ABA Palliative Care study guide
ABA Palliative Care · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Hospice and Palliative Medicine Exam is one of the subspecialty exams listed by the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA), appearing in the ABA's Subspecialty Exams menu alongside Adult Cardiac Anesthesiology, Critical Care Medicine, Neurocritical Care, Pain Medicine, Pediatric Anesthesiology, Sleep Medicine, and Health Care Administration, Leadership and Management. Per the ABA, subspecialty exams are aimed at diplomates who are already certified and want to go further: "Once certified, diplomates can go further with subspeciality certification programs in multidisciplinary fields." So this credential sits on top of primary certification rather than replacing it, and it is designed for physicians who want formal recognition in a field that crosses specialty lines. The ABA's stated mission is "to advance the highest standards of the practice of anesthesiology," and its certification process, multi-specialty exams and continuing certification program are meant to keep diplomates at the forefront of quality clinical outcomes and patient safety. Preparation should be built around the exam's published content outline, with deliberate self-assessment and spaced review. The ABA Palliative Care study guide has 2 sections and about 718 words.
01Hospice and Palliative Medicine: Core Principles, Symptom Management, and Communication
Hospice and palliative medicine questions reward a definitional anchor: palliative care is symptom- and goal-directed care for serious illness at any stage, delivered alongside disease-modifying treatment; hospice is a specific insurance benefit for patients with a prognosis of roughly six months or less who forgo curative-intent therapy for the terminal diagnosis. Expect questions that probe whether you can distinguish the two, and whether you recognize that palliative care is not synonymous with end-of-life care.
376 words, about 2 min02Hospice and Palliative Medicine: Goals of Care, Ethics, Prognosis, and End-of-Life Care
This domain emphasizes communication, ethical reasoning, and care in the final days. Candidates must demonstrate skill in goals-of-care conversations, advance care planning, surrogate decision-making, and recognizing the dying process.
342 words, about 2 min