Urology Oral Boards Coach

Frequently Asked Questions

For the story behind the Coach, read About.

What is the Urology Oral Boards Coach?

The Urology Oral Boards Coach is an educational practice tool for urology oral-board preparation. It behaves like an examiner: it gives you a case, withholds information until you ask for it, pushes you through management decisions, introduces complications, and tests communication moments.

It is not a medical advice tool, clinical decision support system, or substitute for independent physician judgment.

Who is this for?

It is built for urology residents, fellows, recent graduates, and practicing urologists preparing for oral-board style examinations or trying to sharpen case-based clinical reasoning.

It is most useful if you already have a fund of urology knowledge and want to practice organizing that knowledge under pressure.

How do I use the Coach?

  1. Go to the Coach page.
  2. Pick a domain or choose Randomized.
  3. Pick a difficulty level.
  4. Choose Test Mode or Open-Book Mode.
  5. Press Start.
  6. Respond like you would in an oral exam: ask for history, exam findings, labs, imaging, diagnosis, management, operative details, complications, and counseling.
  7. Keep going until the topic has been adequately tested.
  8. Use Score Me when it becomes available if you want a formal performance summary.

The best way to use it is to speak or type in complete oral-board answers, not one-word responses.

What should I type?

Type what you would say to an examiner.

Examples:

You do not need perfect grammar. You do need a clear, safe plan.

Can I dictate my answer?

Yes. The Dictate button records your answer, transcribes it into the answer box, and lets you edit the text before sending.

The examiner replies in text. This is intentional. Editable dictation is safer and more practical than live voice for board prep because you can correct transcription errors before your answer is graded.

How is my practice information processed?

Practice responses, active case context, scoring requests, and optional dictation audio may be securely processed through configured third-party or self-hosted AI and speech-to-text services to operate the Coach.

Dictation is optional. Do not enter patient-identifiable information in typed answers, dictation, feedback, or support requests. See the Privacy Notice for details.

Should I enter real patient information?

No. Do not enter patient names, dates of birth, medical record numbers, addresses, phone numbers, or any other patient-identifiable information.

The cases are simulated. Your answers should be educational and de-identified.

How is the Coach structured?

The Coach is organized around major urology oral-board domains, including oncology, stones, reconstruction, pediatrics, infertility, trauma, female urology, voiding dysfunction, transplantation, infection, adrenal disease, and others.

Each domain has structured case material behind the scenes:

The goal is not to ask isolated trivia. The goal is to move through a realistic oral-board case arc.

Does the Coach repeat exact cases?

It may revisit similar disease patterns because oral boards repeatedly test classic presentations and management traps. The intent, however, is to vary patient details, decision points, and downstream complications so you practice the reasoning pattern rather than memorizing one script.

If a case feels too repetitive or too similar to a prior run, use Provide Feedback inside the app.

What are the modes?

Test Mode

Test Mode is the stricter simulation mode.

The examiner may disclose case findings required to continue, but it should not teach, evaluate your answer, reveal why an answer was incomplete, or supply the missing management decision. If the examiner gives away the answer it is trying to test, that is answer leakage and should be reported as a bug.

Use Test Mode when you want pressure, pacing, and realism.

Open-Book Mode

Open-Book Mode is the teaching mode.

After you commit to an answer, the Coach explains what a stronger oral-board answer should include, why it matters, what candidates commonly miss, and how to phrase the answer more cleanly.

Use Open-Book Mode when you are learning a topic or rebuilding your framework.

Can I switch modes during a case?

Yes. You can switch between Test Mode and Open-Book Mode during an active session. The next examiner turn should follow the newly selected mode.

A practical workflow is to start in Open-Book Mode while learning, then repeat the topic later in Test Mode.

Does the Coach adapt to what I already said?

Yes. The Coach should credit clinically acceptable information volunteered early, skip material already covered, accept reasonable guideline-consistent alternatives, and choose focused follow-up questions dynamically.

Repetition should occur only when an important point remains unclear, incomplete, or unsafe. If the examiner keeps asking for something you already answered adequately, use Provide Feedback.

How should the examiner handle a timeline change?

The same patient, timeline, and established facts should remain internally consistent. When the case moves to a later phase, introduces a new event, or revisits a decision from an earlier point, the examiner should state that transition explicitly.

An unexplained jump backward or forward in the timeline should be reported as a bug.

What do the difficulty levels mean?

Junior

Junior is still serious, but the prompts are a little more scaffolded. It is useful early in preparation or when reviewing a weaker topic.

Standard

Standard is the default. It aims for realistic oral-board pacing and common high-yield traps.

High

High is more demanding. It probes edge cases, complications, operative details, and vague answers more aggressively.

If you are not sure where to start, use Standard.

Why does the Coach withhold data?

Because that is the point of oral-board practice.

In real oral exams, the candidate must collect pertinent information systematically. The examiner does not hand you every lab, imaging result, physical finding, or complication up front. You have to ask for the right things, integrate them, and commit to a plan.

The Coach is designed to make you practice that rhythm.

Why did the examiner move on after I missed something?

In Test Mode, the Coach is designed to behave more like a standardized examiner than a tutor. If you miss a decision node, it may bridge to the next part of the case rather than repeatedly hinting until you guess the answer.

That can feel abrupt, but it is useful practice. Open-Book Mode is available when you want the teaching explanation.

What is Score Me?

Score Me asks the Coach to pause the case and give a structured performance evaluation.

It is only useful after a topic has been adequately tested. If you ask too early, the Coach may keep the case going instead.

The score is educational feedback, not an official prediction of examination performance.

How should I study with this?

A good pattern is:

  1. Pick one domain.
  2. Run it in Open-Book Mode.
  3. Write down your misses.
  4. Repeat the same or adjacent domain in Test Mode.
  5. Ask for a score after the topic has been tested.
  6. Revisit weak areas later.

The app works best as active recall, not passive reading.

Is this affiliated with the American Board of Urology, AUA, NCCN, or any textbook?

No. This product is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or approved by any certifying, professional, guideline, or textbook organization.

The content is original physician-authored educational board-prep material. It is not a reproduction of guideline, certifying-body, or textbook material.

Does this use official guidelines?

The Coach is built from original educational frameworks and physician-authored guideline interpretation notes. It is designed to reflect modern guideline-aware practice without copying guideline text into the product.

Guidelines evolve, and no AI tool is perfect. Use this as board-prep education, not as a clinical authority.

How current is the case material?

The frameworks are physician-authored and periodically reviewed against contemporary guidance. The case framework library underwent extensive clinical review and revision in 2026 to incorporate changes in the field and update outdated assumptions.

The Coach is not a real-time clinical reference. Guidance can change after a framework is reviewed, so current clinical decisions should be checked against primary sources and applicable institutional standards.

Why is this expensive?

Because it is not a generic chatbot.

Behind the Coach are physician-authored oral-board frameworks, structured case trees, guideline interpretation notes, AI reasoning calls, medical dictation, hosting, monitoring, backups, and a home-lab infrastructure stack that has involved servers, rack gear, network storage, RAM, cooling, and a suspicious number of fan swaps.

There is also the less visible cost: time. The value is in converting years of study habits, index-card style recall, academic reading, board patterns, and guideline notes into a structured examiner that can quiz you on demand.

What plans are available?

Current web prices processed by Stripe are:

Every paid plan includes the same Coach features. The difference is the access period and included practice allowance. Apple displays its own regional price and applicable taxes before an App Store purchase, so Apple pricing may differ from web pricing.

Pricing may change over time as hosting, model, and speech-to-text costs change.

How much practice does my subscription include?

Every paid plan includes the same Coach features. The difference is the access period and included turn allowance:

These allowances are intended to support focused, high-volume board preparation while preventing automated or excessive use that could affect availability for everyone.

What happens if I run out of included turns?

Most users should not need additional turns. The Coach gives a usage notice before the included allowance is exhausted.

If you do exhaust the allowance while your subscription is active, the Coach will offer a one-time purchase of 250 extra turns for $19.99. This option is not displayed as a regular subscription plan and does not appear before the included allowance is exhausted.

Purchased extra turns do not expire and remain on your Coach account until used, but an active subscription is still required to practice. Your normal included allowance becomes available again when its rolling window replenishes.

What counts as usage?

The code-free trial is counted as one complete Coach case, not as a fixed number of questions. For paid access, one examiner turn is one candidate response followed by the Coach's next examiner response. The opening vignette does not reduce the included allowance.

Reasonable-use protections also apply to dictation. If you dictate but do not send the transcript as an answer, it should not count as an examiner turn.

Can I use the app on multiple devices?

Each account is intended for personal use and may be limited to two active devices. If you need to use a third device, you may need to unregister one of your existing devices.

Do not share your account.

Can anyone create an account without a code?

Yes. Anyone can create a web account without a program code and complete one free Coach case without a credit card. You can finish or resume that case, but starting another case requires paid access.

Program access codes may provide separate temporary access without payment. Apple introductory offers and paid subscription renewal terms are shown by Apple before purchase.

What happens when my access expires?

When a trial or paid entitlement ends, practice controls are disabled immediately. The Coach directs you to current pricing or the appropriate subscription-management option.

Your account can remain available for signing in and managing access, but you cannot continue practice without an active entitlement.

Can I use the same account on the web and iPhone?

Yes. Sign in with the same Coach account on the web and iPhone so your entitlement is associated with the same account.

Billing remains managed by the platform that processed the purchase. Manage a web purchase through Stripe and an App Store purchase through Apple.

Purchased extra turns are stored on the Coach account, so a pack bought on one platform is reflected when the same Coach account is used on another supported device.

How do Apple subscriptions work?

Apple displays the regional price, applicable taxes, trial terms, billing interval, and renewal terms before purchase. Apple processes the payment and manages App Store billing.

Use the same Coach account on the iPhone and web. If an eligible Apple purchase is not reflected in the Coach, use Restore Purchases on the iPhone subscription screen. Manage or cancel the subscription through Apple subscription settings; the Stripe billing portal cannot manage an Apple purchase.

Extra-turn packs purchased in the iPhone app are Apple consumable in-app purchases. They are verified by the Coach server and added to the same account. Because consumable purchases are account balances rather than subscriptions, Restore Purchases applies to subscriptions; contact support if a completed turn-pack purchase is not credited.

Can I cancel?

Yes.

Cancellation prevents the next renewal. Access normally continues through the end of the paid period unless the billing provider states otherwise. Deleting your Coach account does not cancel an Apple or Stripe subscription.

See the Subscription Terms for details.

Can I get a refund?

Apple controls refund decisions for App Store purchases. Request an Apple refund through Apple's official Report a Problem service or Apple Support.

Web refund requests follow the Refund Policy. Cancellation alone does not refund the current paid period. Contact [email protected] promptly about a duplicate charge, billing error, or material service failure.

What if the Coach gives an answer I disagree with?

Use Provide Feedback and include the case topic, what the Coach said, and what you think should have happened.

The Coach is designed for high-quality board preparation, but it is still an AI-assisted educational tool. It can miss context, overcall a point, undercall a miss, or apply a framework imperfectly. Feedback helps improve the cases.

Why does the Coach sometimes challenge vague answers?

Oral-board answers need specific action. “Surgery,” “imaging,” “antibiotics,” or “observe” may be directionally right but too vague for a strong board answer.

The Coach may press for:

That specificity is the skill.

Is the Coach grading me like the real exam?

No. The scoring is educational. It is meant to help you identify weak areas, not to predict pass/fail status.

Real certifying exams use formal processes, examiner training, and psychometric analysis that this app does not claim to reproduce.

Can this replace books, guidelines, conferences, or faculty mock orals?

No. It is a practice tool.

Use it alongside standard study resources, guideline review, institutional teaching, faculty mock orals, and your own clinical judgment.

The Coach is especially useful for repetition: getting more practice turns than most people can realistically schedule with faculty.

What should I do if I find a bug?

Use Provide Feedback inside the Coach. Include:

That is the fastest way to improve the Coach.

What should I not use this for?

Do not use it for:

Use it for education, rehearsal, and structured oral-board practice.