Anesthesiology Resident Demographics and the BASIC Examination Pass Rates

Area of Science:

• Anesthesiology
• Medical Education
• Health Equity

Background:

• The American Board of Anesthesiology introduced the BASIC Examination in 2014.
• Retrospective analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with first-time pass rates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the association between resident demographics, program characteristics, and prior examination performance with first-time BASIC pass rates.
• To analyze first-time and eventual pass rates across various demographic groups.

Main Methods:

• Included anesthesiology residents taking the BASIC Examination for the first time between July 2014 and November 2022.
• Calculated first-time and eventual pass rates (up to 3 attempts) for demographic subgroups.
• Utilized mixed-effects logistical regression to model the odds of passing based on demographics and prior Clinical Base Year In-Training Examination (CBY ITE) scores.

Main Results:

• Analysis of 17,286 attempts from 15,789 residents revealed disparities in first-time pass rates.
• Lower first-time pass rates were observed for female, Hispanic/Latino, and Black/African American residents compared to their male, non-Hispanic/Latino, and White counterparts.
• While performance gaps on the BASIC Examination were reduced after controlling for CBY ITE scores, they were not eliminated.

Conclusions:

• Female and nonwhite residents demonstrated lower first-time pass rates on the BASIC Examination.
• All demographic subgroups achieved eventual pass rates exceeding 99% within three attempts.
• Further research is necessary to understand the underlying reasons for these disparities and to develop targeted improvement strategies.