How I’m studying for the anesthesia oral boards [ABA APPLIED exam]6 min read

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane image of the day:

Introduction

I was supposed to take the oral boards in June of 2020, but the Covid-19 pandemic totally derailed those plans. After being canceled and anxiously awaiting news from the ABA about how I would take my exam, I was finally notified a couple weeks ago of my date. The ABA APPLIED exam will be VIRTUAL for 2021; I have been assigned an April 2021 date.

Usually I would wait until I’ve passed an exam to provide information about how I’m studying, but I wanted to share my process earlier this time since this exam is so different from any other board exam we’ve taken. I disagree with comparing it to the USMLE Step 2 CS [clinical skills] – sure, parts of the OSCE are similar, but the actual Standardized Oral Examination [SOE] portion is in a format we haven’t encountered during prior board exams.

What is the structure of the APPLIED exam?

I HIGHLY SUGGEST that you take some time to review the materials available on the ABA website about the exam structure and sample questions.

Here’s a basic overview of the exam structure:

The APPLIED Exam includes the traditional Standardized Oral Examination (SOE) and the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) component.

The SOE is based on guided questions that include a patient’s brief clinical history and emphasize the scientific rationale underlying clinical management decisions. You’ll participate in two 35-minute exam sessions that assess your judgment, adaptability to unexpected clinical changes, organization and presentation of information.

REVIEW SAMPLE SOE QUESTIONS
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The OSCEs assess communication and professionalism and technical skills related to patient care. You’ll participate in a seven, eight-minute stations with four-minute breaks in between to review the next scenario. The sessions will be recorded for grading purposes.

DOWNLOAD THE OSCE CONTENT OUTLINE | SEE SAMPLE OSCE SCENARIOS
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You can register for the APPLIED Exam in your portal as soon as you pass the ADVANCED Exam. Exam weeks are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Two months prior to the exam week, we’ll email you your specific exam date and time.

From the ABA website

What is the pass rate?

“Part 2” was the old way; focus more on the APPLIED percentages as that is the group we will be part of.

The interpretation of the table above comes in reference to the relatively high pass rate for the BASIC and the ADVANCED exams [typically in the low 90% pass range], which the APPLIED exam typically hovers around the high 80% pass range. The trend for the oral board pass rate has been that it is lower [or, another interpretation is that more people fail it] compared to the written portions [BASIC and ADVANCED].

I think one big component of this is that the oral boards are like no other exam we’ve ever taken before. While going to a testing center and clicking through a couple hundred multiple-choice questions is definitely anxiety-provoking, having to literally fly to a different state, stay in a hotel room, and wear an uncomfortable outfit in order to be grilled by an examiner with a completely straight face on potentially the most difficult, no-win scenario of an anesthetic… well, my palms are getting sweaty just typing this!

While the pandemic has really derailed a lot of things, I do really appreciate that I get to do my oral boards in a virtual format. Taking away the travel, staying in a hotel, and the financial burden associated with those things already helps me feel more calm and prepared to take on this beast of an exam.

Resources I’m using

I plan on updating this blog entry as my study strategy evolves. Already, since I recorded in my YouTube video back in December, I added a new resource to help with my studying [Rapid Review Anesthesiology Oral Boards].

The resources I’m currently using include:

How am I studying?

It doesn’t matter what resources you physically have in hand if you don’t utilize them effectively. I want to emphasize that everyone has their own style of studying and that you should do what works for you, but I am sharing my strategy as a way to give you another option to add to your toolbox. If you’ve made it to the point of studying for oral boards, I know that you’ve already learned how to study for exams.

I used to use a plain old notebook to jot down notes and help me memorize things. But after going through many notebooks, I realized I never went back to review them. Also, they’re kind of annoying to carry around when we have ELECTRONIC NOTEBOOKS now available. Because of the pandemic, I ended up buying an iPad in order to join in on the Peloton party [I did a knock-off Peloton setup… here’s everything you need to make it happen]. I decided that it was time to join the 21st century and start taking notes using my iPad and Microsoft OneNote.

In order to get the feeling of writing, I also purchased an Apple Pencil [I went with the 1st generation one]. While the Apple Pencil is really quite heavy and somewhat uncomfortable to write with for long periods of time, I have adjusted to it and really love this new setup.

Each time I review a case [using UBP], I try to organize my thoughts using the strategy outlined in this video:

This strategy forces me to organize my thoughts and to identify weaknesses or holes in my knowledge that I then go back and try to delve a bit deeper into. It’s a slow process, but here we are…

Final thoughts

I’m taking my exam in April 2021, so there’s plenty of time to evolve my approach to studying for oral boards.

P.S. I took my exam!