I'm going tomorrow to take my board examinations, well part one of two actually, so think good thoughts or say a little prayer that I pass! I'll be in the exam from 9 AM until 5 PM with some breaks but they won't allow anything in the testing room including my greatest addiction - Diet Coke! I guess I'll put on the D.C. patch :)

This has been an ongoing issue for me. Most docs get their boards right out of school though very few jobs require them. They can be rather pricey ($2,000 for Part one and $2500 for Part two). I took and passed the part one way back in 1996, but soon after that my folks started getting sick so I thought I should be careful with my money in case I needed to move back or help them out - besides, when I went to my department and asked them about boards, they in a sense said it was something they encouraged but that they wouldn't pay for it nor would it benefit me other than personal advancement. So I held off on the Part 2 test and time went by, my folks' conditions worsened so I never pursued it.

Then a couple years ago the new Chairman and Vice Chairman decide they wanted everyone in the Dept. to be Board Certified so they "strongly encouraged" me to get my boards done. It was then I found out that my earlier Part 1 was no longer "valid" (only good for 6 years) *kicks self repeatedly* so I needed to take Part 1 again, which happens tomorrow. I've been studying and Robert's been a great help by going over questions with me so I'm not going to stress too much.

Another tid-bit is that there's rumors that our Chairman may be leaving to go to a great opportunity at Harvard - Ugh! If it's true then that will not be good news. This chairman has been a great one and not only will I be sorry to see him go, it also means getting used to a new one which is always stressful....maybe it's just a rumor...off to study again!