Surgery Oral Board Exam Prep

Preparing for your oral board exam is so much more than just memorizing and regurgitation information. Effective preparation requires mastery of a broad set judgement, reasoning and problem solving skills that are effectively and efficiently demonstrated under demanding exam conditions. All Odyssey Review courses focus on communication skills and problem-solving techniques that are tapered to each individual candidate and geared to optimally achieve exam objectives.

We have taken the last two decades to analyze valuable post-exam feedback from candidates and calibrate our courses accordingly. Once you understand the underlying mechanisms of the exam, you can develop the skills that will allow you to answer whatever question you get from the examiners with alacrity and ease.

Preparing for the oral exams can feel like doing surgery in the dark. Most of the advice that candidates receive about the exam and the examiners comes from well-intentioned colleagues who have taken the exam once or twice themselves, usually 15 or 20 years earlier.

Odyssey Review teaches using a surgical paradigm, because preparing for the complexities of the certifying exam is analogous to learning a sophisticated surgical procedure. Do you want to learn how to do a pancreaticoduodenectomy from an attending who did one 15 years ago? Or from an attending who has done thousands of these cases, with superb outcomes?
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If you need a specialized surgical procedure, you want to go to a specialist who does that procedure 10 times a week, and is facile with the most up to date techniques, not someone who does it once a year ... or less.

Like any other specialist, Odyssey is dedicated to superb board preparation, and stays up to date with changes in examiner behavior, exam content, and exam evolution over time. The result ... you get accurate, experienced, superlative board preparation that builds your capability and confidence, with the highest likelihood of passing your exam.

You can have the typical oral exam pass rate of about 75%, or a 90+% pass rate with Odyssey Review. You can take an average course and be passive observer, or you can take an exceptional Odyssey Review and be an active participant. You can choose a course with instructors who teach board prep a couple of weekends a year (at most) as a sideline or you can work with dedicated faculty at Odyssey who specialize in board prep every day of the year. The choice is yours.

One of the most common questions from candidates is whether a shortcut exists. Many want to study a few hours on pre-recorded material and then take the exam.

Odyssey Review courses are all about preparing the candidate for compelling communication and advanced problem-solving skills that will offer the candidate the greatest chance for success. There is no way to anticipate the 15,000 questions that will be asked this year, but you can gain the valuable skills to answer your twelve questions in the correct format and style.

Access to thoughtful, experienced faculty with constructive feedback is more expensive than a set of prerecorded materials. Your exam will be a dynamic exchange with examiners, not you regurgitating answers you memorized from someone else's video.

The best way to prepare is to learn a solid intellectual understanding of the exam and the examiners, then build on that foundation with highly effective applied skills. Experienced instruction, tailored to your needs, then corrects your weaknesses and enhances your strengths. Ongoing guided practice scenarios that duplicate the real exam continue to maximize your comfort, confidence and capability with maximum efficiency.

We have priced our courses to parallel the daily income for a surgeon.

The bottom line is to ask yourself ... "What is the value of passing the exam and being board certified?"

Odyssey Review offers Shared Tutorials courses for you and at least one other colleague. Private 1-on-1 sessions are also available.

All candidates taking the Group Course or a Private or Shared Tutorial should read Demystifying the Surgery Certifying Examination before the course.

Odyssey Review cannot guarantee a candidate will pass the exam. However, Odyssey Review has seen tremendous success in candidates who follow the learning plan created by the faculty.