Question and Answers

The anesthesiology oral board exam is probably one of the most stressful exams. While researching effective study methods, I found a student doctor network post by AnesThroway who suggested using retired American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) stems as the “absolute gold” for preparation. I decided to follow this advice and found it to be very helpful in my own experience. Practicing with a partner to simulate the real exam is a good idea, but simply going over the stems multiple times can also be just as effective. From my own experience, doing this allowed me to anticipate what questions would be asked and respond quickly and effectively.

Oral Board Outline

It’s important to have a strong understanding of the organization of the questions on the exam. The exam is divided into two sessions, with each session containing three sections. The first session focuses on intra- and post-operative management, as well as additional topics. The second session covers pre-operative, intra-operative management, and additional topics. Each section will test you on 3 to 8 topics. The additional topics section always test you on just three topics. I believe the topics are independent of each other. Based on how the questions are worded, I don’t believe the answers are dependent on information gained from prior questions. However, this is just my opinion. Some topics are more commonly associated with certain patient scenarios. For example, a neck hematoma is more likely to be tested in a surgical case involving the neck, while hyponatremia is more likely to be tested in a neurosurgical case. To prepare for the exam, it can be helpful to try to remember these connections and write them down during the alloted prep time before going into the exam room.

Other Resources

Some other resources that I found helpful include:

• Ultimate Board Prep: This is a commonly recommended resource for preparing for the exam, but based on my experience, the questions were not relevant and the answers were too detailed, including information that I believe is not necessary for the exam. I would recommend using it to further understand certain topics that you have been having trouble with.
• UpToDate: This website has a lot of articles relating to anesthetic management and can be helpful in understanding and forming well-worded, evidence-based answers.
• OpenAnesthesia: This is a good resource to help understand and identify high-yield topics.
• Stanford Emergency Manual: This is a concise resource that I believe is worth memorizing both for the boards and for clinical practice.
• Life in the Fast Lane: FITFL has a lot of information on high yield topics regarding critical care and ECGs
• Pediatric Anesthesia Podcast of the Month: I thought this was also helpful especially for me where it had been awhile since my last pediatric rotation
• Anesthesiology Consultants: This resource is highly recommended, although I do not have personal experience with it. It comes up multiple times on SDN.

I hope this site is helpful as you prepare for your board exams. Good luck! You are going to do amazing!

About Me

“Hello! My name is Nicholas An. I completed medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch and my residency at NYU. I also did an obstetrics fellowship at UCLA. I have some experience in academic medicine, but I am currently working in private practice in the Seattle area. If you find any retired stems that I can add to the site, please let me know. If you notice any incorrect information or ways that I can improve my answers, please let me know as well. Email me at lidoacademy@gmail.com