Doctors know high-pressure exams. The day before one is the worst. There is cramming followed by anxiety and insomnia. When sleep finally beats anxiety, the dreaded nightmare falls upon anxious test takers. Every doctor knows. Walking into the testing center, opening the exam, realizing you studied for the wrong exam. The questions might as well be a foreign language. This nightmare was a reality according to this year’s group of radiation oncology residents taking their physics and radiation biology board exams.
The exam is administered annually for radiation oncology residents. It is a relic from the bygone era. A multi-year long journey defined by a game of trivial pursuit called a board exam. It is a locked-down testing environment as opposite to clinical medical practice as possible. There is no internet, no phone, no colleagues, no tumor board discussion. It is an exam that exists in the exact same format as when it was created. Despite the vast changes in medical care, technology, and physician-colleague collaboration, the methodology to determine if a physician is competent remains unchanged.
Tradition is more important than practicality. So, every fourth-year radiation oncology resident studies dutifully for posterity’s sake. The founders of the field stay happy, the American Board of Radiology collects their testing fees, and residents happily move onto their next board exam. Questioning the exam is frowned upon.
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