Single Institution Analysis of Anesthesiology Residents' Online Question Bank Utilization and In-Training Exam Performance

Blaire Beers-Mulroy, The following authors are in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME. is a resident physician; was a resident physician and is a cardiac anesthesia fellow with the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA; is Lead Research Coordinator; The following authors are in the Division of Anesthesiology, Spectrum Healthcare Partners, South Portland, ME. and are both attending anesthesiologists who are also affiliated with the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME. They are also both assistant professors of anesthesiology with the Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA. is a research navigator at the MaineHealth Institute for Research, Scarborough, ME.
Travis S. Barker, The following authors are in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME. is a resident physician; was a resident physician and is a cardiac anesthesia fellow with the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA; is Lead Research Coordinator; The following authors are in the Division of Anesthesiology, Spectrum Healthcare Partners, South Portland, ME. and are both attending anesthesiologists who are also affiliated with the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME. They are also both assistant professors of anesthesiology with the Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA. is a research navigator at the MaineHealth Institute for Research, Scarborough, ME.
Janelle M. Richard, The following authors are in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME. is a resident physician; was a resident physician and is a cardiac anesthesia fellow with the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA; is Lead Research Coordinator; The following authors are in the Division of Anesthesiology, Spectrum Healthcare Partners, South Portland, ME. and are both attending anesthesiologists who are also affiliated with the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME. They are also both assistant professors of anesthesiology with the Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA. is a research navigator at the MaineHealth Institute for Research, Scarborough, ME.
Wendy Y. Craig, The following authors are in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME. is a resident physician; was a resident physician and is a cardiac anesthesia fellow with the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA; is Lead Research Coordinator; The following authors are in the Division of Anesthesiology, Spectrum Healthcare Partners, South Portland, ME. and are both attending anesthesiologists who are also affiliated with the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME. They are also both assistant professors of anesthesiology with the Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA. is a research navigator at the MaineHealth Institute for Research, Scarborough, ME.
James M. Flowerdew, The following authors are in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME. is a resident physician; was a resident physician and is a cardiac anesthesia fellow with the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA; is Lead Research Coordinator; The following authors are in the Division of Anesthesiology, Spectrum Healthcare Partners, South Portland, ME. and are both attending anesthesiologists who are also affiliated with the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME. They are also both assistant professors of anesthesiology with the Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA. is a research navigator at the MaineHealth Institute for Research, Scarborough, ME.
Aurora N. Quaye, The following authors are in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME. is a resident physician; was a resident physician and is a cardiac anesthesia fellow with the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA; is Lead Research Coordinator; The following authors are in the Division of Anesthesiology, Spectrum Healthcare Partners, South Portland, ME. and are both attending anesthesiologists who are also affiliated with the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME. They are also both assistant professors of anesthesiology with the Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA. is a research navigator at the MaineHealth Institute for Research, Scarborough, ME.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) In-Training Examination (ITE) is an annual assessment used to guide educational progress throughout residency in preparation for ABA certification examinations. Online question banks are commonly used as a study resource for these examinations; however, the relationship between question bank usage and ITE performance has not been well established. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review from July 2015 to July 2023 to examine the relationship between ABA ITE performance and question bank utilization among anesthesiology residents at MaineHealth Maine Medical Center during postgraduate years (PGY) 2-4. Question bank usage was measured by evaluating the total questions answered, percentage of questions answered in tutor mode, and percentage of questions answered correctly stratified by training and calendar year. Spearman correlation was used to explore the relationship between question bank metrics and ITE score, stratified by PGY. RESULTS: We observed significant relationships between the percentage of questions answered correctly and both ITE scaled score and national percentile ranking within each PGY. The correlation between percentage of questions answered correctly and ITE scaled score was (ρ = .49, p = .01) PGY-2, (ρ = .71, p =< .001) PGY-3, and (ρ = .48, p = .02) PGY-4. A similar trend was noted for the national percentile ranking; (ρ = .55, p = .003) PGY-2, (ρ = .71, p =< .001) PGY-3, and (ρ = .46, p = .02) PGY-4. CONCLUSION: The percentage of online question bank questions answered correctly by anesthesiology residents was positively associated with higher ITE scores across PGY 2-4. The percentage correct of online question banks may be used as a predictive marker for ITE performance.