Good morning, Dr. B

From the beginning of my general surgery training, I have dreaded taking the oral boards. My mock oral exam experience my intern year didn't help. It was terrifying. I had never taken care of a burn patient and I was asked to calculate his fluids...it seemed like I didn't know the answers to ANYTHING they asked. The next year mock orals weren't much better. I operated on a pregnant patient...without checking to see if she was pregnant first. I put an NG in a patient with an esophageal perforation before any work-up (bad). My patient with an abdominal aortic aneurysm had a heart attack because I didn't check his heart before operating (VERY BAD). The third year was a bit better...but still not good. Fourth year I took vacation instead of mock orals (that didn't really happen on purpose, but I can't say that I was disappointed to miss them!). This year, it was almost fun, in a scary roller coaster kind of way.

So, when it came time for the real general surgery oral boards last Wednesday, I was NOT looking forward to it. I was so thankful to have my friend Josh in town. He took the time to go through a few practice scenarios and show me around the hotel where the exam was being given. It made a world of difference in my anxiety level and it was awesome hanging out with a good friend. Lots of people were praying.

This is how it went. All the candidates meet at the hotel at 7am. I woke up at 5:30, put on my suit (which we've been hauling around in the truck for 5 months just for this moment), and had some coffee. I walked out of my hotel at 6:50, and couldn't remember which direction the Four Seasons was from my hotel (thank the Lord for iPhones)! I made it there with a couple minutes to spare.

The room was full of black suits and nervous chatter. During our half hour briefing, we were assigned to either the 8am or 10:30 session. I was happy to see an 8 am start time on my sheet...the sooner this is over, the better, I thought. I was almost giddy anticipating the moment I would be finished. Then, I was standing in front of a hotel room door, it opened, a grey-haired doctor shook my hand and said "Good morning, Doctor." I shook hands with a second examiner then sat before them. I thought to myself "focus, don't panic!" as the questioning began.

It was over before I knew it. Three rooms, 6 examiners, 12 cases, 1.5 hours. I almost panicked and froze in the middle of one question...but talked myself out of it just in time. I remembered to check for heart disease before operating and tried not to do anything dangerous. Before I knew it I was in the last room and the examiner said "we are out of time we need to let you get to the next room." Then, the other examiner said, "I think she's done." I blurted out a bit too enthusiastically "yes, I'm done, hopefully for good," and dashed out of the room!

Then, I waited. Over the next 24 hours, I replayed each scenario in my head several times...recalling every mistake and wondering about each time they asked "would you do anything else?" Had I missed enough to fail?

The next day I got a text from Josh...the results are up. After trying a few passwords, I finally remembered my password, logged in, and read "We are pleased to inform you that you have successfully passed this exam." Words can not describe...I am so thankful for everyone who helped make it happen! I will never have to take General Surgery Oral boards again (at least not in the USA)!