Favorable Trends for a Decade: Increasing Pass Rates on The American Board of Anesthesiology Examinations

Abstract

There have been some apparent increasing pass rates on the American Board of Anesthesiology Part 1 (written) and Part 2 (oral) examinations in the setting of a transition in examination format. The aim of the study is to evaluate the nature of these trends, hypothesizing that these increasing pass rate trends are significant. In this retrospective study from 2003-2012, the first-attempt examinee pass rates on the Part 1 and Part 2 examinations were obtained from the American Board of Anesthesiology website. To evaluate the cohort of examinees, the mean United States Medical Licensing Examination scores of residents matched to anesthesia programs were also obtained. To evaluate trends over time, simple linear regression was performed with the academic year as the independent variable and examination outcome as the dependent variable, using an α = 0.05. The median annual pass rate on the Part 1 examination was 85.5% (Interquartile range [82.75% - 87.75%]). Regression analysis showed that the slope of the least-squares regression line was greater than zero (p = 0.008). The median annual pass rate on the Part 2 examination was 81.5% (Interquartile range [77.25% - 84.75]). Regression analysis showed that the slope of the least-squares regression line was greater than zero (p < 0.001). Regression analysis also showed increasing United States Medical Licensing Examination scores for the incoming anesthesia residents (p = 0.01). There have been significant increasing trends on the American Board of Anesthesiology Part 1 and Part 2 examinations over the last ten years.