Boarding Time: A Psychiatry Candidate's Guide to Part II of the Abpn Examination

Rating:
Summary: The official party line but not entirely honest
Review: First of all the good news... this book is a great introduction of what to expect with the Oral Board Exam. Lots of info.
As someone who used this book and failed the oral boards here is the bad news...The author writes that if one failed the boards this is due to having violated some basic rule of the practice of medicine or some principle of conduct between human beings...This is not true at all! Competency in real life and "comptenecy" with the ABPN are 2 unrelated items. Basically the examiners have a preset about 10 hurdles for you to navigate sussesfully in order to receive their passing grade. The problem is that these hurdles are purposefully hidden from you while you are trying your best. YOU have to remember to metion all ten or fail. That the examiners hide the hurdles from you behind a stone face while you are anxiously trying to show your best attributes makes this artificial situation even worse.
Another falsehood...The statement that the ABPN has no set percentage of candidates who must fail the exam. In order to exist as an entity on financial grounds alone it MUST fail a good percentage to remain in business with its exhorbitant fees. Of note, the examiners are placed in pairs. This in effect sets up tension BETWEEN THE TWO EXAMINERS. Neither of the 2 wants to appear too lenient with a condidate in front of the other and thus the incentive is to be brutal with candidates. I would have appreciated a book which was more honest in relation to the above. In a sense, the author by towing the party line has become a part of the corrupt process,(candidates of 1994 and afterwards face recertification while those from before don't), which really is irrelevant with regard to good clinical care.