2024 Cardiovascular Anesthesiology Specialist Exam Experience: Final Chapter - Must-Read for Examinees! The Importance of Past Exam Questions

Dr. Anes @ Anesthesiologist here.
The experience report is finally in its last installment, and I will talk about the importance of past exam questions!

Postscript: I successfully passed the 2024 exam!

Mastering past exam questions is the shortcut to passing!

"The pass rate is 70-80%, so it's easy, right?"
...No, no, it's not that simple.

Honestly, the difficulty level of the exam is demon-level👹!!
Why are past exam questions important?

・The scope is too broad to handle with normal study methods
・There are questions that pick at the nooks and crannies of the guidelines・For systematic learning,
working backward from past exam questions is the optimal solution

Efficient methods for obtaining past exam questions

In my case: I

almost completed the past exam questions from 2015 to 2023 Source 1: Passed down from seniorsComplete

Source 2:
Flea market apps (Mercari) Source 3: Blogs from predecessors
Blog

Dr. NeA
Ao @ Working Mom Doctor
Anes Alpha Diary...etc. Here, I will introduce


a golden rule to engrave in your heart!!

In that regard, I was truly lucky to be able to get so many past exam questions 😌

Introduction to the 2024 exam fields

I will briefly explain the fields that were asked

Fields targeted in knowledge questions (approx. 45 fields)

・Anatomy
Detailed anatomy of the heart, valves, and vascular system
Understanding left atrial function

・Infective Endocarditis
Early surgical indications for IE (Infective Endocarditis)
Recommendations for diagnostic imaging of infected aneurysms

・Anticoagulation Therapy
Mechanism of action of warfarin and DOACs
Bridging warfarin with heparin
Characteristics of andexanet alfa
Thrombotic risk in patients with atrial fibrillation

・Cardiopulmonary Bypass (CPB) Related
Which pressure is higher: gas phase or blood phase?
Hormones that increase/decrease during CPB

・ECMO/Devices
Relative contraindications for V-V ECMO
Characteristics and indications for Central ECMO
Implantable LVAD
Characteristics of acquired vWF

・Congenital Heart Disease
Common combinations of malformations
Relationship between chromosomal abnormalities and symptoms
Glenn procedure and Fontan procedure
Diseases where Qp/Qs > 1

・Perioperative Evaluation
Preoperative evaluation for non-cardiac surgery
DASI score
RCRI score
PCI and timing of surgery (Class I)
Operating room safety management

・Brain/Spinal Cord Complications
Understanding the Crawford classification
TEVAR
Indications for SPD
Arterial supply to the spinal cord

・Heart Failure
Types and selection of therapeutic drugs
Mechanism of action of drugs
Cut-off values for BNP/NT-proBNP

・Monitoring
Interpretation of rSO2 measurements
How to use TEG/ROTEM

・Complication Management
Response to cardiac arrest after cardiac surgery
Understanding vasoplegic syndrome

・Surgery Related
Important structures during mitral valve surgery
Risk of SAM
CABG
Class I surgical indications for aortic aneurysm

・Transfusion Related
Correct understanding of incompatible blood transfusion
Expiration dates of blood products

・Others
Modified WHO classification
Drugs that cause QT prolongation
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy
HIT (Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia)

Hot topics in clinical problems (approx. 25 fields)

・Emergency Response
Cardiac tamponade due to Type A dissection
Cases of difficult cardiac arrest with cardioplegia
Response to postoperative cardiac rupture
Cases of difficult pump weaning
Dissection false lumen perfusion

・Imaging/Diagnosis
Vessel identification via CCT
Heart team conference for ultra-severe AS cases

・Special Case Management
Troubleshooting cardiopulmonary bypass
Surgical indications for IE
Emergency surgery for patients on DOACs

・Congenital Heart Disease
Qp/Qs calculation and management after Fontan procedure
Tet spells in TOF patients
General surgery for uncorrected TOF patients
Corrected transposition of the great arteries

・Device Related
Right heart failure after LVAD
TAVI complications
Amplatzer complications
Surgery for patients with implanted ICDs

・Other Important Topics
SPD complications
Analysis of causes for rSO2 decrease
Surgical indications for MR patients
Percutaneous left atrial appendage closure
TRALI/TACO
Decision on warfarin discontinuation

Summary: What is the best exam preparation?

I have talked about the importance of past questions so far, but what did you think?

Finally, I will summarize the exam preparation

・Collect past questions thoroughly
(1 is past questions, 2 is past questions, 3 and 4 are also past questions, and 5 is past questions‼️)
・Specialist course lecturesmust be taken (don't forget to review too❗️)
・Establish a systematic study method (study based on past questions using guidelines and textbooks📚)

The 2024 past question reproduction collection is currently set to private.
If you have any requests, I would appreciate it if you could leave a comment.