100+ Free ABA BASIC Practice Questions

The ABA BASIC Exam is the first of three staged exams in the American Board of Anesthesiology initial certification sequence. It is a 200-question, single-best-answer MCQ test delivered by Pearson VUE in a 4-hour testing window. BASIC is taken at the end of the CA-1 year (PGY-2) of anesthesiology residency and focuses on the scientific basis of clinical anesthetic practice: pharmacology, physiology, anatomy, anesthesia equipment, and monitoring. Passing BASIC is a qualifying step required before sitting the ADVANCED Exam at the end of residency.

BASIC tests basic sciences of anesthesia. Roughly: pharmacology (~30%) including IV induction agents, volatiles with MAC values (sevoflurane 2.0, isoflurane 1.2, desflurane 6.0), NMBs, reversal agents, opioids, and local anesthetics with LAST management; physiology (~25%) covering cardiovascular, respiratory (HPV, shunt), renal, neuro (CPP, autoregulation), hepatic, and endocrine; anatomy (~10%) for airway, neuraxial, and regional anesthesia; anesthesia equipment (~15%) including the machine, vaporizers, and breathing circuits; monitoring (~10%) including ASA Standards, capnography, pulse oximetry, TOF, and BIS; and basic principles such as acid-base, fluids and electrolytes, and ABG interpretation (~10%).

BASIC is offered twice a year in summer (typically June) and fall (typically November) testing windows. It is delivered at Pearson VUE testing centers across the United States as a 4-hour computer-based exam with 200 single-best-answer MCQs. Most candidates sit BASIC at the end of their CA-1 (PGY-2) residency year. Registration is handled through the ABA portal, and the program director must verify the candidate is in good standing.

Standard registration is approximately $875. Late registration is approximately $1,375. Retake registration uses similar fees. These figures are set by the American Board of Anesthesiology and may be adjusted annually; check theaba.org for the current fee schedule before registering.

First-time pass rates for BASIC have historically run approximately 80-90%. The exact number varies year to year by sitting and is published intermittently by the ABA. Candidates who fail may retake the exam at the next administration. Importantly, in January 2025 the ABA clarified that a BASIC failure no longer automatically requires an unsatisfactory residency evaluation by the program director.

Use the ABA BASIC content outline (publicly available on theaba.org) as your spine. Build daily question-bank practice early in CA-1 — TrueLearn, BoardVitals, M5, and the ABA ACE self-assessment are widely used; aim for 2,000+ reviewed questions before exam day. Pair MCQ practice with focused chapter review in Miller's Anesthesia, Barash Clinical Anesthesia, and Stoelting's Pharmacology and Physiology. Memorize high-yield numerics (MAC values, Intralipid 1.5 mL/kg bolus, TOF >= 0.9, dantrolene 2.5 mg/kg) and integrate study with clinical rotations.

If you fail BASIC, you may register for the next available administration (summer or fall). As of January 2025, the ABA clarified that a BASIC failure no longer automatically triggers an unsatisfactory residency evaluation by the program director — the policy decoupled exam performance from the formal milestone determination. Candidates must still pass all three stages (BASIC, ADVANCED, APPLIED) within approximately 7 years of becoming eligible to enter the certification process.

BASIC tests the SCIENTIFIC BASIS of anesthesia (pharmacology, physiology, anatomy, equipment, monitoring) and is taken at the end of CA-1. ADVANCED tests SUBSPECIALTY CLINICAL ANESTHESIA (cardiac, OB, pediatric, neuro, thoracic, regional, critical care, pain) and is taken at the end of residency (CA-3). Both are 200-question, 4-hour Pearson VUE MCQ exams. Together they form the written portion of ABA initial certification; the third stage, APPLIED, is an in-person SOE + OSCE exam in Raleigh, NC.