrow. |
The 2003 administration of the American Board of Surgery's qualifying exam (the written board) is tomorrow. It is the first of two parts that lead to a young surgeon becoming Board Certified in general surgery. The test is hard because it covers so much, a great deal of which a community surgeon does not see everyday. Questions about head and neck tumors, urology, gynecology, basic science (leukotrienes, physiology, ect...), and transplants are common. "Send them to a (urologist,gynecologist, the patient's transplant surgeon)" is not usually one of the options given as an answer. The pass rate last year was 75 percent.
The second part is the Certifying exam (oral boards). As I have written before the difficulty is mainly psychological, as the situations are those seen by a general surgeon in the community. A community without urologists, cardiologists, or pulmonologists, that is.
Passing the tests the first time is important, not only for one's ego, but with the written costing $675 and the orals $800, passing is important for your wallet as well. If a certain number of graduates from your program do not pass, your program may be placed on probation. You are given a limited number of times (I believe three) to pass the test over five years. If you fail to do so, you must repeat a year of residency. No fun.
If you pass, you get to take a recertification exam in ten years.
Anyway, best of luck to those who are taking the test tomorrow. |
