The Draft and the Boards

When I got my draft notice, I called my man Cup in Pontiac Michigan to commiserate with him about my plight and he said “ bye mutha fucka I’ll take a drink of Jackie D in your memory.” Man. that was cold but payback can be a bitch! He just didn’t know it at the time.
When I was ordered to report for my induction physical, I knew that I would need to start planning for my family, the house and dealing with the patients in my recently purchased practice. There was a lot to be done and I didn’t know yet where I might be assigned or my military medical role. My Aunt lived in DC and I decided to fly there to see if I could make some contacts with the Army on what my options were before any orders were cut.
I purposely went to the Dept of the Army and asked to see anyone who could give me information on when I would be called and where I might be sent. The information desk sent a Colonel to take me back to his office and as we walked thru the corridor that was lined with huge photos from Vietnam wounded soldiers and crashed helicopters, I sensed that I had to be careful in what I wanted to get from him.
When we got to his office there was a map of the world and his junior officers were making assignments literally by throwing darts at the map. I knew than that I was on thin ice. So I explained that I really didn’t care where I was assigned all I wanted was a heads up so I could have time to make plans for my family and practice. He said as soon as I received orders to call him and he would tell me where and when I was going. I felt that was fair enough and thanked him and left. I got the impression that being in OB GYN was not to my advantage even though I was Board certified since that made me dispensable and I was probably ticketed to go to Vietnam, but at least I had a contact to call. It so happened that flying back, I was seated next to the Congressman A.J. from my district and he asked why was I in DC. I explained that they could draft me up to age 35 and he said he didn’t understand how they would take me with 5 kids, I agreed and we parted on arrival in Indianapolis. This was like in May or June the Boards had notified me I passed in April and I pretty much forgot about our conversation and went back to work.
Before I go into what transpired with the draft, I want to give you some background about the Boards. The American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology gives an exam that consist of 2 parts after you have completed a residency. Part I is a written that’s taken 1 year after finishing and Part II is taken 1 year after passing the written. A case list of all hospital admissions ( deliveries, Gyn surgeries and Gyn medical cases ) for 12 consecutive months and documented by the medical record department and submitted for review by the Board. This list is scrutinized for trends in management, C-section rate and complications and is later used in the oral questions that are then directed specifically at you. My patient population and referral base put me in an outlier group when it came to a high risk practice (poor and Black, Eclampsias, 2 maternal deaths, etc). There was even the question of why I was doing so much obstetrics as a solo practitioner, remember I had taken over a two man practice with 30-40 deliveries/mo as apposed to their ideal of 15-20/mo. Lord help me on this! The Board pass rate was @ 79% for first time takers.
Because I was studying alone, It was impossible to do it at home because there was no where to go for quiet space so I used my office and read when attending deliveries at the hospital……..not ideal but I made do.
Beside the actual oral in which 3 examiners questioned you 3 on 1, there was a pathology practical where they gave you 5 path slides and a microscope and you had to make the diagnosis and then 20 color slides with various conditions depicted and you were quizzed on these by a solo examiner.
The exam was always given in November at the Conrad Hilton Hotel in Chicago over 5 days, the day you were scheduled was by names selected alphabetically. I was so prepared that I took my wife with me and the night before I hung out with a friend who took me to a big affair at a trade show and got me drunk. The next morning as I descended in the elevator, still with a slight buzz to the floor the exam was to be given, a fellow exam colleague entered and just before the door closed his wife kissed him as if he was going off to war. I said to myself, if things turn out to be that bad I’m glad I got tore up last night.







I was pretty confident especially about the pathology part because my Path rotation at Wash U was outstanding and though I had been out of residency 2 years the stuff I was seeing in practice had kept me sharp and staffing Methodist residents didn’t hurt any in keeping current with the recent literature. It’s pretty much accepted that text book knowledge is 5- 8 years out of date so reading journals is where the questions probably would originate and I was a journal junkie.
When I walked into the room and sat at my microscope and they handed me my 5 slides I was like B’rer Rabbit getting thrown in the briar patch. I was finished with the slides so quick I thought they may be tricks, I decided to sit in the room and let someone else leave first. There were two parts that gave me pause in Part II . One was a question on how I would handle a Diabetic in pregnancy, which I said I would refer because Methodist had Diabetologists on the staff so why would I try to manage one alone. And lastly a complication on my case list provoked an extended round of questions.
The case involved a patient that had an enormous ovarian cystic mass ( the size of a watermelon) that had attached itself to the ureter and pulled it out of it’s bed necessitating cutting it and re-implanting it in the bladder to preserve it’s vascularity. This was done after consulting an Urologist who assisted in the operating. In unison and individually they kept asking me “ you mean you cut the ureter.” After asking me this for like the umpteenth time, I said “ what would you gentlemen have done.” Under my breath I uttered “mutha fuckers” Their reply was “doctor, you may go!”
An IUSM classmate was taking the exam the next day and asked me to stop by his room and share some of the questions I had with him, When he opened the door he had books strewn everywhere in the room. I told him to pack up the books and for us to go down to the bar for a drink, since there was nothing more he was going to learn now! He also passed on the first try
In April 1966, I received my notification of passing and right after that good news came a brown packet from the Dept of Defense, 5th Army Headquarters, Chicago, Il. with instructions to reply within 10 days. ( these were the orders I so dreaded receiving ). They arrived on a Friday and I didn’t want to open them and spoil my weekend plus I planned to call the Colonel in DC to see what he might be able to find out about my assignment, maybe since I had passed my Boards I might get sent to a hospital where women dependents were treated.
On Monday, I had an early surgery and planned to call DC later in the day, delaying the inevitable as long as possible. During the operation I received a page to call my answering service right a way.
I asked the nurse to get the call for me and she said to call a Colonel Letrec in Chicago as soon as possible. I could barely finish the operation. I asked the resident to close the incision for me and went to the physician’s lounge to return the call, my hand sweaty as I picked up the phone.
When I connected with the Colonel his first question was had I opened my orders. I was hesitant to tell him I hadn’t because I was putting off the bad news, but I told him no. He said write across the front of the envelope “ DO NOT OPEN/ MY INSTRUCTIONS AND PRINT MY NAME AND SIGN IT ” and return to me. I immediately sped home, grabbed the packet and did as instructed and returned it as ordered. To this day I don’t know what the orders said or why they were cancelled nor do I care. All I know is that I was spared a trip most likely to Vietnam and my man Cup was drafted the next year to spend 4 years in Anchorage, That was his payback and I drank to that!
Having been spared, I decided to plan on buying a bigger house and getting some family things in order since I would turn 35 in February 1967 and be draft exempt, figuring things happen for a reason so make the most of them.