Your First EDAIC Baseline: Build a Useful Study Map

A useful EDAIC baseline tells you what to study next. Start with unfamiliar questions, record how you reached each answer, and convert the findings into a short list of specific learning tasks. A percentage alone cannot do that, and a small personal baseline cannot predict an examination result.

This worksheet is an AnesCORE study recommendation, not an ESAIC assessment or validated readiness score. Keep formal examination information anchored to the official Part I page, which distinguishes basic science from clinical anaesthesia and intensive care.

Define what your baseline should answer

Write three questions at the top of the page: Which subjects have I not sampled? Which concepts can I explain without help? Which mistakes recur across different subjects? The aim is a usable starting map, not a comprehensive examination of everything you know.

Choose a manageable selection of unfamiliar material across both broad areas. Do not build the entire baseline from your latest rotation or favourite textbook chapter. If suitable questions are unavailable in a domain, mark it “not sampled”; an empty cell must not silently become a strength.

Use the ESAIC preparation resources to orient your scope. Keep any official samples you choose separate from commercial-bank scores, because the question sets are different.

Record the decision before revealing the answer

For each statement, make your choice and add a short reason. “Because I recognise this question” is useful information: it means the item is unsuitable for measuring an unfamiliar first attempt.

Use three confidence labels: reasoned, uncertain, and guessed. These are descriptive labels for your notebook, not psychometric measurements. Record interruptions and whether notes were open. A calm closed-book attempt and a fragmented post-call attempt should not be treated as interchangeable.

After checking the explanation, classify the mismatch:

Build a study map from evidence

Your map needs five columns: domain, evidence observed, specific gap, repair task, and retest method. Keep each row narrow enough to complete in one realistic session.

For example, “pharmacology is weak” is too broad. “I cannot distinguish a definition from its units in a clearance question” suggests a precise task: write the definition, identify the units, and explain a fresh example without the book. This is an illustrative study problem, not a claim about what will appear in EDAIC.

A second row might read: “Statistics; two unfamiliar questions; confused the event count with the denominator; draw a two-group table; retest with different numbers.” The retest should require a new decision, rather than reproducing a sentence you have just read.

Choose three starting priorities

Select one recurring misunderstanding, one unsampled domain, and one maintenance topic. This simple limit stops the baseline from becoming an intimidating catalogue of unfinished work. It also keeps strong areas in circulation while you repair weaknesses.

Put actual tasks into your calendar: “explain the axes on two graphs” is more useful than “revise physiology”. For broader organisation, compare your map with the existing EDAIC syllabus breakdown.

After a repair, retrieve the explanation again on another day. A resident trial supports testing with feedback as a learning activity; it does not validate this worksheet or establish an EDAIC pass threshold. See Larsen and colleagues.

Read the second attempt carefully

Recheck a small selection of repaired ideas using unfamiliar wording. If the original answer is remembered but the explanation collapses, the repair is incomplete. If a new prompt is answered correctly and the reasoning is sound, move the topic to maintenance while retaining occasional review.

Avoid repeatedly taking the same baseline to make the number rise. Preserve the original result, add a dated follow-up, and compare what changed in your reasoning. Your baseline has done its job when it leads to a defensible next study session.

Use the AnesCORE question bank as one source of practice, and keep your own brief study map beside it so each session produces a next action.

Sources

• ESAIC: Part I examination
• ESAIC: How to prepare for the exam
• Larsen et al.: Repeated testing improves long-term retention

Prepared with AI assistance for examination revision; this article is not a patient-care protocol or a substitute for current primary guidance. Sources checked 7 October 2026.