One Part down, one more to go....

[Amiens]

Matt took the written portion of his Anesthesia boards last weekend. He feels pretty good about it. He's pretty sure he passed because during residency the "in-training exam" is the written ABA exam and he has passed it the past two years without needing his score weighted.

We will find out in September his results. He wants to take his oral exam in the Spring, which will be in Boston, MA. Due to the high demand of the spring exam session, we will have to same-day or overnight his preference as soon as he receives his results. The orals are given twice a year- May and October, and in one location each time.

Other interesting news on the "attending" front of life- Matt has had to attend business meetings for his group. I asked him how he liked being able to give input on his working conditions, etc. He loves it as we all know in residency if something is wrong they look at you and say "Here's a tissue, and a pacifier. Now leave me alone."

I still have no expectations on his hours- he has been going in at 6 am and home most days by 3 pm and that's being the 4th call person.

That's how life is at the moment.....

Crystal

[mommax3]

Sounds like things are going well, Crystal! How are you feeling? Dh is enjoying his new job, too, although his partner is hyperventilating that their appt. book isn't completely full after a whopping 6 days in practice. They are working 8 to 5 getting set up on their computers, phone systems, etc., but the call is non-existent at this point. They are getting marketing support from the company that employs them, but they are thinking about doing more on their own. DH isn't too worried, though.

Sally

[Vishenka69]

DH took his first ABA last weekend. Wonder if that will be reflective of how he'll do on the boards. When you say oral is in one location, is that one location for the whole country? Note to self not to plan anything around April/May or September/October in preparation for the boards. Those hours sound great. I'm really hoping something similar lies in my future.

[Amiens]

Thank you to everyone. We just got more good news, and the group is scoring points in my book- They hired on another anesthesiologist, and gave him twice the sign-on bonus than they did to Matt. Well the partners thougth it was only fair to give Matt the extra amount too. So Merry Christmas to us. (That's when we will receive the rest of the bonus money). No complaints here.

Pregnancy wise- I am feeling pretty good. Tired from time to time but that's because we have a ton of yard work that I have resolved will get finished next spring, and I am chasing two kids around, trying to unpack, plus we haven't been in 90+ weather in a long time. I am loving all of the sunshine, and I have a "healthy" tan (ie- I wear sunscreen and now have some coloring) for the first time in 3 years.

About the ABA exam- the orals are given in one location for the entire country in the Spring, and one in the Fall. I know for 2006 when Matt takes it it will be offered in Westin-Copley Place, Boston, MA- Apr 24-28, 2006 and then in Hyatt Regency, San Diego, CA- Sep 11-15, 2006. It looks like on the ASA sight that there is an exam sight in the West and in the East. You can keep up to date as to where the orals will be held, you can go to events.asahq.org - select Board/In-training Exam and all years, and it will bring up the schedule up to 2009. If I am doing my math right- your dh will sit for the written exam July 2007, which will mean he will take his orals in 2008- Spring (Apr 14-18, 2008): Marriott Harborbeach, Ft. Lauderdale, FL , and Fall (Sep 22-26, 2008): Phoenix Ritz-Carlton, Phoenix, AZ. I don't know if you have seen earlier posts- we tend to be planners in a financial sense- the boards will set one back, for us it was $2675- $950 for the written (paid at the time of applying for the boards), and $1725 for the oral (paid when you pass the written). That doesn't include lodging and plane ticket for either exam. Because we knew we would be moving before the written exam, but chose a location closer to Boise than Seattle- Salt Lake City, it's only a four hour drive compare to an 8 hour drive, plus we have family in SLC that he could stay with.

The reason the Spring is so popular most recent grads want to get it done and over with, and depending on the contract-- at least with Matt he will receive a raise upon passing the boards, so receiving a raise 6 months earlier would be nice.

The ABA rents out the hotel for the entire week. We've heard some pretty interesting and some crazy things about the orals.

HTH,

Crystal

Wahoo on the bonus!!

Glad to hear the pregnancy is going fine. Enjoy your new location and the sun. It's been a cool summer so far in the NW.

[Amiens]

Wahoo on the bonus!!

Glad to hear the pregnancy is going fine. Enjoy your new location and the sun. It's been a cool summer so far in the NW.

Aww how I miss the 60 degree days of summer. Glad I have A/C to get through the 100 degree days we have been having lately.

Crystal

[Vishenka69]

Crystal, your math is correct and he'll be finishing in July 2007. But he's also thinking of doing a pain fellowship, so I'm not sure if that means his boards will be delayed by a year.

I never realized how expensive the boards are. I know that the license is an obsene amount of money but thought that the practice will cover that. Better start saving for those boards (I'm a big planner too). All those expenses might delay house buying a bit more. $4,000 (including travel expenses) just to take a test! I hope the bonus covers that and then some.

[Amiens]

If he's doing a fellowship then I think he would still sit for the general boards before he can sit for the Pain boards. Sounds fun huh? You want to find out more- http://home.theaba.org/index.asp

Luckily we will be part way through Matt's first year when it comes time to pay for those oral boards- we have the money saved up, and now we are getting a hefty bonus at Christmas time. As far as the state license goes, it depends on where you want to practice- California is obscene, and it takes a long time. Idaho- I think Matt's group paid $300 for him, and Matt had his license in 2 months. Then it gets more fun- when Matt was a resident they covered the cost of his membership to the ASA and WA State Society of Anesthesia. Now that Matt is no longer a resident we have to pay the "attending" dues now for the ASA. I can't remember but I think it's in Matt's contract that they cover membership to either the State Anesthesia Society or State Med Society, or the ASA. Oh joy......, and I laugh in my head when people say I am rolling the dough. (We are trying to live off of Matt's bonus until his first paycheck comes in 2 weeks.)

Crystal

[Sheherezade]

Glad you are doing well Crystal! We are in a different field entirely, but for DH he can't sit for oral boards until 3 years out. He has to collect cases across those years and submit those for the testing. How do they do that in anesthesia? DH is taking the oral OB/GYN boards in a few months. He is freaked, of course, because he hasn't done OB since before fellowship (4 years ago) but he has to be tested on it anyway. (Hello, review course!! Goodbye, $2200.00!!) He had to fly to his residency alma mater and collect old cases.....


Re: All those fees (including that review course)!!
DH was advised to negotiate payment of licenses, memberships, boards fees, courses, etc. in his contract. The practice easily accepted that as a benefit; we are reimbursed for every expense, and he has an additional small budget for "educational expenses" every year.

[mommax3]

Angie,

Good luck to your husband when he takes his orals! My husband took them in November of 2003, and I have never seen him so stressed out. It all went very well, though, and the examiners weren't as tough as he thought they might be, so hopefully that will be the case for you all, too. In hindsight, getting the case list together was the worst part of it. My husband took a review course that was right before his exam, and he thought that helped.

Sally

[Amiens]

During residency he gathers his case load- has to have a certain number of procedures for each subspecialty- CT, OB, Transplant, etc. All of these numbers are submitted when he applies for the written exam. Matt has an "educational" slush fund account too, but I can't remember what it covers. I just know I still have the amount to pay to the ABA deducted from our savings account. Then every 10 years Matt has to be recertified.

I know Matt is a little nervous for the orals. He thinks he has been pretty well-prepared the last year doing mock-oral exams. A few of the staff at UW are oral examiners for the ABA, or are on the board for the written exam. I found something interesting out- if Matt gets to his examiner's room, and knows the person he is supposed to walk out of the room and asked to be reassigned. Looking at the list of examiners from last year, Matt knew ~1/4 of them- a lot of them came from Univ of CO and Univ of WA. Just interesting.

Anyway, here's to waiting.....

Crystal