October 2014 ABC Advisor

ABC Faculty Rebecca Usadi, MD, FACOG

Dr. Usadi graduated with honors with a BA from Rutgers University. She went to medical school at Duke University, where she received the American Medical Student Association Leadership Award. She completed a family medicine internship, before she saw the light, and went to Mercer University for her OB/GYN residency in Savannah, GA. She began publishing extensively and was awarded the Best Scientific Paper during residency. She also could apply her scientific accuminen easily and received the Berlex Best Teaching Resident Award. She returned to NC to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for her REI fellowship. Dr. Usadi is board certified in both general OB/GYN and REI. She is Clinical Assistant Professor at UNC and Associate Director of REI at Carolinas Medical Center (CMC) in Charlotte, NC and on faculty in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at CMC. She has been giving mock oral exams and reviewing case lists for residents for many years and enjoys helping physicians go into their oral exam feeling prepared and confident.

ABOG 2014 ORAL Exam Candidates

NOVEMBER Exam Candidates

  OK, the exam is next month, so it’s time to pull it all together. You need to come out running with mock oral exams. Plan to meet with those who reviewed your case list earlier and ask them to give you a mock oral. It’s also time to call for reinforcements and recruit other sources, such as local and regional colleagues,  academicians, subspecialists, and generalists. After each mock oral, go back for a targeted review of missed topics. Figure out your new game plan and try it out with the next mock oral.

  A great way to finish strong, or to salvage what’s left for you procrastinators, is to come to one of ABCs one day Oral Exam Workshops. Don’t want to reinvent the wheel? Our Oral Exam FAQs itemizes those questions most frequently asked for specific topics. Half of your exam is the case of the day. You can simulate the exam with either our Structured Cases Workshop CD or our Structured Cases CD.  These are invaluable study guides that can be used for self-study or more importantly,  have others quiz you so you can practice out loud. Speaking of practicing out loud, our Structured Cases Webinar is divided into three one-month sessions, with webinars conducted weekly. Given that you have a November exam, you can participate in two sessions and walk away with 48 cases. It’s a great benchmark to see if you’re ready, since these examiners don’t know you and are skilled in simulating the exam atmosphere. Brrrr, did it just get icy? Warm up by playing back the webinar archives, then jump right back into the hot seat with the next live webinar session.

  Did we mention mock oral exams? The number one regret of past candidates is they wished they had taken more mock oral exams. Although we’re a fan of using those familiar resources aforementioned, now’s the time to call in the “A” team, as in the ABC faculty. ABC offers Case List Reviews, Mock Oral Exams, and our signature, one-of-a-kind structured cases by phone. We can take it up a notch by offering eye-to-eye mock oral exams on Skype, but you’ll need to provide the glaring, white light.

  The icing on the cake is our Do or Die In Dallas session. Dr. Peeper has been mentoring candidates on the oral exam for over two decades. He will be in Dallas November 2^nd through 5^th. He’s seen it all and can warm you up for your big day with last minute polishing (or cramming for some) through private sessions on whatever you need … mock orals, structured cases, etc.

DECEMBER Exam Candidates

  Your exam is in two months – crunch time and holidays. You WILL and MUST budget time for your family - remember them? Forewarned is forearmed, so don’t set yourself up for that guilt trip of studying vs. family. You can do both if you’re organized. 

  Half of your test is defending your case list. Send your case list NOW to your following local/regional consultants or colleagues for recommendations in DEFENDING your case list:

            Case list component                                       Reviewer

                        OB                                                       MFM, generalist
                        GYN                                                    GYN ONC, Urogyn, generalist
                        Office                                                  Generalist, REI, FP, IM 

  Make sure you give them a strict deadline, say two weeks; and set a date now to discuss their recommendations. The ABC faculty can also review your case list one-on-one at the fall course or can provide a Comprehensive Case List Review.

  We offer a November 16-20 review course, timed perfectly for your exam. Even, or perhaps especially, if you’ve take another review course, this will be so well worth your while. We offer a streamlined exam-focused review in only five days. For the past four years, we’ve covered 99% of the exam topics. There will be no doubt what you need to study with three short weeks remaining before your exam. If you can’t come to us, then let ABC make a house call and you can order the course recorded on DVD or CD.

  A great way to finish strong, or salvage what’s left for you procrastinators, is to come to one of our Oral Exam Workshops. Don’t want to reinvent the wheel? Our Oral Exam FAQs itemizes those questions most frequently asked for specific topics.

  Half of your exam is the case of the day. You can simulate the exam with either our Structured Cases Workshop CD  or Structured Cases CD.

  These are invaluable study guides that can be used for self-study or more importantly, have others quiz you so you can practice out loud. Speaking of practicing out loud, our Structured Cases Webinar is divided into three one-month sessions, with webinars conducted weekly. All three sessions will end just before your exam, so you will have practiced with 72 cases!  It’s a great benchmark to see if you’re ready, since these examiners don’t know you and are skilled in simulating the exam atmosphere. Brrrr, did it just get icy? Warm up by playing back the webinar archives, then jump right back into the hot seat with the next live webinar session.   

  The ABC faculty is available to provide specific services in mock oral exams, case list reviews and structured cases - both at the course and later by phone.

  Finally, we’ll be there in Dallas with you.  Dr. Kerry Griffin, will host our Do or Die In Dallas November 30^th through December 3^rd. He can warm you up for your big day with last minute polishing (or cramming for some) through private sessions on whatever you need … mock orals, structured cases, etc.

Test Taking Technique  

This is an ORAL exam, so get used to talking out loud. The following topics are super high yield: vaginal breech delivery, management of shoulder dystocia, postpartum hemorrhage, the course of the ureter, and dictate a vaginal hysterectomy. Practice answering the questions to these “know-cold” topics out loud, in the mirror, or better yet to anyone who will listen.

 JANUARY Exam Candidates

  Think you’re coasting, eh? A common regret is to get caught up in the holiday festivities and procrastinate  studying until afterwards. Big mistake because, duh, at that point the test is in three weeks.   

  Avoid tricks by sending your case list around Halloween to your following local/regional consultants or colleagues for recommendations in DEFENDING your case list:

            Case list component                                       Reviewer

                        OB                                                       MFM, generalist
                        GYN                                                    GYN ONC, Urogyn, generalist
                        Office                                                  Generalist, REI, FP, IM

  Make sure you give them a strict deadline, say two weeks; and set a date now to discuss their recommendations. The ABC faculty can also review your case list one-on-one at the fall courses or can provide a Comprehensive Case List Review.

  Come to our November 16-20 review course to get crackin’. Definitely attend our Oral Exam Workshop the day before (on November 15^th) and our Structured Cases Workshop on November 16th to best prepare. You can take off the next week for Thanksgiving.

  Half of your exam is the case of the day. You are so lucky that your exam is in January, as you can participate in all three months of our weekly Structured Cases Webinar! You’ll end up with 72 cases! It’s a great benchmark to see if you’re ready, since these examiners don’t know you and are skilled in simulating the exam atmosphere. Brrrr, did it just get icy? Warm up by playing back the webinar archives, then jump right back into the hot seat for the next live webinar session.

  Ouch! If the webinar was a rude awakening, you can get even more practice with our Structured Cases CD. These are invaluable study guides that can be used for self-study or more importantly, have others quiz you so you can practice out loud. If you tap into all three Structured Cases products, you’ll walk away with 163 unique cases!

Study Tip

You MUST know your case list COLD! For every patient, make a copy of the case from your case list, draft a clinical summary, identify the patient management issues, compile the compendium references on the issues, and your clinically oriented review. Viola! Now you know her stone cold.

Subspecialty Fellows Sitting for their 2014 ABOG General Oral Board Exam

  By now, you’ve experienced that rude awakening of just how much you forgot in your off-specialty subjects. That’s where they get the expression, “If you don’t use it, you lose it”. Our review course is IDEAL for fellows, as we tell you just what you need to know; then you can joyfully repress it again after your test. Even if your exam is not until January, there is A LOT to relearn, OK, for some of you, to learn.

  We strongly recommend you come to our November 16-20 review course to gather all the material you will need for 90% of your test. For those of you who attended a previous course, but your exam is not until December or January, we’ll even let you come back to the November course for a day or two just to take mock oral exams. Heck, bring back your syllabus and we’ll let you sit through the lectures for free while you are waiting for your next mock oral exam.

  A great way to grab the bull by the horn is to come to one of our one-day Oral Exam Workshops. Don’t want to reinvent the wheel? Our Oral Exam FAQs itemizes those questions frequently asked for specific topics and covers ALL of the case list categories.

  Half of your exam is the case of the day. You can simulate the exam with either our Structued CasesWorkshop CD or Structured Cases CD. These are invaluable study guides, especially for subspecialists so you can challenge yourself with your off-specialty subjects. Our Structured Cases Webinar is ideal for subspecialists, as you can participate specifically in those off-specialty topics - ouch, better to find out now than on your exam!

  You can always reach out for a comprehensive case list review on all or just your off-specialty sections of your case list for anticipated questions on your cases. Finally, we encourage you to tap into our Do or Die In Dallas, led by none other than course director, Dr. Krishna Das, who will ready you for last minute polishing or cramming.

Study Strategy

Time is short. Remember you are sitting for your general boards, NOT your subspecialty boards. Starting now, don’t study anything in your subspecialty - focus entirely on your off subjects. You do not need to study to the exhaustive, minutiae detail that you are used to for your subspecialty. It will not score you any more points and is a waste of precious study time. Our Test Topics Manual will provide you with a template for an exam-focused review.

ABOG 2015 ORAL Exam Candidates

  You cannot apply for the 2015 oral exam until February 1, 2015. However, if you wait until this long to enter cases, you’re already EIGHT months behind, since the collections started JULY 1. BIG MISTAKE! Call or e-mail ABOG now to get your case list software.  

  Don’t fret about details of how to enter the data. You’ll change your mind at least a half dozen times before it’s all said and done. For all GYN patients, start a habit of collecting H&Ps, operative notes, pathology reports, and discharge summaries. For all OB patients, keep a file of the prenatal forms, delivery notes, discharge summaries and postpartum notes. Don’t worry about the office patients yet. Take a stab at entering the data on the case list forms and just use your common sense.

  Rest assured, we have Case List Construction Workshops scheduled for as early as April, 2015. Start today in creating a good habit of collecting and entering cases.

 ABOG & AOBOG 2015 WRITTEN Exam Candidates

The exam is in 6 & 8 months respectively. For you ABOG folk, the $1470 application and examination fee is due THIS month by
October 17^th. A late fee of $345 kicks in until November 17^th, followed by a really swift kick of an $825 late fee until December 17^th. No applications are accepted after December 17^th. For those of you taking your AOBOG exam, the $3250 examination fee is due by February 1^st.

  Since ABOG no longer reports your objective score on the exam, you have no idea if you sailed through or missed passing by one point. So, unfortunately now the only correlate is the CREOG in-service-training exam. If you’re a chief resident, you must use this as a gauge to predict board performance, so you must/should prepare for this.

  For those wanting to score big on their CREOGs or to explode out of the gate for your written board exam, come to our November 16-20, 2014 review course. This is an excellent opportunity to gather your exam-focused study material and let us put you on a customized study plan for the next six months.

Test Taking Technique

Since ABOG no longer reports your score for the written board exam, the only resource to gauge your performance is the CREOG in-service-training exam. Anyone, not just residents, can take the exam, and it is STRONGLY advised for those who are repeating their board exam. Don’t worry - the results come only to you. However, the one page application and $105 examination fee is due by November 1^st.Either e-mail Valerie Powell at vpowell@acog.org or call her at 202-863-2554 to arrange this and to choose your testing site.

 

AOBOG  Oral Exam Candidates

  For those preparing for their May 1-2, 2015 exam, if you really want to get a head start, come to our November 16-20, 2014 review course. Did you know that our syllabus even highlights EACH core topic? We also have an evening session that puts each core topic under the microscope and painstakingly goes through potential exam topics.

Test Taking Tips

For those taking their Oral exam October 17^th and 18^th, 2014 – Good Luck! Take advantage of our Structured Cases Webinar being conducted right now. The webinar covers all ten core topics! This is a fantastic opportunity to polish your oral exam skills. If you can’t participate live, you can practice privately by replaying the archives.

Remember you only need 75% to pass each core topic and 73% total to pass the exam. Don’t let the worry about what you missed interfere with your focus on the next question.  

Chief Residents Planning A Subspecialty Fellowship

  Subspecialty fellows are permitted to select 20 patients from their Chief resident year for their off-specialty case list. In other words, GYN Oncologists, REI and Urogynecologists will need an OB list and MFMs need a GYN list. Thus, make sure to hold onto that residency log!

  Refer to the ABOG Bulletin as to how those 20 patients are selected. To be on the safe side, we recommend you collect at least 30, so you can strategically select the final 20 later. For those patients, keep a file of the following: for the GYN patients, collect the H&Ps, operative notes, pathology reports, and discharge summaries. For the OB patients, keep a file of the prenatal forms, delivery notes, discharge summaries and postpartum notes. Don’t worry about the office patients at all, as you may compile this only during your fellowship.

Test Taking Tips

You’re almost halfway through your academic year. You will never rotate again on certain subspecialties. It’s critical that you track those for which you will need to collect cases and strategically choose those during the rotation. Better yet, keep a list of all the cases so you have the luxury to choose which ones you want to keep. Remember, once you leave your residency, it becomes a logistical nightmare to go back and collect cases.

Subspecialty Fellows Planning for their 2015 ABOG General Oral Board Exam

  You can now sit for your general oral boards anytime during your fellowship. Furthermore, you can only take the general oral boards once during your fellowship. If you somehow neglected to collect cases in your off-specialty from your chief year, begin to piece together how to gather those cases from your residency institution. GYN Oncologists, REI and Urogynecologists will need an OB list and MFMs need a GYN list. If you take call for these off services, you can use those cases.

Test Taking Tips

You’re almost halfway through your case list collections. I’m not worried at all about your subspecialty cases, rather your off-specialty cases. Do you even have them? If you do, then well done! If not, begin figuring out how you’re going to get them. Ideally, see if you can get some cases that you actually manage, as in the present, not past, tense. See if you can take call or staff the residents on your off-specialty. If that’s not possible start coordinating with your past residency to recapture those cases.

 

ABOG Maintenance of Certification

Part II Lifelong Learning

  ALL 45 articles are due by December 15^th.   I know a rare few of you haven’t even done any. If you’re desperate, you need to pass 80% of 120 questions, so that’s only 30 of the 45 articles; however, you only get 25, rather than 35 Category I CME credits.

  Remember also that you must have enrolled in at least one practice module each year. If you have not, that can also be grounds to yank your certification - YIKES!

  For those of you in your third year, you should have started the Safety Course. You cannot enter it until you have completed 60 questions from the 1^st or 2^nd quarter articles. The Safety Course is accessed only on-line, so if you’re one who likes to print out the articles and questions, you’re out of luck.

Part III, Secure Written Exam 

  For those of you in MOC Year 6, you must pass a written exam by December 15th. We have three products to help you prepare for and pass your written exam. For those of you who have always tapped into a review course as you prepare for your board certifying exams, you’ll take great comfort in our five day November 16-20 review course. This is not the same type of review course as in the past. Just as you’ve evolved and practice evidence-based medicine, our course is designed for the adult learner, is exam-focused, and all lectures follow the national ACOG guidelines. Heck, you’ll walk away with loads of every day practice tips, too.

  Since 2009, our Annual MOC Manuals summarize each of the articles AND have written questions. Think of them as Cliff notes, as they will save you oodles of time. You are also accountable for Safety and Professionalism. Remember you completed the Safety course in your third year, but you could not print out the articles. Fortunately, ABC had the foresight to create a Safety Course Manual as well.

  Finally the Board has acknowledged that an emphasis will be placed on both the Compendium and the articles. So don’t you think the highest yield will be those MOC articles that overlap with the Compendium? Lucky for you we have a one day MOC Written Exam Workshop on November 15^th in Baltimore. This provides that perfect review of those overlapping MOC articles AND written questions. Although we know you’ll get the most out of it by attending, if you absolutely can’t, purchasing the MOC Written Exam Workshop Binder is the next best thing.

  We must be doing something right, as so far 100% of those attending the MOC Workshop and/or the course have passed!

  Oh, just in case you think you’re coasting after you pass your written exam, think again. You still have to read the 2014 articles. No rest for the weary!

AOBOG Recertification Written Exam, Osteopathic Continuous Certification in Obstetrics & Gynecology (OCC)

  Everyone has entered into the mandatory OCC cycle. Although the recertification written exam has now been phased out, you must take a formal proctored written exam in either year 5 or 6 of the OCC cycle.

  Additionally, you must complete 5 Practice Performance Assessments (PPA) in each 6 year OCC cycle. These 5 PPAs must be completed by September 15^th of the year your certificate expires.

Tip

You can access the PPA modules through a link on the aobog.org website to the O-CAT website. Since these modules take some time to complete, it is highly recommended that you begin a module in the first or second year of your OCC 6 year cycle.

You can do it … we can help