Anesthesiology Resident Performance on the US Medical Licensing Examination Predicts Success on the American Board of Anesthesiology BASIC Staged Examination: An Observational Study

BACKGROUND: Correlation has been found between the US Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 examination results and anesthesiology resident success on American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) examinations. In 2014, the ABA instituted the BASIC examination at the end of the postgraduate year-2 year. We hypothesized a similar predictive value of USMLE scores on BASIC examination success. METHODS: After the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects at UTHealth Institutional Review Board approved and waived written consent, we retrospectively evaluated USMLE Step examination performance on first-time BASIC examination success in a single academic department from 2014-2018. RESULTS: Over 5 years, 120 residents took the ABA BASIC examination and 108 (90%) passed on the first attempt. Ten of 12 first-time failures were successful on repeat examination but analyzed in the failure group. Complete data was available for 92 residents (76.7%), with absent scores primarily reflecting osteopathic graduates who completed Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination of the United States level examinations rather than USMLE. In the failure cohort, all 3 USMLE examination step scores were lower ( CONCLUSIONS: In anesthesiology residency training, our preliminary single-center data is the first to suggest that USMLE Step 1 performance could be used as a predictor of success on the recently introduced ABA BASIC Examination. These findings do not support recent action to change USMLE scoring to a pass/fail report

Characteristics of Academic Anesthesiologist’s Elected to an Institutional Academy of Master Educators

Background. The educational experience and success of academic anesthesiologists may be elusive to quantify. We wished to examine the characteristics of a cohort of anesthesiology faculty who were inducted into a medical school master educator academy over the last decade. Methods. After IRB approval with waiver of consent, all 10 anesthesiology faculty inductees into the academy supplied relevant data for their accomplishments at the time of induction in multiple educational domains, including teaching and assessment, mentoring and advising, evidence of scholarship and production of enduring materials, and educational leadership. These were deidentified and analyzed. Results. The cohort had evidence of a consistent, visible footprint in the department, medical school, affiliated associations and state and national professional organizations. These included educational leadership positions, numerous teaching recognition and awards, substantial committee service, active mentorship exceeding usual faculty effort and robust portfolios of publications and presentations related to teaching and/or incorporating and supporting mentees as co-authors. Neither time in rank or academic progress was a limitation with several achieving induction in \u3c 5 years. Conclusions. It is possible for full-time anesthesiology clinicians to achieve success in educational recognition within the medical school body. This summary of characteristics of one department’s cohort may be useful to others seeking such recognition and serve. Based on the aggregate findings, we make recommendations for faculty wishing to pursue excellence in education

A comparison of the king vision® and glidescope® video intubation systems in patients at risk for difficult intubation

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd Background: One factor that contributes to the difficulty during intubation is poor visualization of the airway anatomy during laryngoscopy. Aim: To compare the efficacy and first-pass success rate of the King Vision® Video Laryngoscopes against the GlideScope® Video Laryngoscope in patients with anticipated difficult airways. Methods: 225 adult patients scheduled for surgery requiring general anesthesia and tracheal intubation that met ≥2 of the following inclusion criteria: Mallampati classification (MP) III-IV, inter-incisor distance \u3c 4 cm, neck circumference \u3e 43 cm, and/or thyromental distance \u3c 6 cm were randomized into 3 groups: GlideScope® (GS; n = 75), King Vision® – Channeled (KV-Ch; n = 75), and King Vision® – Non-Channeled (KV-NCh; n = 75). Intubation time and number of intubation attempts were collectively considered as the primary objective, amongst resident anesthesiologists. Results: The rate of success of tracheal intubation was 96% for GS, 81.3% for KV-Ch, and 96% for KV-NCh. Furthermore, first-pass success was highest for the KV-NCh at 89.3%, with GS and KV-Ch having a significant difference (P = 0.0083). Conclusion: The GS and KV-NCh performed similarly in facilitating successful tracheal intubation during the first attempt. In contrast, the KV-Ch was less successful overall