Residency

Today’s inane image of the day:

I took my anesthesia critical care medicine board examination on October 9, 2021 – a significant delay from my graduation from my fellowship in June 2020 because of pandemic restrictions. It was a different experience studying for this exam because I was working as an attending at that point and this board exam doesn’t have as “straightforward” of resources to use [e.g. BASIC/ADVANCED/ITE = TrueLearn + review book]. Also, it feels weird to have to study for yet another exam when you’re finally DONE with training.

Today’s inane image of the day:

For the 2022 Match, the ERAS application included a “supplemental” portion that introduced something called preference signaling. 3 specialties participated in this pilot [though ENT started this starting with the 2021 Match cycle] and this year, this program is expanding to additional specialties [16 total]… including anesthesia.

Today’s inane image of the day:

Back in January 2021, I posted about my plans for studying for the ABA Applied Exam [a.k.a. anesthesia oral boards, the-scariest-board-exam-ever, etc]. They were really involved and intense and lofty plans. Like any human, I did not actually follow through on all of them, but hey, all that matters is that I passed [cue applause, firework emojis]. Now, I figured it was a good time to impart all of my wisdom on you as you embark on your journey of tackling this beast of an exam.

Today’s inane image of the day:

Introduction

It’s getting to the time of year where medical students across the country have interviewed [though, this is a weird interview season with the pandemic and the virtual format and all…] and are starting to ask themselves: Where do I see myself living/being/working for the next 3-7 years?

I still remember the feeling of utter exhaustion from interviewing, but also this sense of impending doom about how I was going to navigate the waters surrounding sending a love letter to my top program, how I would rank programs, and whether ranking SEVENTEEN programs would be enough to match [remember, I was in the INAUGURAL CLASS of a BRAND NEW MEDICAL SCHOOL that everyone assumed was in California]. Now that I’m a few years out, have sat on recruitment committee meetings, and have heard the advice from other program directors surrounding these exact questions, I feel that I’m in a place to provide some insight and advice to all of you.

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.