It's Good To Talk

The weather is getting colder, the nights longer, and we're still waiting for the results of the written exam. It can only mean one thing: it's viva season!
Hopefully most of us have started getting viva practice - if not, don't wait until next Friday. Find some consultants/senior registrars or anyone who has taken the exam and get talking to them. Ask them what cases they got given and get them to viva you on those topics. Some people find getting a viva group together if there are a couple of you in the same hospital/deanery, and grilling each other.

On the day, there are two sets of vivas:
-Clinical viva: 50 minutes, comprising 20 minutes of long case questioning (there is a period of time beforehand to peruse the case and construct potential answers - writing down stuff is allowed) followed by three short cases.
-Clinical science viva: 30 minutes on physiology, physics & clinical measurement, anatomy, and pharmacology in equal aliquots.

There is plenty of practice viva material to be found for your enjoyment!:

AnaesthesiaUK have a large database of past questions sent in by candidates here & here.
I have grouped all of their questions according to viva type:
-Basic Sciences
-Long Cases
-Short Cases

Again, topical items have come up in the past in some guise or another. For instance, placenta, pleura, COX-2 inhibitors & heart disease, CPEX testing to name but a few. So keep reading the bulletins, CEACCP articles and review articles from the journals.

Remember, do not ignore Basic Sciences!