iPhone App Review: Anesthesia 101
Contributing Author Tech Nick Lee:
Twice a year participants for the Oral exams fret, paying big money and taking time off to study for the event. There are several written board review apps in circulation, but a new one, Anesthesia 101 by Blue Sky Innovations, seems to be creating quite a buzz among the residents as a tool for preparing for the Oral Board exam.
Review:
Anesthesia 101 is advertised as a point-of-care reference app for the iPhone, iTouch and iPad. It has 62 topics covering basics like the management of hypertension to complex scenarios like fetal resuscitation and Guillian-Barre syndrome.
A typical reference app would present the information as a page of information. A written review app would probably give you multiple-choice questions. This one, however, walks you through 6 to 14 pertinent questions and answers you will likely have for dealing with the management of the case.
The title bar on top tells you how many pages are associated with the topic. This unique presentation is what makes it excellent as an oral board review app. I still remember when first started reading through the topics. I felt like I was having a quiz by an examiner. Once I answered the first question, the next one probed deeper. Some of the questions were easy; others were difficult, depending on your familiarity with the topic.
I have to say that this has to be one of the best oral board simulated exams I have seen. I found it even more effective when used with a partner, who could play the role of the examiner by using the app as a guide. That being said, it is also a great app for prepping for a case, which is its true purpose. I had to take care of a patient with a pheochromocytoma. I found this within the topics list. After selecting it, the first page gave a typical presentation for the condition. Each question covered a facet of the case management, including the diagnosis, signs and symptoms, pre-op management, induction, and intra-op management.
Just like a book, you get to flip through the pages.
If you hold your finger down on the topic a post-chapter quiz appears. The quiz has either has two TRUE or FALSE questions, or you have to diagnosis an image relevant for the case topic. Below is the quiz from the Anterior Mediastinal Mass topic.
Highlights:
1. Highly detailed, point-of-reference app for case management
2. Unique dialogue-style accurately simulates Oral Board questions and answers
3. Book-style presentation allows you to flip through pages for each topic
4. Post-chapter quiz given for each topic
Area for improvement:
1. An android version is lacking
Conclusion:
This is a well-designed app for the anesthesia field. Its unique question-and-answer dialogue presentation allows it to serve two purposes. One, it is an excellent point-of-care reference, covering 62 topics from the common to the uncommon. Second, this presentation makes it perfect, inexpensive tool for studying for the Oral Board exams. I think many will find it a welcome addition for their study ritual.
