January 2021 Tip of the Month

ABOG 2020 Certifying Exam Candidates

The holidays are finally over. You thought February would never get here. The exam has been hanging over you and dampening all your holidays. Well finally lets git’ r’ done! Strengthen your strengths and review your review. Pull out your Test Topics Manual from the course. Now you know why they are yellow, as they are worth their weight in gold. Fill in the answers and voila! -you have condensed the 1400-page binder into 132 pages! You should also be practicing with as many questions as possible. ABC has you covered with our Written Questions Online and Q-Banks.

Test Taking Technique  
This is now a WRITTEN exam. You need to switch gears and start practicing with as many questions as you can. Our Written Questions Online are an excellent place to start. Since these are subject based you can hone in on a specific subject or topic that you need to shore up. Our Q Banks are useful when all you want to do is questions.  Each bank contains 50 multiple choice questions in a variety of topics. Purchase all 6 sets and save.

ABOG 2021 Certifying Exam Candidates

Happy New Year! Make a resolution to not procrastinate preparing for your exam. Starting February 24^th, you can apply for your exam at www.abog.org. Your application and the application fee of $840 are due by May 21^st. If you delay, you will incur stiff late fees. By now, you should have a system for organizing your data for the case list. For all GYN patients, collect the 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. Since you’re now halfway into collecting your cases, it’s time to start adding to your Office case list. Keep a list of all 40 categories on your desk. Collect no more than 6 names for each category. The bread & butter categories will fill up quickly. Start keeping an eye out for those categories that you want to talk about. It is unlikely, and unnecessary, to fill all 37 categories. Remember, you can only apply two patients per category. Just keep a tickler file for OB, GYN, and Office. Take a stab at entering the data on the case list forms - just use your common sense. Rest assured; we are offering our signature Case List Construction Workshop on April 13^th. For those who are OCD, order your copy of Pass Your Oral OB/GYN Board Exam by Dr. Das, for a complete step-by-step guide. You have been collecting cases since the summer. It’s cold outside and you’ve nothing better to do, so start the good habit today of collecting and entering cases on a weekly basis at a minimum. If the weather outside is frightful, our Oral Exam Webinar Archives are delightful. These twelve 1-hour webinar sessions review high yield topics. They also contain structured cases throughout with answers from past registrants and feedback from our faculty. If you’re really a "early go-getter", come to our April 13-18 Board Review Course. The advantage of starting in the spring is that you have a good idea of the topics on your case list. You don’t have to do any heavy-duty studying until August, as your only priority from May to August 1^st is to get that case list done and to design your strategy. However, once August 1^st hits...eek gads! -there is precious little time to study if your exam is the first month (November). Thus, coming to a review course in the spring greatly facilitates exploding out of the starting block.

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 the case, cease and desist and “go fish” for another.

Subspecialty Fellows Planning for their 2021 ABOG General Certifying Oral Board Exam

You can now sit for your general certifying oral boards anytime during your fellowship. Unfortunately, it’s true -if you don’t use it, you lose it, so try to con your fellowship director into letting you take your exam in your first year. If you neglected to collect cases in your off specialty from your chief year, begin to piecemeal 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 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? 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 Pass Your Oral OB/GYN Board Exam by Dr. Das are excellent step-by-step guides.  Our review course is ideal for sub-specialists. It’s too risky to wait until a few months before your exam, so come to our April 13-18 Board Review Course. For the past five years, we’ve covered 99% of exam topics! We’ll spoon feed you on your off-specialty topics and you will not need to go beyond your course binder.

AOBOG & ABOG 2021 WRITTEN Exam Candidates

The ABOG June 28^th, 2021 exam is now closed. Have you reserved your Pearson-Vue testing center yet? The AOBOG April 26 – May 1, 2021 exam application is due March 12^th (April 11^th if you want to pay a penalty late fee). The exam is in three and five months, so it’s “over the hump” time. Your free time to study will be usurped by end of year stuff as you finish your residency. Therefore, you must take advantage of JANUARY and FEBRUARY to “kick butt” and crank out a bunch of topics on your study plan. You must be candid as to what you can/cannot accomplish on your study plan. If you haven’t already finished, prioritize those MUST KNOW topics. Our Test Topics Manual is a great resource to show you the way, as it covers 90% of the exam topics.  Limit yourself to a clinical review and don’t forget to budget time for written questions on each topic. We strongly advise taking a review course; our next course is April 14-18, 2021. Obviously, we’re a bit biased, as we feel we have the ideal course; however, you should look for the following features. There is precious little time to wade through the volumes of material to figure out what to prioritize. You also want a faculty with extensive speaking experience. The fact that they research and publish is irrelevant, as their lectures should be based on ACOG clinical guidelines. The faculty especially needs to be knowledgeable in written exams. Every ABC lecture concludes with written questions. For those who have traditionally struggled with written exams, or if you have failed the written board exam, you cannot continue with 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 is that was the case. It’s typically a processing problem. Our Test Taking Skills Online Course teaches you the CQRPE methodology of test taking.

Test Taking Technique
Need Category I CME hours?  We go through a rigorous application process each year to provide AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ hours to our course registrants.  In addition, our review courses are great for the busy practitioner who is interested in the latest guidelines and clinical pearls.
The result for the 2021 ABOG Qualifying Exam will be reported by end of September 2021. The result will be reported as Pass or Fail but candidate will also have the opportunity to get a list of percent scored in each of the major topic areas on their ABOG personal Page. Thus, one parameter to gauge or predict Board exam performance is the CREOG in-service-training exam. Until now, there has been no incentive to track their correlation, especially since the questions aren’t the most representative in the format like those on your board exam.
However, now you MUST take them seriously, especially if you are a Chief Resident. They are at the end of this month. The best way to test your stamina for the six-hour CREOGs is with our Practice Test. We suggest NLT 2 weeks before the exam.
Unfortunately, you don’t get your CREOG results until March, but they may be the perfect reality check to motivate you to get crack in’. Check your past scores. The magic # is > 200.

AOBOG 2021 ORAL Exam Candidates

The May 7-8 Oral Exam is now closed.
Launch your studying with our April 14-18 Board Review Course. Did you know our syllabus even highlights the core topics? We also have an evening session where we put each core topic under the microscope and look at every angle of possible questions. You will leave feeling fully prepared to walk into your exam.  Unable able to attend or want to start right now?  Our Home Study Packages were designed just for the AOBOG oral exam candidate.  You will receive unlimited access to our course recordings along with strategy videos, and then as you get closer to your exam, we will schedule one-on-one mock oral practice with our DO faculty.

Test Taking Technique
Need Category I CME hours?  We go through a rigorous application process each year to provide AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ hours to our course registrants.  In addition, our review courses are great for the busy practitioner who is interested in the latest guidelines and clinical pearls.
 Remember this is an oral exam, so you must practice articulating out loud. Our Structured Cases eerily simulates the exam topics and setting. They not only give you the format but more importantly, the answers, so you can learn the expected depth and breadth of your answers. They are so easy to conduct, and your mock oral examiner doesn’t even need medical knowledge. We advise against using your mother as an examiner because once she learns the format, she’ll be torturing you all the time with her offers to “help.”

ABOG Maintenance of Certification (MOC)

Part II: Lifelong Learning It’s time to pay to play. Your renewal fee of $275 for Part II for Annual Board Certification is due with your application.  You must apply every year and access to the MOC assignments will not be allowed until your application and fee are received. The list of journal articles for the first quarter should be out mid-January. Make a New Year’s resolution to finish the first quarter just before you file your taxes in April.
Part III: Secure Written Exam For those of you in MOC Year 6, you must have had to answer at least 86% or more of the Lifelong Learning questions correctly in MOC Years 1-5 of this MOC cycle.  If you didn’t pass then you will have to take a written exam by December 16^th, 2021.  If you are sitting for this exam consider attending our virtual April 14-18, 2021 Review Course. Since you are an adult learner, we strongly recommend you take your exam the DAY AFTER or at the latest, one week after the course!

1. Safety
2. Anatomy & Physiology, Basic Sciences
3. Genetics
4. Ethics & Professionalism

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

AOBOG has launched the Advanced Real-time Certification (ARC) program. This program was designed to help fulfill the OCC Component 3 requirements more conveniently over time instead of the recertification exam every 6 years. Visit the AOBOG website for more information on how to register for this new program.
Consider attending our virtual review course April 14-18, 2021. Our 5 days together is designed to give you the most up to date information on high yield topics. An added bonus is that you also receive AMA Category 1 credits.

Test Taking Technique
Need Category I CME hours?  We go through a rigorous application process each year to provide AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ hours to our course registrants.  In addition, our review courses are great for the busy practitioner who is interested in the latest guidelines and clinical pearls. 

Royal Canadian College 2021 Exam Candidates

The registration deadline for the spring specialty examination was December 4^th, 2020. The cost for the 2021 examination is 4,415$ CAD. The Credential Unit will confirm your registration by email. If you do not receive your confirmation within 15 days, you can call 613-730-6278: toll-free 1-800-668-3740 ext. 278 or 419. Depending on your University and Program of training, by the end of January, you can take the CREOG (American) practice examination. Take this seriously as it may help you identify an area of weakness. This examination might (or might not) be paid by your program. If you need to pay, registration is usually due by November.

Test Taking Tips
Need Category I CME hours?  We go through a rigorous application process each year to provide AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ hours to our course registrants.  In addition, our review courses are great for the busy practitioner who is interested in the latest guidelines and clinical pearls.
For the MCQ portion of your exam, the ABC Written Question Manuals are a great source. They cover OB, REI, Oncology, FPM, GYN and Office Practice.

ABOG MFM 2021 ORAL Exam Candidates

Happy New Year, MFM oral exam candidates! It is 2021 and time to keep up the pace of your study plan. Your electronic case list is due to ABOG on February 1^st - just as the Virtual SMFM Annual Meeting is wrapping up on January 30, 2021.  Many of you were postponed from the 2020 exam due to the pandemic - don’t let procrastination and fatigue get the best of you. Make one of your New Year’s resolutions a consistent plan for studying and reading to prepare for April. If you weren’t able to participate in the 2020 MFM review course in December, no problem! The MFM Review Course Recordings are available for purchase up until your 2021 exam. Our MFM FAQ Manual provides you with an interactive study tool to prepare for questions you may be asked during your MFM oral exam. 
Finally, our  MFM Oral Exam Webinar starts in February, perfect timing to practice explaining concepts and reviewing cases with our faculty.  Each session will be case-heavy with plenty of opportunities to defend your own cases.  Don't be taken by surprise on your exam!  You’ve got this! 

FPMRS 2021 ORAL Exam Candidates

Happy New Year! We are kicking off the new year with our 12-session Oral Exam Webinar for FPMRS oral exam candidates.  The first session starts Sunday Feb. 28^th with Dr. Adelowo reviewing POP structured cases on surgical materials and mesh complications.  Dr. Adelowo is the FPMRS Course director. Remember your case list is due to ABOG on February 1^st. Case list submission has changed to an online electronic format. You will now need to use the Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery case list form which you can access on your ABOG personal page. Your case list must be in the proper format and with the required number of cases.  Note: Paper Case List is NOT Acceptable. You’ve come too far to have this all go wrong just because of timing! We have FPM faculty on hand to review your case list.  They will review it with a keen eye and point out strengths and weaknesses like repetitive language, inconsistencies, or lack of detail that you may fail to recognize since you’re likely working on a document that has been revised multiple times by this point. You will then have the opportunity for a one-on-one phone consult to review the highlights. Don’t pass up on this opportunity. Having a well-constructed full proof case list is a critical part of your exam success. 

REI 2021 ORAL Exam Candidates

Happy New Year! It is time to get serious with your oral exam prep and finalize your case lists. 
If you were unable to attend the REI Oral Board Review Course earlier this month, the REI Review Course Recordings are available for purchase on our website.  They will be available for your review until the April 2021 REI certifying exam.  
We are kicking off the new year with our 12-session Oral Exam Webinar for REI oral exam candidates. The webinar series will begin early February and will provide a forum to practice articulating your responses with our faculty.  The format of the webinars will be primarily structured cases designed to simulate your actual oral exam.  You will have the opportunity to interact with the presenter live as you review the cases and provide your responses. 
 Don't forget, case list submission deadline is February 1^st.
 You’ve got this!