TY - JOUR
T1 - First-Year Results of the American Board of Anesthesiology's Objective Structured Clinical Examination for Initial Certification
AU - Warner, David O.
AU - Lien, Cynthia A.
AU - Wang, Ting
AU - Zhou, Yan
AU - Isaak, Robert S.
AU - Peterson-Layne, Cathleen
AU - Harman, Ann E.
AU - MacArio, Alex
AU - Gaiser, Robert R.
AU - Suresh, Santhanam
AU - Culley, Deborah J.
AU - Rathmell, James P.
AU - Keegan, Mark T.
AU - Cole, Daniel J.
AU - Fahy, Brenda G.
AU - Dainer, Rupa J.
AU - Sun, Huaping
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/11/1
Y1 - 2020/11/1
N2 - In 2018, the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) became the first US medical specialty certifying board to incorporate an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) into its initial certification examination system. Previously, the ABA's staged examination system consisted of 2 written examinations (the BASIC and ADVANCED examinations) and the Standardized Oral Examination (SOE). The OSCE and the existing SOE are now 2 separate components of the APPLIED Examination. This report presents the results of the first-year OSCE administration. A total of 1410 candidates took both the OSCE and the SOE in 2018. Candidate performance approximated a normal distribution for both the OSCE and the SOE, and was not associated with the timing of the examination, including day of the week, morning versus afternoon session, and order of the OSCE and the SOE. Practice-based Learning and Improvement was the most difficult station, while Application of Ultrasonography was the least difficult. The correlation coefficient between SOE and OSCE scores was 0.35 ([95% confidence interval {CI}, 0.30-0.39]; P <.001). Scores for the written ADVANCED Examination were modestly correlated with scores for the SOE (r = 0.29 [95% CI, 0.25-0.34]; P <.001) and the OSCE (r = 0.15 [95% CI, 0.10-0.20]; P <.001). Most of the candidates who failed the SOE passed the OSCE, and most of the candidates who failed the OSCE passed the SOE. Of the 1410 candidates, 77 (5.5%) failed the OSCE, 155 (11.0%) failed the SOE, and 25 (1.8%) failed both. Thus, 207 (14.7%) failed at least 1 component of the APPLIED Examination. Adding an OSCE to a board certification examination system is feasible. Preliminary evidence indicates that the OSCE measures aspects of candidate abilities distinct from those measured by other examinations used for initial board certification.
AB - In 2018, the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) became the first US medical specialty certifying board to incorporate an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) into its initial certification examination system. Previously, the ABA's staged examination system consisted of 2 written examinations (the BASIC and ADVANCED examinations) and the Standardized Oral Examination (SOE). The OSCE and the existing SOE are now 2 separate components of the APPLIED Examination. This report presents the results of the first-year OSCE administration. A total of 1410 candidates took both the OSCE and the SOE in 2018. Candidate performance approximated a normal distribution for both the OSCE and the SOE, and was not associated with the timing of the examination, including day of the week, morning versus afternoon session, and order of the OSCE and the SOE. Practice-based Learning and Improvement was the most difficult station, while Application of Ultrasonography was the least difficult. The correlation coefficient between SOE and OSCE scores was 0.35 ([95% confidence interval {CI}, 0.30-0.39]; P <.001). Scores for the written ADVANCED Examination were modestly correlated with scores for the SOE (r = 0.29 [95% CI, 0.25-0.34]; P <.001) and the OSCE (r = 0.15 [95% CI, 0.10-0.20]; P <.001). Most of the candidates who failed the SOE passed the OSCE, and most of the candidates who failed the OSCE passed the SOE. Of the 1410 candidates, 77 (5.5%) failed the OSCE, 155 (11.0%) failed the SOE, and 25 (1.8%) failed both. Thus, 207 (14.7%) failed at least 1 component of the APPLIED Examination. Adding an OSCE to a board certification examination system is feasible. Preliminary evidence indicates that the OSCE measures aspects of candidate abilities distinct from those measured by other examinations used for initial board certification.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85093975106&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85093975106&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1213/ANE.0000000000005086
DO - 10.1213/ANE.0000000000005086
M3 - Article
C2 - 33079864
AN - SCOPUS:85093975106
SN - 0003-2999
VL - 131
SP - 1412
EP - 1418
JO - Anesthesia and analgesia
JF - Anesthesia and analgesia
IS - 5
ER -