One Year of MAC Check
August 1, 2025, marked one year since the launch of the Maintaining Anesthesia Certification (MAC) Program and MAC Check. This is a special anniversary for NBCRNA, and since then, we’ve reached some incredible milestones.
.png?sfvrsn=45dd83ef_1)
Participation Overview
With over 60,000 CRNAs now enrolled, MAC Check has reached a notable level of participation. Since its launch, 2.5 million MAC Check questions have been answered and 91,000+ quarterly knowledge checks have been completed, reflecting a robust level of involvement and participation. Additionally, 10,000+ CRNAs opted for or were assigned time off. This built-in flexibility allows for up to two time off quarters each four-year cycle, and a third time off quarter is fixed during the last (16th) quarter when participants receive their final performance results.
Initial Performance Metrics
CRNAs don’t have to wait until the end of their cycle to understand how they’re performing. After completing the fourth quarter, the MAC Check dashboard displays individual preliminary progress indicating whether a CRNA’s current performance meets the standard.
So far MAC Check’s performance outcomes are promising. As of August 1, 2025, over 92% of participating CRNAs have met the performance standard. To support ongoing improvement, the review page in the MAC Check dashboard allows CRNAs to revisit rationales and references for all answered questions. This feature helps identify targeted areas for improvement and reinforces continuous learning. Additionally, up to five incorrect questions are re-administered in subsequent quarters to help facilitate retrieval practice and enhance information retention.
Engagement & Behavior Patterns
Engagement with MAC Check has been steady. The time bank feature, which allows users to add time to a question they are answering in 30-second increments, was used by 52% of participants, and only 1% used the full five-minute allowance per quarter. This indicates that 48% of CRNAs were able to answer all quarterly knowledge check questions within the default one-minute parameter.
Overall response time shows that CRNAs typically answered questions in under a minute, with a median time of 30.3 seconds. Incorrect answers took longer to respond to, with a median time of 39.4 seconds, and answering a question correctly had a median time of 27.3 seconds.
Most CRNAs tend to answer questions at the end of each quarter in one session. On average across all quarters that have been completed, about 87% completed their quarterly knowledge checks in under an hour from the time they first started to when they answered the last question, with the remaining 13% answering questions throughout the same day or weeks. As a reminder, MAC Check questions can be answered at any time during the three-month quarter and can be spaced out between the start and end date.
User Experience & Confidence
MAC Check has received positive user experience feedback. CRNAs frequently cited the platform’s immediate feedback, usability, flexible access, and well-written, challenging content as strengths. CRNAs appreciated the opportunity to refresh their knowledge in a structured yet low-pressure environment, and ongoing engagement within the field of nurse anesthesia.
Confidence ratings offer additional insight into user experience. After answering each question, CRNAs rate their confidence using a four-point scale before they can see whether a question was answered correctly or incorrectly. On average, confidence ratings were higher when answers were correctly answered, suggesting that MAC Check helps participants calibrate self-assessment and emphasize self-awareness.