Anesthesiology Oral Board Practice Cases by Domain
Use the domains below to create original spoken cases and station drills that cover the breadth of practice without relying on recalled examination content.
Key takeaways
- Breadth must include patient populations, organ systems, procedural environments, and postoperative care.
- Every clinical domain should include at least one unexpected change and one complication.
- OSCE communication and technical skills should be practiced as domains, not as afterthoughts.
- Use only original educational prompts and public content outlines.
The complete practice matrix
Preoperative evaluation and optimization
Urgency, comorbidity, functional status, airway, medications, testing, consultation, shared decision-making, postponement, and the anesthetic consequences of unresolved risk.
Airway and ventilation
Difficult mask ventilation, intubation strategy, aspiration risk, lung isolation, hypoxemia, high airway pressure, extubation, postoperative ventilation, and rescue oxygenation.
Cardiovascular physiology
Ischemia, valvular disease, heart failure, arrhythmia, pulmonary hypertension, monitoring, vasoactive therapy, mechanical support, and hemodynamic collapse.
Thoracic and one-lung ventilation
Lung isolation, hypoxemia, major bleeding, airway disruption, postoperative respiratory failure, analgesia, and escalation after thoracic procedures.
Obstetric anesthesia
Neuraxial and general anesthesia, fetal considerations, hypertensive disease, hemorrhage, difficult airway, failed neuraxial technique, maternal collapse, and postoperative disposition.
Pediatric anesthesia
Age-specific physiology, congenital disease, airway, fasting, induction, fluid and blood management, emergence, postoperative apnea, and communication with caregivers.
Neuroanesthesia
Intracranial compliance, cerebral perfusion, positioning, venous air embolism, spine disease, neurophysiologic monitoring, emergence planning, and new neurologic deficits.
Regional anesthesia and acute pain
Patient selection, consent, anticoagulation, anatomy, local anesthetic dosing, block failure, nerve injury, local anesthetic systemic toxicity, and multimodal analgesia.
Critical care and resuscitation
Shock, sepsis, ventilation, acid-base disorders, renal and hepatic failure, transfusion, neurologic emergencies, goals of care, and transition from operating room to ICU.
Ambulatory, NORA, and perioperative systems
Remote locations, sedation, discharge readiness, equipment limitations, handoffs, quality improvement, medication safety, and resource-aware decision-making.
OSCE communication and professionalism
Informed consent, complication disclosure, ethical conflict, communication with professionals, patient safety, quality improvement, empathy, listening, and clear closure.
OSCE technical skills
Monitor interpretation, echocardiography and point-of-care ultrasound, ultrasound application, simulated needle placement, airway assessment, and management recommendations.
Design every SOE case with four layers
- 01
Opening problem
Provide enough information to demand risk stratification and a primary anesthetic plan.
- 02
Intraoperative change
Introduce one physiologic or procedural event that forces adaptation.
- 03
Postoperative consequence
Require extubation, ventilation, analgesia, disposition, or complication management.
- 04
Additional topic
Switch to a different population or system to test breadth and recovery.
Original sample practice prompts
| Domain | Opening problem | Changed variable |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiac | Severe aortic stenosis for urgent hip fracture fixation. | Hypotension and ischemic ECG change after induction. |
| Thoracic | Lobectomy requiring lung isolation in COPD. | Progressive hypoxemia during one-lung ventilation. |
| Obstetric | Preeclampsia requiring urgent cesarean delivery. | Failed neuraxial block with worsening fetal status. |
| Pediatric | Infant with congenital heart disease for noncardiac surgery. | Difficult ventilation after induction. |
| Neuro | Posterior fossa surgery with concern for venous air embolism. | Abrupt hypotension and end-tidal CO2 decrease. |
| Regional | Anticoagulated patient requesting neuraxial analgesia. | Seizure and cardiovascular instability after block injection. |
| NORA | High-risk patient for interventional radiology under sedation. | Loss of airway access during procedural complication. |
| Postoperative | Weakness and hypoventilation in PACU. | Quantitative monitoring suggests residual neuromuscular blockade. |
Turn the same content into OSCE stations
Consent
Explain general versus regional options for a defined procedure, including benefits, common and severe risks, risk mitigation, and patient preference.
Complication discussion
Disclose a medication error or nerve injury with known facts, empathy, next steps, and follow-up.
Professional conflict
Recommend postponement or a safer plan to a proceduralist while listening, prioritizing patient care, and resolving disagreement.
Monitor and ultrasound
Describe the abnormality, identify the physiologic state, integrate images, and recommend treatment.
Ultrasound application
Acquire or describe an optimized view, identify anatomy, show safe simulated needle position, and name complications.
Rotate domains to avoid false mastery
- Do not practice the same subspecialty on consecutive days.
- Pair a familiar SOE domain with an unfamiliar OSCE skill.
- Revisit every weak domain within seven days.
- Add a changed variable to every repeat case.
- Use full two-session SOE mocks only after broad single-case work.
- Keep a separate technical image and waveform error log.
Put the framework under pressure
Practice the answer out loud—not only on paper.
Voice-first cases, adaptive examiner follow-up, imaging, complications, and structured educational feedback for anesthesiology.
Questions candidates ask
Frequently asked questions
Are these official ABA cases?
No. They are original educational case categories and sample prompts built from public content outlines, not secure or recalled examination material.
What is the current ABA APPLIED Exam format?
The APPLIED Exam combines two 35-minute Standardized Oral Examination sessions with seven eight-minute Objective Structured Clinical Examination stations. The OSCE stations have four-minute intervals to review the next scenario.
Does the ABA APPLIED Exam use candidate-submitted personal cases?
No public ABA guidance describes a submitted personal case list or candidate case-defense requirement. SurgiTest therefore emphasizes standardized SOE cases and OSCE stations rather than Personal Case Uploads for this specialty.
Does SurgiTest reproduce ABA questions or calculate an official score?
No. SurgiTest uses original educational cases and public examination information. It does not reproduce secure examination content, convert educational feedback into an ABA result, predict certification, or claim ABA endorsement.
Should I prepare differently for the SOE and OSCE?
Yes. The SOE rewards organized clinical reasoning, rationale, and adaptation as the case changes. The OSCE rewards observable communication, professionalism, and technical performance within tightly bounded tasks.
Where should I confirm current dates and logistics?
Use your ABA GO portal, assigned examination communication, the current APPLIED Exam page, and the current candidate-preparation materials before purchasing nonrefundable travel.
Source transparency
Official references
Board requirements, dates, and candidate instructions can change. Confirm current details directly with ABA and the Board’s candidate portal.
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