Created 7/16/2023ECHO BOARD PREP
Registration Instructions
Test is offered once per year in July. About half of UW fellows take boards after their second year and the other half after their third year. Taking it early allows you to focus on other boards after graduation (general cardiology, nuclear, CT, etc).
Exam is officially called ASCeXAM. Need to register by ~April of the year you intend to take it. Cost approx $1000 (early registration) that increases to $1200 if you register late.
IMPORTANT: you need to register for a testing center after you are approved. This takes several days after you pay for the registration. Check your email. The Pearson testing center in Northgate is a good location close to Seattle with free parking.
National Board of Echo —> Register here
In addition to passing the test, you must also get your numbers for TTE scanned, TTE interpreted, TEEs, and stress tests. For level 2 you need 150, 300, 50, and 100 respectively. This must be documented in MedHub.
Test Breakdown
Physical principles, instrumentation, exam principles (20%)
Valvular heart disease (20%)
Chamber size and function (30%)
Congenital heart disease (15%)
Cardiac masses, pericardial disease, contrast, and new applications (15%)
Misc. topics eg heart failure, systemic diseases, AF, pregnancy, aging changes, embolism, pulmonary heart disease (5%)
Link to the ASE Exam Topics
recommended Study Resources
Mayo Echo Videos: *highly recommended*, plan to watch at least 2x. Expensive, but can either bootleg old videos or split an account among multiple fellows.
ACC EchoSAP Question Bank (FREE provided by UW)
Klein Question Book (comes with eBook with access to an online question bank): Amazon link ($150 new); FREE to access through the UW libraries for the PDF version
Patterson Congential Study Guide: Congenital Echo Overview
Practice exam (cost $250): ASCeXAM online practice exam simulation
Physics reviews
About 20% of the initial certification test is physics so make sure you study this material.
Edelmans Physics Handout: Basic Ultrasound Physics - really helpful first document to look at for basics of ultrasound physics
Otto physics chapter: Otto physics - this is more detailed, but very helpful read prior to doing Chapter 1 and 2 of Klein questions on physics/artifacts which will otherwise demoralize you
ASE Review papers on artifacts: Artifact Paper 1, Artifact Paper 2 - both of these review articles were helpful with nice diagrams explaining the various artifacts
Braunwald physics chapter: Braunwald Physics - I did not read this, but looks similar to Otto’s chapter on physics and could be a good alternative.
Key equations: Key equations from Otto textbook - I think this is missing some equations but helpful to glance over to make sure you know these
Guideline documents
Would recommend familiarizing yourself with the ASE guidelines - lots of questions on this on the actual board exam but lots of this is covered in the Mayo videos. Know generally Class I indications for valve replacement.
Other helpful resources
Feigenbaum M-Mode paper (2010) - Boards always have a few M-mode questions so make sure you familiarize yourself with mitral valve, aortic valve, and SAX ventricular M-mode images.
Strain review paper (2009) - Did not read this, but was told this paper was helpful