A Comparative Review of Oral Board Delivery Across Procedural Disciplines

Despite its ubiquity in the certification process among surgical specialties, there is little data regarding oral board delivery across various procedural fields. In this study we sought to determine the specifics of oral board exam administration across surgical disciplines with the goal of highlighting common practices, differences, and areas of innovation. This comparative analysis might further serve to identify unifying principles that undergird the oral board examination process across specialties.

A standardized questionnaire was developed that included domains of exam structure/administration, content development, exam prerequisites, information about examiners, scoring, pass/failure rates, and emerging technologies. Between December 2022 and February 2023 structured interviews were conducted to discuss specifics of various oral board exams. Interview answers were compared between various specialties to extrapolate themes and to highlight innovative or emerging techniques among individual boards.

Interviews were conducted virtually.

Executive members of 9 procedural medical boards including anesthesiology, neurosurgery, obstetrics, and gynecology, ophthalmology, orthopaedic surgery, otolaryngology-head and neck surgery, plastic surgery, general surgery, and urology RESULTS: Common themes include assessment of pre-, intra- and postoperative care; all testing involved candidate examination by multiple examiners and psychometricians were used by all organizations. Important differences included virtual versus in person administration (3 out of 9), inclusion and discussion of candidates' case logs as part of the exam (4 out of 9), formal assessment of professionalism (4 out of 9), and inclusion of an objective structured clinical examination (2 out of 9).

While there are common themes and practices in the oral board delivery process between various surgical fields, and important differences continue to exist. Ongoing efforts to standardize exam administration and determine best practices are needed to ensure oral board exams continue to effectively establish that candidates meet the qualifications required for board certification.