The Oral Board Examination: a call for its demise.

The author's personal experiences as a candidate as well as relevant publications have led to the conclusion that the Oral American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) examination does not serve the best interest of the profession. The Oral is invalid, unreliable, painful and unnecessary. Residency Training Programs are responsible for the imparting of basic clinical skills, while psychiatric knowledge and competence may be adequately tested by written exams supplemented wih audio-visual techniques.