Do we really need oral boards as a specialty? It’s basically us and surgeons who do this, 95% of applicants pass their first time, and it both costs well over a grand and requires us to fly to Chicago. Can’t we do away with this if we are EM residency trained?

It is time oral boards are canceled forever.

"The Oral Exam measures skills that cannot be tested on a multiple-choice exam. It's important that ABEM-certified physicians can clearly communicate with patients and their families, organize information about patients, and make good choices for patient management."

We have all completed a 3 or 4-year accredited emergency medicine residency. Additionally, we have passed the written boards. These two accomplishments supersede the oral boards and invalidate its need for existence.

The COVID-19 Pandemic has impacted the ability for oral exams to take place this year. We see it as an opportunity to end the need for this unnecessary, expensive requirement for board certification. If individuals are able to see and treat patients during a rigorous accredited residency program and graduate, why do they need to be validated again after proving their knowledge on a standardized oral exam?