October 2023 Tip of the Month

ABOG 2023 Certifying Exam Candidates

NOVEMBER and DECEMBER Exam Candidates 
Think you’re coasting, eh? A common regret is getting caught up in the holiday festivities and procrastinating studying -A big mistake. Avoid tricks by sending your case list before 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. Our research has consistently shown that your pass rate is higher if you incorporate strategy with content. Let ABC make a house call- order one of our Oral Home Study Packages. Beginning in the comfort of your home we provide 95% of current exam topics in our 42-hour lecture series. Our Oral Exam FAQs itemizes those questions most frequently asked for specific topics. Half of your exam is the case of the day. You are so lucky that your exam is in November or December, as you can pace yourself and get even more practice with our Structured Cases. This is an invaluable study tool that can be used for self-study or more importantly, to have others quiz you so you can practice out loud.

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. 

Subspecialty Fellows Sitting for their 2023 ABOG Certifying 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. There is A LOT to relearn, OK, for some of you, to learn. 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 our Structured Cases. They are invaluable study guides, especially for subspecialists, so you can challenge yourself with your off-specialty subjects. 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 virtual D3 Mock Oral Sessions in Dallas. Our faculty will prepare 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 the exhaustive minute 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.

For ABOG 2024 Certifying Exam Candidates

You cannot apply for the 2024 oral exam until March 2024. However, if you wait this long to enter cases, you’re already EIGHT months behind, since the collections started in July. 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, begin a habit of collecting H&Ps, operative notes, pathology reports, and discharge summaries. Keep a file of the prenatal forms, delivery notes, discharge summaries, and postpartum notes for all OB patients. 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 will offer our Case List Construction Online course for you go-getters. However, seeing is believing, join live for the workshop during our Virtual April 9-14, 2024 Review Course. Start today to create a good habit of collecting and entering cases.

You can do it … we can help

Chief Residents Planning a Subspecialty Fellowship & ABOG General Certifying Board Exam

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 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 Tip:
You’re almost halfway through your academic year and you will never rotate again on certain subspecialties. You must 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. You want your case list to reflect a depth and breadth of general OB/GYN. Remember, once you leave your residency, it becomes a logistical nightmare to go back and collect cases.

Subspecialty Fellows Planning for their 2024 ABOG General Certifying Board Exam

You can 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 Tip:
You’re almost halfway through your case list collections. I’m not worried at all about your subspecialty cases, but 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 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.

For ABOG & AOBOG 2024 Qualifying (Written) Exam Candidates

For ABOG folk, the $1600 application and examination fee are due by February 16th, 2024. No applications will be accepted after March 1st. For those of you taking your AOBOG spring exam, the application window opens on October 16th. The $1,525 examination fee is due by February 19th, 2024. The final application deadline is March 18, 2024, with a late fee of $457.50. For those wanting to score big on their CREOGs, or to explode out of the gate for their written board exam, consider purchasing our Written Exam Online Learning Prep Course. It includes everything you need to pass your exam, whether you prefer learning in a live interactive environment or self-paced from the comfort of home. Our Test Taking Skills Online Course is perfect if you have not scored > 200 on your CREOG in-service training exam, failed your written board exam, or have just wished your score reflected your knowledge, this course is a must. In just 2 months you can perfect the CQRPE method and test drive it on the January CREOG exam. Faithful users typically score one standard deviation or 20 points higher! Just imagine the possibilities for your board exam!

Test-Taking Technique:
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. If too much is at stake and you don’t want to experiment for the first time, take a test drive with our Written Questions

AOBOG 2024 Oral Exam Candidates   

For those preparing for their Spring 2024 exam, you want to get a head start by purchasing our AOBOG Oral Exam Home Study Packages. It includes everything you need to pass your exam whether you prefer learning in a live interactive environment or self-paced from the comfort of home. There are over 42 hours of high-yield, exam-focused recordings including OB, ONC, Urogyn, Primary Care, Periop, OFC GYN, and REI topics. Start the New Year with our Visual Clinical Scenarios. It walks you through 20 visual aids with subsequent answers and an OMT presentation. It’s a great refresher before you sit for your oral exam.

ABOG Maintenance of Certification

Part II Lifelong Learning ALL 30 articles are due by December 15th.  I know a rare few of you haven’t even done any. If you’re desperate, you need to pass 80% of 120 questions; 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.

Part III, Secure Written Exam For those of you in MOC Year 6, you must register by November 15th and pass a written exam by December 15th. We recommend you get a head start by purchasing our Course Recordings. This product includes our Course Binder with the accompanying lecture handouts to follow along and take notes. Also included is a free copy of the Test Topics Manual to ensure your studying is exam focused. 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? Oh, just in case you think you’re coasting after you pass your written exam, think again. You still must read the 2023 articles. No rest for the weary!   

Test Taking Tip: 
You must pass the exam by December 15th, and you get a total of five attempts. Go to www.pearsonvue.com/abog ahead of time for a tutorial to familiarize yourself with how to take an exam on the computer. If you’re still not one to be ill-prepared, try out our computerized Q Banks questions. These are 50 multiple-choice single best answer questions covering multiple OB/GYN topics.

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

The Advanced Real-time Certification aka (ARC) is an online assessment system that allows you to fulfill your OCC Component 3 requirements. Each year you are to complete 24 assessments. Go to the AOBOG website for additional details. 

ABC Tip:
Consider coming to one of our 5-day review courses.  This is not the same type of review course as in the past.  Just as you evolve and practice evidence-based medicine, our course is designed for the adult learner and all lectures follow the national ACOG guidelines. You’ll walk away with Category I CME hours and loads of clinical pearls.

For Royal Canadian 2024 Exam Candidates

We recommend our Written Exam Online Learning Prep Course for those wanting to score big on their CREOGs or to explode out of the gate for your written board exam. We highly recommend our Audiovisual Course Recordings if you’re taking the OSCE Applied Exam. We offer over 42 hours of high-yield, exam-focused recordings including OB, ONC, Urogyn, Primary Care, Periop, OFC GYN, and REI topics. You also get a 1-year subscription to our audiovisual recordings using ABC's LMS system, Litmos, and easier access with the free mobile app.
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