What Else People Had to Say
What did you think about the course?
- “Well organized, thorough, overall EXCELLENT course. Thank you so much!!!”
- “You cannot afford to miss a single minute of your discussion.”
- “I can’t image a better course.”
- “Probably the single best course needed to approach and pass the Oral Boards. I will recommend this course to every person I know planning on taking the Orals.”
- “This book and course allow the practitioner to be a consultant in anesthesiology, not just a knowledgeable physician.”
- “This course taught me in 2 days what I failed to achieve in 3 years.”
- “I’m an avid tennis player and every time I watch the pros play, I go to the court and my game is improved immediately. Your course worked the same way for me. Right after listening to the way you talk and present your answers, my own ability to talk was much better. That ’s why I’m interested in coming to additional courses – to hear you talk.”
- “A course of this nature should be part of the Residency program – the residents in your program are fortunate to have you.”
- “I feel there were many helpful hints at taking the boards and I wish I had taken it last year before failing…”
- “I’d love to follow Dr. Ho around for a year and become a much better anesthesiologist and physician.”
- “Your course made a big difference. I never learned how to be a consultant during my training – and I was one of the more enthusiastic residents. Your advice on how to answer questions got me in the mode to be a Consultant. After taking your course, I had a pregnant patient with sickle cell anemia. I went over the risks/benefits of putting in an epidural, and the decision was easy! This sounds like the brochure, but it’s the truth – your course really showed me how to take the test…”
- “This course is for the person who has failed with other approaches. If you are taking the Boards for the first time, you will save yourself a lot of trouble by taking this course first!”
What did you think about the text?
- “Excellent. I understood more about some topics I previously was very uncomfortable with. I am now able to explain concepts I previously did not understand.”
- “It answered every question on my oral board last yr.”
- “Love it.”
- “I think your respiratory and MH chapters were excellent.”
- “Very well organized (covers just about everything). I have read quite a few textbooks (Barash, Stoelting, Schieder, Ryan and Cote, ASA Refresher, Miller, Kirby, etc), but reading your book would be more than sufficient.”
- “Very high yield material.”
- “Great info. Worded well. Not too superficial or deep. Responses to questions (as one would do during the actual exam) helps focus (set the tone for studying appropriately).”
- “This book is incredible. I’ve read many other books before, but this one is outstanding. It’s so easy to read and understand, yet it’s packed with information.”
- “Sensational! The most thorough, exhaustive, and well-prepared text I have seen for Board preparation.”
- “…the electrical safety section was excellent, thank you for making this topic easy to comprehend.”
- “Outstanding. Easy to read – all of residency in one text.”
- “…the best I’ve seen.”
What did you think about Dr. Ho?
- “You are a tremendous source of knowledge and current info. Well prepared and motivational. With the only qualifier being mental fatigue on my part. Otherwise AN AWESOME COURSE, Mike. You really helped me take it to another level.”
- “Dr. Ho knows the information, but more importantly, he knows how to present it and how to teach his students how to present it.”
- “I was really amazed by the great enthusiasm, patience, and willingness to teach, and also with the wide range of knowledge that Dr. Ho showed.”
- “Authoritative, KNOWLEDGEABLE, and pleasant.”
- “Dr. Ho is an excellent teacher. I wanted to kidnap him and take him home with me so he could teach me everything in the next 6 weeks.”
- “Excellent communicator. Dr. Ho is tough but never demeaning, which I appreciate. We all need the confidence in order to overcome and pass this exam.”
- “Even though he was not a Board examiner, he shows what it takes to become Board certified. Even then, he helps you become a better anesthesiologist.”
- “I learned more from Dr. Ho in 2 days than from months of reviewing. Made complex concepts simple and made learning fun. Huge accolades!”
- “Excellent public speaker and teacher, breadth and depth of knowledge impressive, I hope you are in a situation where you teach residents!”
- “The reason this course was so effective was because Michael Ho is the consummate consultant.”
- “11/10!”
- “It’s clear that the speaker has put a lot of hard work and effort into the course. I also appreciate the speaker’s willingness to provide additional time for people. I think he conveyed interest in us as people and was willing to be supportive.”
What did you think about the other instructors?
- “Just as I expected the examiner to be, ‘honest and straightforward.’ Very good critique.”
- “This guy was tough on me! He tried to confuse me and really challenged me! Excellent! Good follow-ups too.”
- “He was a very thorough examiner. I’m glad he spent just as much time after the case commenting and explaining the correct way to do the case.”
- “I felt like I was taking the real exam. Very good at making me realize my mistakes and correcting myself. Excellent review of case and suggestions.”
- “Hard as nails,” great debriefing, he used all the techniques described in the book.”
- “Very professional. Gave good feedback on case presentation and content…went through questions very thoroughly.”
- “Kept me off balance, which was good. Good advice.”
- “Looked like a real board examiner! (i.e., stern, poker-faced). Very professional demeanor.”
- “Excellent! Tough questions. At end, discussed things like one colleague to another.”
- “A hard examiner – very realistic. Excellent feedback. Detailed explanations and analysis of performance.”
- “All the examiners showed a great interest in directing me towards oral Board strategy.”
- “All were excellent.”
What did you think about the Consultant Approach?
- “This is what made me decide to take this course. After all, in my mind, this is what the process is truly all about.”
- “Very true – no gimmicks are taught.”
- “It is the most meaningful way to approach the oral board preparation. Helped me to become a better practitioner and truly appreciate what it means to be an anesthesiologist. Enhanced not only my ability to pass oral boards, but positively influenced my self-perception as a consultant.”
- “Good description. Not taught to be a parrot. Taught to respond reasonably, efficiently, and professionally, i.e., as a consultant. Knowledge alone is not enough. Learn how to use it effectively.”
- “Adds a degree of professionalism to a profession that is often forgotten. I think it will help me in the OR, on the Boards, as well as outside the OR in my interactions.”
- “This is the only ethical way to teach. The Board is designed to evaluate your consulting ability –teaching to pass with tricks and lists is a disservice to me, my patients, and medicine as a whole.”
- “Excellent. Right on target. Focusing on the objective of the Board examiners is much better than antagonistic [other course] approach which sees the Boards as the enemy.”
- “I love it. Anesthesiologists need to think of themselves as consultants, “perioperative physicians,”etc. If everyone had this approach, it would undoubtedly improve the quality of care and the image of the specialty…The consultant approach was for me, the best way to think about preparing for the orals and becoming a more effective physician.”
- “This course has motivated me to become a better physician and consultant.”
- “After researching the different courses available, I chose the ‘consultant approach’ purposefully because it made the most sense to me. I’m glad I did!”
- “I like it because it’s easier for me to remember pathophysiology and systematic approaches than”mnemonics” or random lists.”
- “Should be the ‘Gold Standard’.”
What did you like best about the course?
- “Constant emphasis on BEING A CONSULTANT, not on squeaking by with tricks and lists.”
- “Dr. Ho’s modeling of how to answer questions, his lists of 10, the 1 prototypical response, and his concise summaries of the most important topics in anesthesia that are likely to be covered on the Boards. If I practice what he taught, I will be able to think much more clearly about my anesthetic practice.”
- “Hard to say. Book, lectures, mock orals (public and private) were all of equal high value.”
- “Depth of knowledge in text and it’s organization, complexity of cases, consistency of lectures and case debriefings given by Dr. Ho.”
- “Perfect English and easy to understand chain of thoughts.”
- “Dr. Ho’s extensive fund of knowledge, pleasant approach, and clear organization and effective teaching.”
- “Michael Ho is a fantastic instructor!! He is pleasant, well-organized, methodical, and intelligent. I was impressed by his ability to simplify complex tasks and to teach those complex tasks to a large group. He is what makes this course what it is.”
- “The high quality of lectures and clarity/simplification of info presented. Without a doubt, you’re the best teacher I’ve ever encountered in my anesthetic career. Thanks.”
- “Number 1, Dr. Ho. Number 2, his book. Number 3, the guest examiners. Number 4, the Consultant-like approach to clinical problems, which gave me the knowledge I acquired. Number 5, the confidence I acquired.”
- “The explanation of the answers was the best part and allowed me to “hear” what I’d read in the book.”
- “Dr. Ho’s cheerfulness, positive attitude, clarity of speaking, feedback, tremendous knowledge base.”
- “Everything.”
If you took another course, how did this compare?
- “If you read [other course]’s material (what he asks on his mock), you get the feeling you’re doing well, which is mostly memorization. [other course] is just practice in presentation. Feedback is written in paper and sent to you weeks later (no explanations of answers). Your cases and explanations go deeper in the case.”
- “[other course] too many different speakers, types of advice, unorganized, no clear approach to taking test.”
- “While [other course] has the benefit of 6 full days to review…it became apparent that many of the “faculty” were inexperienced, disinterested, or poorly prepared oral examiners, which is the primary reason for attending an oral Boards review course. Also, mock examiners only have a minute or two after each mock oral to go over the case in detail…Your course was very well organized: a mock oral, then case review in which physiology, anesthetic management, complications, etc. are reviewed, which combines practice with didactic material pertinent to that practice case…”
- “[other course’s] class was too big and too superficial. Too much emphasis on “tricks” to take the test.”
- “Dr. Ho’s knowledge and easy communication make me understand some topics. [other course] doesn’t take time to explain in depth complicated test problems.”
- “[other course] is aggressive and intimidating on exams, as you are, but doesn’t help you overcome the intimidation as you do.”
- “I have his [other course’s] book and doesn’t have the phraseology spelled out the way your book does.These short answers were very valuable.”
- “[other course] places too much emphasis on “spiels” and made Boards seem confrontational.”
- “Your course has practical clinical situations with explanations – [other course] does not explain, just memorized exercises.”
- “I took [three other courses] for three years in a row and failed three times. I had to take the in-service exam, then the written exam. I almost gave up when someone told me to take your course. After the first day, I realized I had no idea what the Boards was looking for from the other courses. If I had taken your course 5 years ago, I never would’ve failed and would have saved thousands of dollars!”
- “You do not treat us as children but colleagues.”
- “This course is a consultant approach.”
Would you recommend this course to a colleague?
- “Yes, and will!”
- “Great review and feel much more “consultant” like in everyday practice. Will change the way I interact with all other physicians. Will be much more clear thinking in future.”
- “Yes, high efficiency learning. Good bang for the buck.”
- “Yes. Not only good practice for oral exam, but good review of anesthesia concepts.”
- “Yes. Most courses teach the same material in similar format as books (lecture format). This course’s approach of problem solving and thought process is extremely helpful.”
- “Yes – whole-heartedly. I would not part with my text however, to lend to someone preparing for the exam because I expect to use it in my role as a consultant.”
- “Yes. It helps guide you in future study. I wish I could have taken it earlier.”
- “ABSOLUTELY!”
- “Yes – but very early in the study period. I would even recommend this to 1st year residents to learn what will be expected of a consultant.”
- “Yes. I would suggest this to residents.”
- “I will refer my friends, my classmates, my brother, my sisters, and even the chairman to take your course.”
- “Will recommend to my husband, who failed first time.”