Short report: preparing for simulated office orals. Survey of practices in 16 family medicine departments.

S imulated office orals (SOOs) are the oral component of the College of Family Physicians of Canada’s (CFPC) Certification Examination in Family Medicine. Each SOO consists of a 15-minute interview between a “patient” (actor) and “physician” (resident or non–board-certified physician); emphasis is on evaluation of candidates’ use of patient-centred and communication skills. In their efforts to prepare residents for certification, Canadian university departments of family medicine engage in numerous educational activities. A literature search failed, however, to discover any curriculums designed to prepare residents for SOOs. Motivated by a belief that to prepare for a SOO is to prepare for practice, we designed a survey to identify activities departments associate with preparation for SOOs and to subsequently evaluate and document similarities and differences in practices in the various departments.