The American Board of
Anesthesiology
Primary Certification
In Anesthesiology:
ABA Assessment Programs
Deborah J. Culley, M.D.
ABA Director
Brigham & Women's Hospital
Boston, MA
The American Board of Anesthesiology
Discussion Overview
•
Staged examinations for primary certification
– BASIC Examination
– ADVANCED Examination
– APPLIED Examination
•
New ABA Assessment Center in Raleigh, N.C.
•
2016 Part 2 Examination weeks
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Staged Examinations
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Transition to Staged Exams
• Residents who will complete training before
June 30, 2016, will take the traditional Part 1 and
Part 2 Exams
• Residents who began their training on or after
July 1, 2012 and will complete their training on or
after June 30, 2016, will take the staged exams
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Staged Examinations
BASIC Examination
•
•
Focuses on scientific basis of clinical anesthetic practice
Residents are strongly encouraged to take it as soon as eligible
ADVANCED Examination
•
•
Emphasis will be on subspecialty-based practice and complex clinical
issues, but will include content from the BASIC /ADVANCED Exam
content outline
Offered for the first time - Friday, July 29 and Saturday, July 30, 2016
APPLIED Examination
•
Will replace the Part 2 (Oral) Examination and include both the Oral
exam and Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs)
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BASIC Examination:
Questions
• Single-best-answer multiple-choice (A-type items)
• Graphics
– Still shots of a monitor screen
– Ultrasound images
• Focuses on scientific basis of clinical anesthetic
practice
• Residents are strongly encouraged to take it as
soon as eligible
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BASIC Examination:
If a Resident Fails
• It can be taken again six months later
• After failing a second time, a resident:
– automatically receives an unsatisfactory (“U”) for that
reporting period
– will continue to receive a “U” until the exam is passed
• Failing the examination three or more times will
extend residency training
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BASIC Examination:
2016 Administration
• 2016 BASIC Exam administrations held at
Prometric testing centers:
– June 2016: Friday, June 10, and Saturday, June 11
– November 2016: Friday, Nov. 18, and Saturday, Nov. 19
• Exam dates align with training reporting periods
• Residents are randomly assigned to the Friday or
Saturday exam
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ADVANCED Examination:
Content
• Questions emphasize subspecialty-based
practice and advanced clinical issues
• However, they cover topics from the full BASIC
and ADVANCED Examinations content outline
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ADVANCED Examination:
Question Types
• Single-best-answer multiple-choice (A-type items)
• Graphics
– Still shots of a monitor screen
– Ultrasound images
• Video clips
– From a simulator or real-time bedside monitor
– Basic level TEE video clips
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ADVANCED Examination:
2016 – 2017 Administrations
• ADVANCED Exam administrations held at Pearson
VUE testing centers:
– July 2016: Friday, July 29, and Saturday, July 30
– January 2017: Friday, Jan. 27, and Saturday, Jan. 28
– July 2017: Friday, July 28, and Saturday, July 29
• Exam dates align with June 30 graduation date and do
not overlap with BASIC Exam dates
• Candidates are randomly assigned to the Friday or
Saturday exam
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APPLIED Examination
• APPLIED Examination will replace the Part 2
Examination and will include two components:
– Standardized Oral Examination
– Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs)
• OSCE intended to assess domains that are difficult to
assess in written or SOE formats
– For example, communication skills
• Development underway; OSCEs will launch in March
2018
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Who Will Take the OSCES?
• Candidates who complete residency training on or
after Oct. 1, 2016, will be required to pass both the
SOE and the OSCE components
• Candidates who complete residency training
between June 30 and Sept. 30, 2016, will not be
required to take the OSCE component
– Only required to pass the SOE component
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www.theABA.org
• Sample questions, content outlines and blueprints are
available on the ABA website
• Blueprint wrap-around
information includes:
– Examination purpose
– Exam content
– Exam specifications
– Exam administration information
– Tables showing the number and relative
percentage of questions in each of the blueprint content categories
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ABA Assessment Center
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ABA Assessment Center
• Transitioned to new Assessment Center in 2015 to
standardize the exam experience and incorporate technology
• Last year, more than 1,900 candidates took their Part 2
Examination in Raleigh, N.C.
• In 2016, nine exam weeks; seven in March – June and two in
September. Specific dates are listed at www.theABA.org
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The American Board of
Anesthesiology
Questions?
Communications Center:
Phone: (866) 999-7501
Email: [email protected]
ABA Booth # 18
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