March 2026 Tip of the Month

AOBOG & ABOG 2026 Written Exam Candidates

For those of you taking the AOBOG written exam, the final deadline to apply and pay fees (with late fee) is March 13th. Use March and April to crank out the remaining topics in your study plan.

For the ABOG Qualifying Exam, make sure to reserve your seat at Pearson VUE before the final deadline of April 25th.

We strongly advise taking a comprehensive board prep course. A weekend workshop or evening webinar simply cannot provide the necessary foundation. No matter how many practice questions you complete, you cannot answer them well without core knowledge. We also recognize that there is precious little time to wade through volumes of material — which is why our Virtual Board Prep Course (April 22–26) delivers an exam-focused review aligned with the latest ACOG clinical guidelines. Historically, our course covers 90% of exam topics.

Each day includes focused didactics in OB, REI, Primary Care, Oncology, GYN/Office, and Peri-Op & Urogynecology, followed by topic-specific questions, performance analysis, and written test-taking strategy.

Be candid about what you realistically can and cannot accomplish in your study plan.

Have you finished the MUST-KNOW topics?
Our Test Topics Manual lists high-yield topics and expected questions. At this stage, shift attention to areas we do not have time to cover in the course.

Do not forget that every topic review must be followed by written questions. Our Written Questions Online provides ~1400 computerized questions to mirror the exam format.

For those who have struggled with standardized written exams, failed previously, or scored <200 on CREOG — you cannot continue your usual approach. Knowledge is rarely the issue; most candidates at this level have a processing problem. Our Online Test-Taking Skills Course or Virtual Test-Taking Skills Workshop (Saturday, March 14th, 2026) teaches an evidence-based methodology that improves CREOG scores by ~1 standard deviation.

TIP -CREOG Strategy
You recently received or should soon receive your CREOG results. This report clearly identifies strengths and weaknesses by topic. “Trick me once, shame on you; trick me twice, shame on me.” Start targeting weak areas TODAY, and follow each review with written questions. Practice makes perfect — and you are taking a written exam.

ABOG 2026 Certifying Exam Candidates

The application period for the 2026 Certifying Exam opens on March 1st. Apply before the first deadline of April 14th to avoid a late fee. We strongly recommend our Virtual April 22-26 Board Review Course. There are four months left to complete your case collection. No case lists will be accepted after August 31st. Ideally, cases should be entered online weekly. By now, you should have at least 25% of Office patients selected, with all 40 categories completed by the end of May.

Remember: you may include only one or two cases of any single procedure or diagnostic category. Cases must be organized within the three ABOG sections: OB, GYN, and Office Practice.

Documentation to retain

• GYN: case list sheet, H&P, operative report, pathology, discharge

• OB: prenatal records, delivery notes, postpartum, discharge

• Office: case list sheet, visit notes, labs, imaging

A well-constructed case list makes all the difference in its defense — especially since cases are entered online. June–August will be consumed with finalizing your list. Assume your oral exam could be in October, leaving less than two months to prepare after submission.

Taking a review course in the spring places you in a proactive position. Our Virtual Board Review Course (April 22–26) follows ABOG-published topics and ACOG guidelines. Together, we construct cases, review them with faculty examiners, and finish each session with structured mock orals so you can practice verbalizing correct answers.

Not sure what you need? Our Ultimate Oral Exam package includes:

• June case list workshop

• April review course

• 85 structured cases

• Fall Oral Exam Workshop

• 3 mock orals

• D3 Session

• Comprehensive Case List Review

Case List Construction Workshop: Our carefully designed virtual workshop will be held on Sunday June 7th, 2026. We will work through case list construction, optimizing your case list entry, pointers on formatting and preparing you to defend your case list. 

TIP Current collection- You still have time to collect GYN cases such as hysterectomy and bilateral salpingectomy. Consider postpartum salpingectomy rather than PPTL, or laparoscopic salpingectomy/fibroidectomy instead of tubal ligation. OB cases can similarly include Cesarean with salpingectomy/fibroidectomy.

AOBOG 2026 Primary Oral Exam Candidates

Applications for the November 6–7, 2026 exam are due June 30th. Do not procrastinate — AOBOG has implemented an exam cap that has historically been reached within months.

For those taking the April 24–25, 2026 exam, our Home Study Packages include 44+ hours of lectures and strategy videos created specifically for AOBOG oral candidates, plus mock orals and structured cases.

This is an oral exam — you must practice out loud. Structured cases and private Virtual Mock Orals allow faculty to challenge and refine your responses.

TIP -Oral exam mindset
Questions come rapidly, and examiners often push until you do not know the answer. This does not mean you failed the question — you likely passed earlier. Let go of the previous question and focus on the one at hand.

Chief Residents Planning Subspecialty Fellowship

Subspecialty fellows may select 20 chief-year patients for their off-specialty case list. Collect at least 30 to allow strategic selection later. Refer to the ABOG Bulletin (abog.org) for selection rules. Keep:

• GYN: H&P, operative, pathology, discharge

• OB: prenatal, delivery, postpartum, discharge

Office cases may be collected during fellowship. You are currently at your peak general OB/GYN knowledge. Two years from now, unused topics fade quickly. Rare, complex cases now may be difficult to defend later — choose cases junior residents could also defend.

Subspecialty Fellows Planning ABOG General Certifying Boards

You may sit for your general oral boards anytime during fellowship, but earlier is strongly recommended. You will be surprised how quickly recall of off-specialty material fades once you stop using it clinically. If you neglected to collect off-specialty cases during your chief year, you must return to your residency institution to retrieve and enter those cases into your case list system.

Acceptable case sources include:

• chief-year cases

• current fellowship call cases

• retrospective collection from residency

If collecting retrospectively, stay within your comfort zone — this is still your general oral board exam.

We strongly recommend the Virtual Board Review Course (April 22–26), which follows ABOG-published topics and the latest ACOG clinical guidelines and covers ~90% of exam content. 

Taking your general boards sooner keeps your broad OB/GYN knowledge intact and avoids relearning large volumes later in fellowship.

ABOG Continuing Certification (CC) Candidates

ABOG Part II Lifelong Learning and Self-Assessment articles are typically released in January, May, and August, with occasional additional releases. Each article contains six questions that must be completed.

If you are in CC Year 6, you must pass the written examination by July 20th, 2026.

If you have never cut corners before, our five-day Board Review Courses (April 22–26 or August 12–16) provide an efficient, exam-focused refresher aligned with national ACOG guidelines and designed for the adult learner. Many participants also gain practical everyday clinical pearls in addition to exam preparation. If you feel rusty or previously had to repeat a primary written exam, our Test-Taking Skills Course can be very helpful.

TIP -CC Written Exam format

• 230 single-best-answer MCQs

• ~⅓ Obstetrics / ~⅓ Gynecology / ~⅓ Office Practice

• ~3 hr 45 min

• Pearson VUE testing centers

• Candidates may leave early but cannot return

Questions are clinically oriented and often require selecting the most correct answer among several plausible options.

AOBOG Recertification / OCC

The traditional AOBOG recertification exam has been replaced by the Longitudinal Assessment, which fulfills OCC Component 3 requirements. This is now an ongoing online assessment rather than a single high-stakes exam.

Through 2022, the AOBOG longitudinal assessment was administered via the Advanced Real-time Certification (ARC) platform. Beginning in 2023, it transitioned to the Catalyst Platform hosted by the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME).

The system is easily accessible from computer, tablet, smartphone, or mobile app. Please refer to the AOBOG website for details and participation requirements.

ABC Tip: Consider attending our 5-day Review Course, April 22–26, 2026. This is not the traditional board review of the past. As you evolve in practice and rely on evidence-based medicine, our course is designed for the adult learner and fully aligned with national ACOG guidelines. You’ll leave not only with Category I CME hours, but also with practical clinical pearls you can apply immediately in daily practice.

Royal Canadian College 2026 Candidates

The applied oral examination is May 8th at your local Centre. Do not wait until after the written examination to begin oral preparation — the two components are complementary, and practicing oral reasoning will strengthen written performance as well.

Helpful MCQ reminders

• There is no penalty for guessing

• Allow ~1 minute per question

• Rest before the exam to maintain mental stamina

At this stage, earlier topics may feel distant. Briefly revisit them and continue practicing questions. You should now clearly recognize your weaker areas — focus your remaining time there while also beginning structured oral practice. Learning and applying SOGC guidelines supports both written and oral success.

Test-Taking Tips

For the MCQ portion of your exam, ABC Written Questions Online is an excellent resource, covering OB, REI, Oncology, Urogynecology (URPS), GYN, and Office Practice. Be sure to explore our additional preparation products as well to strengthen your readiness for the upcoming exams.