11/09/2018    Jeffrey Kass, DPM

ABPS Maintenance of Certification (Dieter Fellner, DPM)

I echo the sentiments of Drs. Fellner and
McCormick. I also had issues with my computer
malfunctioning during my exam. An error message
popped open telling me the computer
disconnected. This occurred with little time
left and my diagnosis sitting in the queue. I
called the proctor over, informing him of my
concern that my answer be recorded. The proctor
decided to take control of my mouse and burnt my
time out.

When contacting the Board, I was told my answer
was recorded. So from their perspective, this
was not an issue. The issue was that I did not
know the answer was recorded and hence was upset
during the test that the answer was not
recorded. This lead to some anxiety for the
remainder of the exam. After all, feeling that
you gave no diagnosis should cause concern.

The response given to me was your answer was
recorded. It was then explained to me people
could be bothered by outside sirens etc. I was
given noise cancellation head phones so I have
no idea what outside sirens has to do with
anything. Simply put, we pay alit of money to
take these exams and if the test conditions
don’t live up to the standard they should it’s a
big issue.

Dr. Fellner makes an important point about
buzzwords. One should be tested on their
knowledge base not on their ability to figure
out how to take a test. Example: when shown a
picture of a large open wound and asked how
would you treat this one may decide on a wound
VAC. And one can search and try to find wound
VAC and may never find it as it may be listed as
vacuum assisted closure.

This is utterly ridiculous! To get answers wrong
or kill time on an exam looking for answers is
complete nonsense. I challenge the profession to
get this right. This is not the first time
people have brought up a low passing rate on
boards compared to the orthopedic community.
There is obviously a problem. It’s one thing
when podiatrists get screwed by those outside
the profession. It’s sadder when podiatrists
screw their own colleagues.

Jeffrey Kass, DPM, Forest Hills, NY

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