Providing answers to all your APPLIED Exam questions

If your institution’s no-travel policy due to COVID-19 remains in effect at the time of your 2023 APPLIED Exam, please have your institution prepare a letter (on your institution’s official letterhead) as proof of their policy. We will work with you to reschedule your exam appointment.

If you test positive for coronavirus prior to your exam appointment, please notify us as soon as possible by emailing APPLIEDExam@theABA.org. We will work with you to reschedule your exam and you will not be assessed a cancellation or change fee. Do NOT travel to Raleigh, N.C., for your exam if you have tested positive for the virus. Please be aware that you may be required to submit verification of a positive COVID-19 test.

We are continuing to monitor the latest developments and are prioritizing your safety during your exam. Should it become necessary for the ABA to cancel the APPLIED Exam for any reason, we will notify impacted candidates as soon as possible and work with them to reschedule their in-person exam for a later date. At this time, we will not be offering the APPLIED Exam in a virtual format in 2023.

Administering the exam in-person allows for greater standardization, which ensures a fair and consistent exam experience for all candidates that cannot be replicated in a virtual exam environment. In-person assessments alleviate technological and security issues that could impact the exam.

Candidates will be able to select their preferred exam week when they register— but not the day of that week, much the way they always have. ABA policy allows for one change request per candidate, pending schedule availability and receipt of the $500 exam change fee.

Yes, we require all candidates, examiners and staff be fully vaccinated to enter our facilities. You must also wear a mask and may be required to follow other health, safety and infection control policies such as observing social distancing. The ABA will keep candidates informed of our COVID-19 protocols in the weeks before their exam.

Our standards define a person as fully vaccinated after two weeks following the completion of a two-dose mRNA series (Pfizer or Moderna) or one dose of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. If eligible and it has been greater than six months since you completed your vaccine series, we require you are boosted.

Yes, the ABA will examine APPLIED Exam candidates at full capacity for 2023.

Our safety guidelines are as follows:
• Masks must be worn at all times in the AIME Center unless eating or drinking.
• Only registered candidates, examiners, attendees or essential staff members are permitted entry into the AIME Center during exam weeks.

If you do not feel comfortable traveling in 2023, you may postpone your APPLIED Examination until a later year when you feel more comfortable traveling. The ABA will not administer any virtual exams. You have seven years from the year of your graduation from residency to take your exam. You will not be penalized for not taking your exam; however, you will have one less year of eligibility per the Duration of Candidate Status policy.

Food and beverages, including coffee, will not be provided during registration or at The AIME Center. You are welcome to bring refreshments for your personal use on the condition that they are obtained prior to the start of registration, at which time you will be unable to leave the room. We ask that you plan accordingly as refrigerators will not be available.

To protect our examiners and candidates, we ask that everyone please refrain from shaking hands during the examination.

Your exam time starts immediately following registration. Please see the length of each exam below.

• APPLIED Exam (SOE or OSCE component only): 3.5 hours
• APPLIED Exam (SOE and OSCE components): 5.25 hours

Yes, the OSCE will test point-of-care ultrasound in the Application of Ultrasound and Interpretation of Monitors and Echocardiograms stations in 2023. You’ll need to prepare for content on the current OSCE Content Outline on our website.

If you have not been assigned an exam date, time and location, you may request to change your APPLIED Exam week within the same calendar year, subject to availability. However, we cannot guarantee that a change will be made. To request a change, email APPLIEDexam@theaba.org to gain access to the Exam Change request form on your portal account. You will then be able to submit a change request on your ABA GO portal under Account Settings > Add-On Services along with the $500 exam change fee.

If you wish to cancel your exam appointment, you must submit a cancellation request on the ABA GO portal under Account Settings > Add-On Services along with the cancellation fee at least one week prior to the first day of the exam administration week to retain your registration fee for a future exam. If you don’t cancel and miss your exam appointment, you’ll forfeit your registration fee.