ABA Accepting Applications for New APPLIED Examiners

We are now accepting applications for anesthesiologists currently practicing in private practices and academic medical centers to serve as examiners for our APPLIED Exams. Through their service, our volunteer examiners help us establish and uphold the highest standards of the practice of anesthesiology.

To be eligible, board-certified anesthesiologists must:

• Hold a valid, unexpired certificate in anesthesiology
• Have been certified no later than 2019
• Be clinically active in the practice of anesthesiology or a recognized anesthesiology subspecialty, on average, at least one day per week during 12 consecutive months over the previous three years

Additionally, all applicants who are selected as examiners must be “Participating in MOCA” during their entire service term as an American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) volunteer.

Examiner Commitment

Applicants should be prepared for the following commitment:

• Devote two weeks as an examiner – one week onsite in Raleigh, N.C., and one week remote to score OSCEs – every year for 15 consecutive years or until they reach the age of 65
• During remote OSCE scoring, examiners are expected to score approximately 50 performances per week (each video is up to 12 minutes long)
• Remain clinically active for their entire examiner tenure and maintain active participation in the MOCA program, fulfilling all requirements
• Refrain from participating in any activity that may constitute a conflict of interest (e.g., practice APPLIED Exams when a fee is charged, participate in courses solely devoted to preparing candidates to secure ABA certification)

We recognize the time commitment of our examiners and their organizations. As part of the application, we require a letter of recommendation from the diplomate’s practice administrator. This letter replaces the three diplomate references that were previously required for applicants prior to 2022.

We administer the APPLIED Examinations at our assessment center in Raleigh, N.C., and examiners are typically invited to one onsite exam week every 12 months. For each onsite exam week, examiners serve Sunday afternoon through the following Thursday or Friday afternoon. We cover reasonable travel and hotel expenses and provide modest service and travel per diems. We also expect examiners to commit to one week of remote OSCE scoring in addition to the one week onsite. Examiners receive 24 hours of Category 2 CME credits during the onsite exam week and nine hours of Category 2 CME credits for remote OSCE scoring, which may be reported to the American Medical Association for its Physician Recognition Award.

How to Apply

Board-certified anesthesiologists who meet the eligibility criteria have been contacted and provided a link to the online application. Diplomates must submit their applications by Aug. 15. The application includes demographic information, details on why they would like to volunteer and a letter of recommendation from their practice administrator. Current examiners do not need to apply. We encourage diplomates who have applied in the past but have not been selected as an examiner to apply again.

If you meet the eligibility criteria listed above and would like to apply to administer the APPLIED Exams, you may complete the online application here.

We will notify applicants who have been selected as new examiners in February. New examiners will deliver their first exam in either 2025 or 2026.

If you have questions, please email our staff at examiner.nominations@theaba.org.