July 2021 Advisor

ABC can review your case list

Finish your Case List
It's your number ONE & ONLY priority

Ideally, try to revise your list twice, as the first draft is never satisfactory. Dr. Das' book, Pass Your Oral OB/GYN Board Exam is a great step-by-step guide. Stand back and examine your list as if you were the examiner and not the candidate. What kind of questions would you ask? We are now accepting case lists for review by our ABC faculty. Please contact Melissa Krauss for more information.
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Calm your mind even in the midst of preparing for your upcoming exam
From Healthy Women Website

Studying for your Written, Oral, or MOC exam is often a stressful time in life. Studies show that implementing a regular meditation can increase gray matter and volume in parts of your brain. The result is more cognition, memory, perspective and less stress. Recognizing that physicians have a limited amount of free time each day these three simple methods can have positive results.

  1. At bedtime try Yogic sleep or Yoga Nidra - there are free audio apps that you can play as you prepare for sleep.
  2. Walking Meditation - be present by noticing different areas in your body from your toes to the top of your head. This practice can help clear your mind and stay mindful in the moment.
  3. Colorful coloring - its not just for children. Grad your colored pencils & pay attention to your breath. Combining the two can have a calming effect.
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Upcoming Deadlines, Events, Dates: 

July:
4th - Independence Day
12th - AOBOG Final Fall 2021 Subspecialty exam final application deadline with late fee
13th - ABOG Certifying Exam candidates notified to how to submit case lists and photographs
30th - ABOG final deadline to apply for 2022 Subspecialty Certifying Exam
 August
 
2nd - AOBOG first application deadline for Fall 22 Primary Oral Exam
9th - AOBOG final application deadline for Fall 22 Primary Oral Exam
16th - ABOG's first deadline to submit case lists with exam fee for Certifying Exam candidates
17th - ABC's comprehensive case list review late fee applied
31st - ABOG final case list submission with exam fee for Certifying Exam candidates
 
Are you preparing to take your Oral Exam in 2022?
Dr. Das' fast track advice

If you are fast tracking for the 2022 oral exam, you will begin collecting your cases JULY 1. Even though you cannot apply for the exam until February 2022, if you wait that long to start collecting your cases, you're already SEVEN months behind - BIG MISTAKE!
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ABC's Interactive Oral Board Review Course

This is the month that you will hear which test month you have been assigned. Our Interactive Review Course is perfectly timed to help prepare you for your exam. You have the option of attending virtually in September or live in November.
Learn More about our Review Course
 
Faculty Feature
Rena Kazos, DO

I am a board-certified OB/GYN at a private office in Sioux City, Iowa. I am a mother of 3 small kids. They are a handful, but also a joy! In my spare time I enjoy golfing with my fiancé, board games with my kids, cooking and sketching. I think that over the years my practice and my parenting have both changed in that I have become more comfortable with just being myself. In the beginning of my career I was always so focused on being perfect at everything. I felt like I needed to know everything, be proficient at everything. I tried to emulate qualities in other physicians that I admired. It was exhausting and I always seemed to fall short. Nobody is perfect and as soon as I realized that I started to just relax and enjoy myself. The same goes for being a mother. At the end of a very long day I went to tuck my kids into bed and my son gave me a big hug and told me how much fun he had that day and that he loved me. It nearly brought me to tears. It is so easy to put unrealistic expectations on ourselves as working mothers. I used to see all the Pinterest boards and social media posts of other mothers and think that I was failing as a mother because I was working instead of doing decoupage projects with my kids. Kids are simple, though. They don't have a check list and they aren't keeping score or grading you. We are way harder on ourselves than they are on us. I absolutely love what I do. I feel so lucky that I get to do this for a living. If I can teach my kids anything it is just that. Be happy and do something you enjoy, because when you truly love what you do, it shows. People are drawn to that and your kids will be proud of you no matter what. 
I was asked by Dr. Das to do some work for the ABC review course following my completion of the course and the oral board examination. She said she needed someone with an "encyclopedic mind" to rewrite and update the question banks. I gradually started doing case list reviews and mock orals. I'll never forget how stressful and difficult it was preparing for oral boards. The ABC review course was so incredibly helpful. When I started reviewing case lists and giving mock orals I felt like I was putting all of that stress and hard work to good use. Being on the other side of it is much more enjoyable. I know exactly what applicants are feeling and I know what they need to do to get through it. It's very rewarding and a lot of fun.
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