Pass/Fail available

[Idiopathic]

i didnt get an email, so i figured it let you know

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[fabfive5]

i didnt get an email, so i figured it let you know

I just checked....the pass/fail IS available. No score though. A new section appears on the website when you log in.

 

[Arch Guillotti]

i didnt get an email, so i figured it let you know

Weird. I didn't check the ABA site 2 years ago, I just went there when I got the email so I don't know if the scores were up before the email. Leave it to the ABA to wait till the last second.

At any rate, let's hear the good news from everybody

 

[Mr Mom]

2010 ABA Part 1 Examination Aug 03, 2010 Pass


It is beautiful.

 

[veetz]

Pass

 

[fabfive5]

So......how do we sign up for the Orals???

 

[anesthesiadoc]

Pass

 

[ProRealDoc]

Hellz yeah! Done with that shizznit. On to the orals!

 

[invitro]

Yeah! Passed that shyte.

 

[SleepIsGood]

Passed as well. I agree very weird how it's on the website and unless my former PD called me, I would have NEVER known.

Great feeling. Looks like the old fellas on this forum are all checking out pretty good so far.

Congrats !

Orals

 

[veetz]

So......how do we sign up for the Orals???

In case you haven't already discovered, they updated the website, so there is a link which allows you to register for the Orals.

I just shelled out the $2,000 for the exam. Usually I'm not happy losing 2,000 bucks, but tonight, I'm ok with it.

Congrats everyone on your hard work.

 

[countingdays]

I got the email at 8pm central time after the results had been posted at 5. I guess that'll encourage people to check the website constantly next year. Kind of defeats the purpose of the email.

 

[Sputnik80]

Hello Everyone, congrats to everyone who passed, it must be a great feeling. I, unfortunately am still devastated about failing. I guess knowing me, it makes sense b/c nothing seems to come easy. My question is when would i be able to take the writtens again? This was my first time taking it, so next aug? is failing the writtens on the first try a really horrible thing? thanks, appreciate any input.

 

[Soon2BENT]

$2000 more in debt. i lobby to increase fellow salaries.

 

[Gaseous Clay]

Hello Everyone, congrats to everyone who passed, it must be a great feeling. I, unfortunately am still devastated about failing. I guess knowing me, it makes sense b/c nothing seems to come easy. My question is when would i be able to take the writtens again? This was my first time taking it, so next aug? is failing the writtens on the first try a really horrible thing? thanks, appreciate any input.

Happens to the best of us at times. You can take it again next August. Good luck, start studying now and find a few good study books and practice questions. Any advice, ask the board.

 

[Arch Guillotti]

Hello Everyone, congrats to everyone who passed, it must be a great feeling. I, unfortunately am still devastated about failing. I guess knowing me, it makes sense b/c nothing seems to come easy. My question is when would i be able to take the writtens again? This was my first time taking it, so next aug? is failing the writtens on the first try a really horrible thing? thanks, appreciate any input.

Next year.

I know folks who didn't pass and all came back to crush it the next year. Take a breather, try it figure out what went wrong and then keep on truckin'.

 

[Sputnik80]

Thanks Guys, i mean i took with 45 mins to spare in both sections, really shocked, but I just wish they'd send us the official scores so we can see how we actually did, I guess they'll do that in a few weeks? I guess being this far out, I might as well start studying slow again. Can't believe I have to go through all this again oh well. That's life.

 

[fabfive5]

Thanks Guys, i mean i took with 45 mins to spare in both sections, really shocked, but I just wish they'd send us the official scores so we can see how we actually did, I guess they'll do that in a few weeks? I guess being this far out, I might as well start studying slow again. Can't believe I have to go through all this again oh well. That's life.

It IS life. I'm sorry for your fail. I had a friend last year who failed. I coincidentally met him in a review course, seeing him there let me know he failed the year before. We talked about it. It will take time to "get over" failing, but keep the chin up and hi. You'll crush it next year. Do LOTS of questions....LOTS. Do "old style" questions and do the ACE questions. There were SEVERAL questions on the boards that were eerily familiar to the ACE questions.

My 2 cents....

 

[Sputnik80]

Yea, i've done a crap load of questions of this time around as well, its really funny, i walked out thinking i nailed it haha. But thanks for your advice and words of encouragement.

 

[hjonp]

I passed as well. What a relief! Walking out of the exam, I felt I just got spanked! I still don't understand what the Cochran database is or what the drug of choice for abuse is among anesthesiologists (fentanyl or sufentanil?). Why is it important for us to know this? For those who did not pass, you have nothing to be ashamed of. The Board asked some crazy questions that really don't pertain to 99% of regular anesthesia cases that we do.

Here's how I studied for the boards: I began intensive studying one month prior to boards. Go through Hall 3 times. As you do this, make a list of anesthesia facts that you feel may be difficult to remember such as adult oxygen consumption compared to infants, drugs/conditions that prolong muscle relaxants, most common pregnancy related complication, if pH goes down x amount then how much will hco3 compensate......etc. Every morning I began by going over my list, pounding into my head these facts. I ended my night by going over the list again. The only other book I used was Big Blue's statistics section (what a waste of $500). The only downside of Hall is that there are no questions on statistics so I had to supplement it with Big Blue. Anyways, this was enough for me to pass. I'm sure others have good ideas too.

 

[CambieMD]

Thanks Guys, i mean i took with 45 mins to spare in both sections, really shocked, but I just wish they'd send us the official scores so we can see how we actually did, I guess they'll do that in a few weeks? I guess being this far out, I might as well start studying slow again. Can't believe I have to go through all this again oh well. That's life.

You have to determine what went wrong. Figure out what didn't work for you. Assess your methods and sources.

I have been in your position . The orals smacked me down. I have since passed. Do not loose faith in yourself. Do not do anything until you get yor written score. That will tell you how far off you were and your weak areas. You will be able to determine your percentile.Your score will give you an idea of how hard you need to work to pass the exam. You can also contact The ABA and determine the percentage of questions that you got wrong.

Feel free to send me a pm.

Cambie

 

[CambieMD]

I passed as well. What a relief! Walking out of the exam, I felt I just got spanked! I still don't understand what the Cochran database is or what the drug of choice for abuse is among anesthesiologists (fentanyl or sufentanil?). Why is it important for us to know this? For those who did not pass, you have nothing to be ashamed of. The Board asked some crazy questions that really don't pertain to 99% of regular anesthesia cases that we do.

Here's how I studied for the boards: I began intensive studying one month prior to boards. Go through Hall 3 times. As you do this, make a list of anesthesia facts that you feel may be difficult to remember such as adult oxygen consumption compared to infants, drugs/conditions that prolong muscle relaxants, most common pregnancy related complication, if pH goes down x amount then how much will hco3 compensate......etc. Every morning I began by going over my list, pounding into my head these facts. I ended my night by going over the list again. The only other book I used was Big Blue's statistics section (what a waste of $500). The only downside of Hall is that there are no questions on statistics so I had to supplement it with Big Blue. Anyways, this was enough for me to pass. I'm sure others have good ideas too.

Big Miller has a great statistics section. From speaking to former residents who recently took the writtens it seems that Big Blue is somewhat low yield now.

Cambie

 

[Sputnik80]

Everyone has conflicting thoughts on big blue. I didn't read it fully and did go to the Jensen course but I mean i am still in schock about what i did and didn't do. You're right Cambie, I need to see how bad I did and what areas I did better on than others. I almost feel they should just give that to us right away with our pass/fail scores. Its so agonizing just getting that pass/fail and if you actually failed, you want to see how bad or what you missed. If you passed, i guess it doesn't really matter.

 

[Soon2BENT]

Everyone has conflicting thoughts on big blue. I didn't read it fully and did go to the Jensen course but I mean i am still in schock about what i did and didn't do. You're right Cambie, I need to see how bad I did and what areas I did better on than others. I almost feel they should just give that to us right away with our pass/fail scores. Its so agonizing just getting that pass/fail and if you actually failed, you want to see how bad or what you missed. If you passed, i guess it doesn't really matter.

i'm opposite. i did not go to Jensens, but read Big Blue cover to cover multiple times. There are gaps in it, but then I went to Baby Miller/Morgan to fill in the gaps. By the end, I had a huge study guide based on his stuff and the text. And yes, loads of questions. Get the old ones (yes i know they only go to like '95, but they still help), Med-Text were good, ACE were too easy but the explanations are good.

I also went to old ITE results and figure out what i didn't know and hit that hard.

Good luck. Now you've seen the exam and know what to expect.

 

[SleepIsGood]

Jensen Review Course
Big Blue
Q's from Hall

Of course during residency I read Morgan and Mikhail a few times, which you need to do. Just doing review books isnt going to cut it unless you have a solid foundation.

Forget everything and anyhing else. I didnt do any old, retired tests. What's the point. Secondly, in Jensen's course he goes through a whole bunch of pertinent retired q's.

I never did the q's for the q's. I wanted to use sources where I could I read explanations...

 

[Idiopathic]

Since med school ive used questions as my primary study source, the results have been great. i know thats anecdotal but i think it works very well. you use the right and wrong answers as springboards to the topics discussed, and you know that this will at least be the high yield info. it wasnt worth three extra hours of studying and memorizing to get one question right on the chi-square or t-test so i didnt spend much time with that at all. the bread and butter is OB/Neuro/Pain/Peds/Emergencies and that is where you should spend the majority of your time, IMHO

 

[Don8455]

I gotta plug Jensen. Dude's a millionaire...but perhaps it's warrented. I sucked on my last ITE, and passed the written's on the first try. Read Big Blue (in addition to the "Pearls" book, Hall, and old ITE questions). Recipe to success. If you rock your last ITE don't bother. However if you don't, look into Jensen.

 

[proman]

Can't stress the importance of reading continuously during training. I didn't have much time for studying because of my fellowship. But I had already covered Faust and Big Blue plus select chapters from Miller prior to finishing residency. I crammed Faust on the Saturday before the test and big blue on the following Sunday. It worked, by how much I dont know.

 

[CambieMD]

Since med school ive used questions as my primary study source, the results have been great. i know thats anecdotal but i think it works very well. you use the right and wrong answers as springboards to the topics discussed, and you know that this will at least be the high yield info. it wasnt worth three extra hours of studying and memorizing to get one question right on the chi-square or t-test so i didnt spend much time with that at all. the bread and butter is OB/Neuro/Pain/Peds/Emergencies and that is where you should spend the majority of your time, IMHO

Statistics questions can be low hanging fruit with a little effort. Whats the difference between passing by one question and who failing by one question , night and day.

Big Miller has a nice statistics chapter.

Cambie

 

[Idiopathic]

yeah ill agree that maybe right before you walk in maybe look over the stats definitions but you better have everything else down pat before you devote time to stats for one question

 

[DrRobert]

I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I think my story proves that passing the written exam is not necessarily a heroic feat.

I trained at a top 10 program but probably only attended 1/3 of all didactic sessions throughout residency. As far as reading I got through about 5 chapters in Morgan and Mikhail and that's it for the 3 years.

I scored right at or just below the mean on all ITEs.

I studied for 2 weeks straight for the exam. I went through Faust once, Hall twice, Chu twice, and Connelly once.

MCATs and USMLEs were all at or slightly above mean, so I'm basically an average joe.

I hope this helps ease anxiety for some of you folks out there.

 

[oldlbue]

Hi,
I am older graduate in my 40's who never took the boards due to a host of issues in my personal life. At this point, I am completely out of the residency training loop. I just took the written exam for the first time and failed. I have heard for other specialities, residency programs compile board remembrances/questions from residents who have just taken the exam. Are these available in anesthesia and if so, would anyone be willing to share with me? Any help is greatly appreciated.

[email protected]

 

[wine thief]

sorry to hear about your situation. some programs do have remembered questions but they're usually less helpful than you may think. like they only remember part of the stem or don't remember the answer choices. they're not the holy grail. also i'd be surprised if anyone emailed them to an outsider b/c the aba can cause trouble if they catch you.

i agree with the other posters. i didn't take a course but i've heard jensen is good b/c there are a lot of questions and they're high yield. the hall questions are very good for exposing weaknesses in areas you thought you had mastered. big blue was very helpful to me as well. good luck.

 

[periopdoc]

Just beware of the following

ABA Part 1 Examination General Information

Copyright Infringements
Any copying of questions, including memorizing questions and later reproducing them, constitutes copyright infringement. Examination questions are the sole property of the ABA/ASA Joint Council on In-Training Examinations and are not available for review by examinees before or after the examination. Examinees found to have violated the copyright protection by engaging in the above activities, or in some other manner, will be subject to disciplinary actions by the Joint Council and/or the ABA, including disqualification of this examination and from the ABA examination system for a period of time to be determined by the ABA.

- pod

 

[Idiopathic]

yeah i think jensen gets cease and desist letters every quarter from the aba

 

[oldlbue]

thanks for copying the info from the ABA. It seems all residency programs have these questions. It's unfortunate that those of use who are out of residency do not have access to them and have people post ABA warnings to us.

 

[Idiopathic]

i think it was in response to "remembered" questions as opposed to "released" questions. one group is okay and is typically what you will find available at your residency program or from the ABA directly. the other group is not okay and should not be made available.

 

[pgg]

yeah i think jensen gets cease and desist letters every quarter from the aba

Ah, Jensen, the tool who makes a living publishing copyrighted material provided by examinees who break their promise to not attempt to remember or write down exam questions ...

... also a tool who throws a conniption fit when people sell or give away Big Blue when they're done with it. Something about violating his trust as their mentor and teacher.

Meanwhile, he claims to update it annually but really hasn't in at least 5 or 6 years.


But despite all that, I thought Big Blue was very helpful for the ITEs and written exam.

 

[bigeyedfish]

thanks for copying the info from the ABA. It seems all residency programs have these questions. It's unfortunate that those of use who are out of residency do not have access to them and have people post ABA warnings to us.

You have access to the same questions everyone else does. The old exams 1990-1996 are here. http://www.theaba.org/Home/anesthesiology_initial_certification#ITE

Also the ACE questions are good. There's several hundred.
https://ace.asahq.org/web/

You can buy Hall and Chantigian on Amazon.