ABA board exam

[RUSD8D]

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hey guys, those that just took the boards and are done/close to done.........what do you think is the best source/combo source for the ABA exam?

thanks, gearing up for this final year.

 

[foxtrot]

hey guys, those that just took the boards and are done/close to done.........what do you think is the best source/combo source for the ABA exam?

thanks, gearing up for this final year.

You should definitely use a book I found called "Random stats questions and obscure minutia you learned as a first year medical student." If I would have read that book, I would have maybe been able to answer the many questions on the students t test, carcinoid syndrome, and starlings law of oncotic forces in patients with liver failure. 😎

Sorry for the smart ass answer but it really seems like the key to this exam is not how much you study but how well you learn how to answer their tricky questions. I think I am going to be taking a review course in the future.

 

[lvspro]

You should definitely use a book I found called "Random stats questions and obscure minutia you learned as a first year medical student." If I would have read that book, I would have maybe been able to answer the many questions on the students t test, carcinoid syndrome, and starlings law of oncotic forces in patients with liver failure. 😎

Sorry for the smart ass answer but it really seems like the key to this exam is not how much you study but how well you learn how to answer their tricky questions. I think I am going to be taking a review course in the future.

Agreed
I had a ton of basic sciences stuff on my exam... which was pretty cool b/c I'm fresh out of med school, and I at least had a fighting chance.
About carcinoid, I noticed that they're quite interested in those quirky little critters. I just mentioned in another thread that I had at least 10 questions on it.

 

[tulAnesthesia]

i think he meant the actual board exam, instead of the in-service. i realize they are supposed to be similar.

i've decided to stick mostly with one book for now, morgan and mikhail.

yeah, but that in-service, random fact book is good.

 

[SleepIsGood]

Wait a sec.
I thought the in training exam is the same as the ABA written board exam. It's just that those of us 'in training' still do not have our scores really 'count'?

 

[tulAnesthesia]

Wait a sec.
I thought the in training exam is the same as the ABA written board exam. It's just that those of us 'in training' still do not have our scores really 'count'?

is it really? didn't think it was. my bad.

 

[Laryngospasm]

is it really? didn't think it was. my bad.

Its the same test, there is often someone sitting right next to you who is taking it for real.

 

[Gern Blansten]

Its the same test, there is often someone sitting right next to you who is taking it for real.

Let me clarify for you. The exams administered are the same exams. HOWEVER, the people taking it for real have a slightly different subset of questions that are graded for the actual board exam. They still answer all of the questions, but not all of them count towards the board exam scoring. They all DO count for the scaled score that will be reported to the residency program. Those taking it for real will receive a score in the mail or via internet using a different scale that does not correlate with the normal 2 digit scaled score you become accustomed to seeing.
The reasoning behind this confusion is that each year the ITE will put some pilot questions in to see how residents perform and to test it as a question for future exams. These pilot questions do not factor into scoring for those taking the exam for real. If it is a bad question that causes even upper level residents to get it wrong, it is examined more closely to make sure that the question was clear. If the question was clear but CA-III residents still missed it, it may be featured on the sheet that program directors get outlining some topics that need to be emphasized and understood a little better. Last years sheet had 2/12 topics devoted to statistics.

 

[Trisomy13]

You should definitely use a book I found called "Random stats questions ...

the stats questions are free points if you spend 20 minutes reviewing the most basic priniciples of study design statisitics in the week leading up to this exam. they are not tricky, and about as basic as they get, e.g. one on my exam was basically "a t-test is used to measure...". they aren't asking you to perform logisitic regression on categorical data.

and that's my smart-ass answer 😉


seriously.. review the basics (pick up your crusty First Aid Step 1) of stats and you get 5 questions right out of the gates.

 

[foxtrot]

the stats questions are free points if you spend 20 minutes reviewing the most basic priniciples of study design statisitics in the week leading up to this exam. they are not tricky, and about as basic as they get, e.g. one on my exam was basically "a t-test is used to measure...". they aren't asking you to perform logisitic regression on categorical data.

and that's my smart-ass answer 😉


seriously.. review the basics (pick up your crusty First Aid Step 1) of stats and you get 5 questions right out of the gates.

Thanks smart ass...just kidding.

Unfortunately, I wasn't reviewing USMLE step 1 for the anesthesia in training exam, which I think I probably should have especially for all of the basic science they put on it. I wish they would put a section for stats in Morgan and Mikhail. Do they put a stats section in Big Blue? Next year I am using Big Blue for sure and USMLE step 1 !! 😎
Seriously though, does anyone know of another good source for stats definitions besides USMLE step 1? I have a such a hard time remembering that sh*%

 

[UTSouthwestern]

http://www.meddean.luc.edu/depts/bioethics/biostats/biostats1_2003_files/frame.htm
http://www.statsoft.com/textbook/stathome.html

 

[foxtrot]

Thanks for the helpful sites UT.