People become experts—in sports, science, music, or finance— by applying themselves over a period of 10 years/10,000 hours. This is not the passive approach where you reach a certain comfort level and relax. No, this application is characterized in Ross's article as constant “‘. . . effortful study,' which entails continually tackling challenges that lie just beyond one's competence.”

Most of you reading this have lifetime certificates from the ABR, so you needn't worry about recertification exams, right? Wrong. You see, the Federation of State Medical Boards in May 2008 adopted proposals to require all physicians seeking relicensure to demonstrate competence by passing an exam not more than every 10 years.

An AMA News article from Dec. 24, 2007, quotes licensure committee chair Dr. Stephen I. Schabel, a radiology professor at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, as saying that some boards are eager to do it.

“It's not going to be a burden. It is going to be good for everyone,” he said. If it is easy to do, then they probably aren't doing it right. Requiring patient satisfaction surveys and documentation for performance accountability looks pretty hairy. Still, I have drunk the Kool- Aid; I am totally on board. Nonetheless, the hard studying of the past weeks has convinced me I can do a better job. I have even signed up for the general radiology MOC (maintenance of certification) exam despite the fact that I have a lifetime certificate.

Oh yeah, I forgot. About 30,000 of us with lifetime certificates are going to see those certificates evaporate when we try to get relicensed in our states soon. Now's probably a good time to sign up for some CME courses—and plan to actually sit through them.

I finally checked the ABR results. I passed. Dammit, I was going to friggin' Iraq! I immediately called the ABR. I explained about my deal with God.

“Did you tell God when you were going?,” the ABR woman asked.

“No.”

“Did you tell God how long you would stay?”

“No”

“Well then. No problem,.”