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Mock Orals and More Workshop

Wednesday, May 4, 7:00 am – 12:00 pm 
Registration Required

Candidate Member Fee: $100
Member Fee: $225
Non-Member Fee: $275

Track One: Residents/Fellows-in- Training; Limit: 45 participants
Track Two: Physicians in Practice Applying for Board Certification; Limit: 45 participants

CME Credit Hours: 5

To achieve certification by The American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery (ABCRS), a candidate must pass a Written Examination and an Oral Examination. The Oral Examination is taken once the candidate passes the Written Examination. Its objective is to evaluate candidates’ clinical experience, problem-solving ability, and surgical judgment, and to ascertain the candidate’s knowledge of the current literature on colon and rectal diseases and surgery.  Additionally, most fellows and faculty receive very little instruction on how to navigate through the obstacles faced while completing fellowship and starting out in practice.  This workshop aims to prepare candidates for these examinations and address critical needs of current fellows and recent graduates when they are beginning their practices.

The session will consist of an introduction and overview of the structure of the mock oral examination and then break into two tracks each composed of a Mock Oral Examination Session and a Mini-Symposium, running concurrently. The Mock Oral Examinations will be conducted in a small group format and are administered by ABCRS board-certified examiners, with critique of the examinees’ performances in a format that replicates the actual ABCRS Oral Examination. Questions will be directed to one participant at a time, so other group members may observe their colleagues answer and receive critique on scenarios. Scenarios covered will be those which are heavily tested on the certifying oral examination and are commonly encountered in a standard colorectal practice.  Additionally, the session will also provide feedback on performance and guidance in treatment of these various disease processes by members who are board-certified already.
 
The Mini-Symposium consists of presentations and a panel discussion on topics highly relevant to the audience, such as board review, transition to practice, academic success, transition of careers, and financial planning. This mini symposium will be tailored to each track, which will have a slightly different audience, i.e. current ACGME fellows or those physicians in practice applying for board certification.

Objectives

At the conclusion of this session, participants should be able to:

  1. Describe the structure of the oral examination
  2. Demonstrate the ability to answer colorectal oral board style questions in a simulated, high stakes format
  3. Demonstrate knowledge among colleagues and learn from other examinees
  4. Understand key topics relevant to the individual career stage

Co-Directors

Anuradha Bhama, MD, Cleveland, OH
Jennifer Davids, MD, Worcester, MA
Carrie Peterson, MD, Milwaukee, WI


All Participants:
7:00 am
Introduction & Mock Oral Overview

Jennifer Davids, MD, Worcester, MA

7:10 am
Find Your Next Room

Track I (Current Fellows)
7:20 am
Small Group Mock Oral Exams*

9:20 AM                              
Break (move from oral exam room to symposium room)

9:30 am               
How to Prepare for the Written Exam
Jessica Cohan, MD, MAS, Salt Lake City, UT
 
9:50 am               
How to Prepare for the Oral Exam
Jeffrey Barton, MD, New Orleans, LA
 
10:10 am            
Preparation for Your First Year in Practice
Mahraneh Jafari, MD, New York, NY
 
10:30 am            
How to Teach When Just Starting in Practice  
Michelle Cowan, MD, Seattle, WA
 
10:50 am            
Finances 101
Conan Mustain, MD, Little Rock, AR
 
11:10 am            
Questions and Answers
Panel    
 
11:30 am            
Adjourn
 

Track II: Mini Symposium for Physicians in Practice
7:20 am              
Defining your Niche - Clinical and Research
Nelya Melnitchouk, MD, Boston, MA
 
7:40 am               
Finances 101
Conan Mustain, MD, Little Rock, AK
 
8:00 am              
Mentoring While Being Mentored
Marjun Philip Duldulao, MD, Los Angeles, CA
 
8:20 am               
How to Encourage Change When You Have Little Influence
Carrie Peterson, MD, Milwaukee, WI
 
8:40 am               
This Isn't What I Signed Up For –Managing First Job Woes
Ziad Kronfol, MD, Baytown, TX
 
9:00 am               
Questions and Answers
Panel    
 
9:20 AM              
Break (move from symposium room to oral exam room)
 
9:30 am               
Small Group Mock Oral Exams*

All Participants
11:40 am            
The Pursuit of Wellness – Adding Even More to the To-Do List?   
Anuradha R. Bhama, MD, Cleveland, OH
 
12:00 pm            
Adjourn


*Includes all member of the Young Surgeon’s Committee as Examiners: Drs. Carrie Peterson, Jonathan Abelson, Anthonia Adewole, Anuradha Bhama ,Christopher Buzas, Brandon Chapman, Marianne Cusick, Beatrice Dionigi, Samuel Eisenstein, Leandro Feo, Daniel Fish, Daniel Galante, Gerald Gantt, Leander Grimm, Michael Guzman, Wissam Halabi, Mark Hanna, Sook Hoang, Jennifer Kaplan, Deborah Keller, David Kleiman,  Janet Lee, Robert Lewis, Jonathan Mitchem, Lisa Parry, Isaac Payne,  David Rosen, Daniel Sarmiento, Vlad Simianu, Jacquelyn Turner, Karen Zaghiyan, Marco Zoccali