March 2020 Tip of the Month
ABOG Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Candidates
By now, you should have received your sticker for your frame verifying that you are re-credentialed through 2020.
For those of you who are wondering why you can’t access your articles, it’s because you have to reapply every year. You can now access the majority of articles via a link, which makes it so much easier by eliminating the librarian middleman to obtain the articles. So, you can scratch that off your list of excuses.
Speaking of excuses, the list of journal articles for the first quarter came out mid-January. Have you already broken your New Year’s resolution to complete your articles each quarter? If so, get back on track.
Welcome and congratulations to those who just passed their oral exam. Thought you could finally rest? Well, think again!! New diplomats must enter and start the MOC process this year.
For those of you in MOC Year 6, ABOG has permanently adopted the Performance Pathways program in 2019. It offers another way for you to meet the MOC Year 6 requirements, based on the diplomates Part II Lifelong Learning & Self-Assessment performance. This program has not eliminated the MOC Year 6 exam but allows diplomates another way to meet their Year 6 requirements in which they choose to participate. To be eligible, you must have a running average of 86% or greater (on the first submission) on your Part II articles and maintained that average through MOC Years 1-5 of this MOC Cycle. If you meet the requirements of the Performance Pathways Program, you will be given the choice to receive credit for meeting the requirements or take the exam. If you do not qualify for the Performance Pathways Program with must apply for the examination no later than November 16, 2020 and PASS the examination by December 15, 2020. The MOC exam can be taken up to 4 times in a MOC Cycle if you fail to pass by December 15th, but all attempts need to be taken by this date. Otherwise, your certificate will expire, and you will need to apply through the re-entry process.
For ABOG & AOBOG 2020 WRITTEN Exam Candidates
The exam is in just ONE and THREE months. Your free time to study will be usurped by end of year stuff as you finish your residency. So, you must take advantage of MARCH and APRIL to “kick butt” and crank out the rest of the topics on your study plan.
We strongly advise taking a BOARD Prep course, as a weekend workshop or evening webinar simply cannot provide the content. No matter how many practice questions you experience, you simply can’t answer them well if you lack the foundation. It’s like trying to build a brick wall with only the bricks and not the mortar.
We recognize that there is precious little time to wade through the volumes of material. That’s why we provide an exam focused review in accordance with the latest ACOG clinical guidelines. We will review 82 subjects in 44 hours over five days at our BOARD Prep Course to be held April 1-5. Historically, our course covers 90% of exam topics! Each day is filled with focused didactic sessions on OB, REI, Primary Care, ONC, GYN/Office, Peri Op & FPM. You will then test your retention with topic-specific questions, learn to analyze your performance, practice written test-taking strategy and participate in a facilitated review of the answers.
You must be candid as to what you can/cannot accomplish within your study plan. Have you finished the MUST KNOW topics? Our Test Topics Manual is a great resource, as it lists high-yield topics and the expected test questions. We suggest you shift to those topics that we don’t have time to cover at the course. These include ethics, genetics, safety, and practice and liability management.
Don’t forget! YOU MUST PRACTICE WITH WRITTEN QUESTIONS at the end of EACH study topic. Our Written Questions Manuals provide 1400+ questions. Since the test is computerized, ideally you should practice with tests in this same format. Our Written Questions are all available online by subscription.
For those who have traditionally struggled with written exams, failed the written board exam, or did not score at least 200 on your CREOG in-service exam, you cannot continue your modus operandi. It didn’t work before, so why set yourself up for the same outcome? We have found that knowledge is rarely the problem. You couldn’t have made it this far if that were the case. It’s typically a processing problem. Our Online Test Taking Skills Course will give you an evidence-based proven methodology. Adopting this technique improves CREOG scores on average 1 standard deviation! This may be just what you need to boost you over to a pass for your board exam. If you need accountability, consider purchasing our Performance Reports. Our faculty will give you feedback (via email).
Finally, like any big performance, a dress rehearsal is a must. Our Practice Test simulates your exam. It has 250 questions timed for 4 hours.
For ABOG 2020 ORAL Exam Candidates
Your application, copy of your current medical license and application fee of $840 is due by April 3, 2020. Don’t overlook this menial, but necessary, administrative task. Just in case you’re tempted to delay, if you wait until May 4th or May 22nd, you incur a $360 and $840 late fee, respectively.
We strongly recommend our March 31 – April 5 Board Review Course. This is the ideal time, as you will be all consumed with finishing your case list from June to August. You have to assume that your exam could be the first round in November, which only gives you two months to prepare after you turn in your case list. Taking a review course in the spring puts you in a PROactive mode; whereas, if you procrastinate until the fall, you’ll be in a REactive tailspin.
We provide an exam-focused review of the ABOG published exam topics in accordance with the latest ACOG clinical guidelines. Afternoon small groups will implement and integrate the topics just reviewed utilizing a structured case format. This format is carefully designed for the seasoned adult learner preparing for an oral exam and will be informative, focused and non-adversarial.
Together we’ll construct cases for your case list and then run them by the faculty examiner. If he takes a line of questioning that you don’t want, then we’ll put him in the corner, reconstruct it, and let him try and trip you up this time. HAH! One for me, Zero for the examiner.
Keeping in mind that this is an oral exam, although months away, we’ll then finish up each session with mock oral exams on structured cases. The faculty will then coach you on verbalizing the correct answers.
Not sure what you need to prepare for your exam? Our Ultimate Oral Exam package has it all! It includes our April workshop & review course, review of your case list prior to submission, and return in the fall for the Oral Exam Workshop and telephone mock orals with our faculty. Finally, when you arrive in Dallas, you will have a one-hour session with ABC faculty for any last-minute help.
Another way to catapult your studying is with our Oral Exam Webinar Archives. This is the only webinar in the country that is designed by an osteopathic physician for osteopathic physicians. The archives cover 12 one-hour webinar sessions covering core topics with structured cases spread throughout with past candidates answering. The lessons learned from the webinar archives will empower you now to tackle the rest of the topics.
Only THREE months left to complete your collection of cases. At this point, you must be up to date with all of your past OB and GYN entries. Ideally, right after you dictate your operative or delivery notes, you should complete the hard copy of the case list form. The clock is ticking. You must now enter cases no later than EVERY WEEK. You should have half of the 40 office categories collected and you want to complete ¾ of your list by the end of April. Show your clinical depth by having at least 30 categories.
ABOG now requires you to use their case list software to enter your cases online. It’s nice that you can enter your cases through any device with an internet connection. However, you still must have a well-constructed list and their guidelines are still woefully sparse. Don’t fret – come to our one day Case List Construction Workshop being offered on March 31st, the day before the review course. We’ll show you how to raise your case list head and shoulders above the other candidates. For those who are OCD, order your copy of the Pass Your Oral Ob/Gyn Board Exam by Dr. Das, for a complete step-by-step guide.
For AOBOG 2020 ORAL Exam Candidates
Applications for the September 25-26, 2020 exam, along with the $3275 exam fee, are due by June 22, 2020. However, don’t procrastinate. Since AOBOG implemented an exam cap of 50 candidates, the cap has been reached within a couple of months.
For those preparing for their April 24-25 exams, the exam is less than 2 months away – YIKES! Check out our Home Study Packages that include over 50 hrs of course lectures and strategy videos created just for the AOBOG oral exam candidate. We also included mock orals and other AOBOG products. Pick a package that suits your needs.
Our Osteopathic Oral Exam Webinar Archives is the only webinar in the country that is designed by an osteopathic physician for osteopathic physicians. The archives cover 12 one-hour webinar sessions covering core topics with structured cases spread throughout with past candidates answering. Since its debut in 2011, 99% of webinar participants have passed their exam! This is an oral exam. You must practice out loud. Pull it all together with our Structured Cases, based just on the core topics. Finally, let our faculty challenge you with private Mock Oral Exams by telephone and/or in-person at the course. Get all the exam willies out of the way, so you can explode out of the starting block on your big day. Did we already mention that 99% of our course participants have passed their exam since 2011? Time for damage control. The examiners will drive you to the nth degree. Fill in the blanks NOW for each core topic:
Definition (if applicable)
Incidence Pathogenesis & Etiology
Differential diagnosis
Diagnostic criteria
Work up
Laboratory evaluation Radiologic studies Treatment Medical Surgical Outcome Follow up
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. Therefore, 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 at all about the office patients, as you may compile these only during your fellowship.
A word of caution – right now you are at your peak for general OB/GYN knowledge. Believe it or not, two years from now your knowledge base will regress to that of an intern. Yes, it’s true . . . if you don’t use it, you lose it. So those really cool, esoteric, bizarre, once-in-a-career cases now will be a nightmare to defend later. Your greatest allies are your junior residents…if they can’t easily defend that case, cease and subsist and “go fish” for another.
Subspecialty Fellows Planning for their 2020 ABOG General Oral Board Exam
You can now sit for your general oral boards anytime during your fellowship. You will be shocked at how quickly you lose recall of your off-specialty subjects. Hence, I advise you to take your general oral boards as early as possible. If you neglected to collect cases in your off specialty from your chief year, you must get back to your residency institution to gather those cases AND enter them into your software. GYN Oncologists, REI and Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgeons will need an OB list and MFMs need a GYN list. If you currently have to take call for these off services, you can use those cases. If you are retrospectively collecting cases, go with your comfort zone. Dang, how could you have forgotten so much in such a short time? Unfortunately, it’s true . . . if you don’t use it, you lose it. Go with the bread-and-butter cases. Remember this is your general boards. We recommend you chose those cases that reflect high-yield topics. Our Test Topics Manual and the #1 guide, Pass Your Oral Ob/Gyn Board Exam by Dr. Das are excellent step-by-step guides.
Although it’s precocious, just an FYI that we now offer preparation for your subspecialty boards. We have an FPM, MFM and REI webinars specific to the oral exam. Additionally, we have an MFM & FPM 3 day interactive review course in November.
AOBOG Recertification Written Exam, Osteopathic Continuous Certification in Obstetrics & Gynecology (OCC)
Breathe a sigh of relief as AOBOG has retired the OCC exam. They have switched to you reading articles sent to you via email and then require you to answer timed questions.
The requirement for OCC Component 4 - Practice Performance Assessment and Improvement (PPA) is now decreased to a total of 2 PPA modules (instead of the previous 5 PPA modules). The due date to complete your PPA modules remains September 15th of the year your certificate expires. Fortunately, you do not have to have your PPA modules completed before you can sit for the OCC Exam. You can do it, we can help.
Royal Canadian College 2020 Exam Candidates
You have a couple of months left and might start feeling out of breath. It is important at some point to slow down for a few days, take a vacation if possible and freshen up. You need a few days of rest in order to attack the last few weeks efficiently. Having your mind and body rested will only benefit you in the grand scheme of things. At this point, you might start feeling that the topic you studied back in early fall are well behind. You could start reviewing some of that theory and do practice questions. We cannot say it enough, practice questions! Learning to answer questions efficiently is an important skill to have. You should have started that already, at this point I would try to do longer sequences (increase the number of questions) to practice staying focus for longer periods of time.
Also, you should have your result back from Canadian Obstetrics and Gynecology Review Program. Canadian Obstetrics and Gynecology Review Program and at this point, following practice oral and MCQ, you must have a good idea of your area of weakness. I would focus on increasing your strength around those areas, you still have time. Furthermore, it would be a good idea to start practice oral examinations. Don’t wait until after the written, the lapse of time is too short. Both exams are complimentary and learning the SOGC guidelines will help you with those two parts.
Finally, at this point, you should have your flight and hotel book for the Ottawa examination. Give yourself enough time for unanticipated delays and make sure to get to Ottawa a day or two before the examinations.