October 07, 2015

ABA Postpones OSCE Implementation

10/7/15

Please see the Oct. 7 email announcement below from James P. Rathmell, M.D., ABA Secretary.

Dear Program Directors,

As you know, the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) had been planning to incorporate an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) component into its first APPLIED Examination in 2017. However, the Board of Directors recently decided to postpone the 2017 launch to give the ABA more time to adequately prepare to launch this new exam component. We know the training programs are anxiously awaiting more information about the scenarios to prepare their residents and we plan to give you plenty of advanced notice so you can do so. However, we want to take our time rolling out the OSCEs to ensure that we get this right.

In the interim, candidates for the 2017 APPLIED Examination will only participate in the traditional oral examination to obtain their board certification. We will provide updates on the OSCEs as we have them and will inform you once a new OSCE launch date is set.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
James P. Rathmell, M.D.
Secretary