In USA, board certification involves a two-part exam, usually taken over a two-year period. The first part is a written exam, which is taken when the candidate is still considered board “eligible”. The second part is an oral exam, taken the year after the written exam is passed. The oral examination is based largely on a collection of a year’s worth of medical and surgical cases known as the “case list”. The oral exam is offered once a year in Dallas.

In Canada, both the written and oral examinations are done simultaneously over 2 days in Ottawa. The Canadian oral examination is based largely on performance with simulated patients. There is no assessment of previous performance or “case list”. The Canadian written exam has multiple choice questions like the American exam but in addition it has has a section for short answered questions.

In USA, residency training for Obstetrics and Gynecology (ObGyn) requires four years. In Canada, 5 years of training are needed. This limits the chance for any AMerican trained ObGyn to sit for the Canadian exam without having to train for one additional year. I was eligible to sit for the Canadian exam even though I trained in USA because the Canadian board took into account the year of ObGyn internship I did in Lebanon (The American University of Beirut 2003-2004).