NCCAA Certification Process

Year 0   Certifying Examination Year 1     Year 2   CME Registration Year 3     Year 4   CME Registration Year 5     Year 6   CME Registration & CDQ Examination

NCCAA awards a time-limited certificate to each candidate who successfully completes the Certifying Examination. Each anesthesiologist assistant is able to maintain current certification by registering requisite CME credits every other year and successfully completing a CDQ examination every six years.

Certification permits individuals to use the designation AA-C (Anesthesiologist Assistant-Certified). NCCAA maintains a database of Anesthesiologist Assistants-Certified from which certification of individual practitioners can be verified (see Verify Certification).

General Examination Information

The National Commission offers two computer-based examinations annually – a Certifying Examination and an Examination for Continued Demonstration of Qualifications (CDQ Examination) – which are prepared in cooperation with the National Board of Medical Examiners. Both examinations are administered on the same day at testing centers throughout the United States.

Certifying Examination

The Certifying Examination for Anesthesiologist Assistants is the entry point into the certification process for anesthesiologist assistants in the United States. Items on the examination are designed to assess the candidate's entry-level knowledge and his/her skill in applying that knowledge related to the duties of a practicing anesthesiologist assistant.

Eligibility for Certifying Examination

To be eligible to apply for the Certifying Examination, a candidate must be 21 years of age; must be a graduate of a CAAHEP-accredited educational program for anesthesiologist assistants; must be practicing as an anesthesiologist assistant or eligible to practice as an anesthesiologist assistant in at least one of the fifty states of the United States; OR must be a student in good standing in an accredited program who will be graduated from that program within 180 days of the Certifying Examination. Upon receipt of a complete application and all requisite supporting documentation, the National Commission for Certification of Anesthesiologist Assistants will rule on an applicant's eligibility and so notify him/her within 30 days.

CDQ Examination

The Examination for Continued Demonstration of Qualifications of Anesthesiologist Assistants [CDQ Examination] is one component of the ongoing certification process for anesthesiologist assistants in the United States. The CDQ Examination is designed to test the cognitive and deductive skills of the practicing anesthesiologist assistant who has successfully entered and continues to participate in the certification process for anesthesiologist assistants administered by NCCAA.

Eligibility for CDQ Examination

To be eligible to apply for the CDQ Examination, a candidate must be currently certified as an anesthesiologist assistant by the National Commission for Certification of Anesthesiologist Assistants, where current means at the time of application. Upon receipt of a complete application and all requisite supporting documentation, the National Commission for Certification of Anesthesiologist Assistants will rule on an applicant's eligibility and so notify him/her within 30 days.

Content Outline

The Content Outline for Certifying and CDQ Examinations contains sixteen categories. The following list contains the categories, their approximate percentage [Pct] in the exams, and topics within each category. The description of categories is not all inclusive. The weighting and coverage of topics within categories differs between Certifying Examinations and CDQ Examinations.

Category	PCT	Topics in Category
Airways	8	Anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, management; all age groups
Anesthesia	10	Principles of anesthesia; volatile and gaseous anesthetics; anesthetic techniques; closed circuit anesthesia; special problems in anesthesia; premedication; preop evaluation and planning
Cardiovascular	10	Cardiovascular anatomy, physiology, diseases, therapy; anesthesia for cardiac and vascular surgery; CPR; cardiopulmonary bypass; ECGs; echocardiography; pacemakers; AICDs
Hematology & Coagulation	3	Hematology; coagulation; immunology; transfusion; rheology; sickle cell
Instrumentation & Monitoring	5	Instrumentation; monitoring; electrical safety
Metabolism & Endocrine	5	Metabolism; GI medicine; nutrition; endocrinology; obesity; malignant hyperthermia; liver transplantation, including anesthesia; alcoholism; diabetes mellitus
Neuro	5	Neuro anatomy, physiology, diseases, therapy; neuroanesthesia; ESTs; EEGs; evoked potentials
Neuromuscular	5	Neuromuscular histology, physiology; muscle relaxants, reversal agents; NMB monitoring; neuromuscular diseases and therapy; special problems; all age groups
Obstetrics & Perinatology	5	Obstetrics & perinatology: anatomy, physiology, diseases, therapy; obstetrical anesthesia, including all regional anesthesia; special problems
Pediatrics & Neonatology	5	Pediatrics & neonatology: anatomy, physiology, diseases, therapy; pediatric preop evaluation and planning; pediatric anesthesia; special problems; all pediatric coverage, excluding airways, neuromuscular, and regional
Pharmacology	8	Basic pharmacology of all drugs except volatile and gaseous anesthetics; pharmacokinetics; pharmacodynamics; also includes drugs with several different usages, drugs not in other categories, drugs that would be in two or more categories; toxicology; drug abuse
Physics	5	Physics; compressed gases; compressed gas equipment safety; breathing circuits; anesthesia ventilators; anesthesia machines; vaporizers; scavenging
Regional Anesthesia & Pain Therapy	5	Regional anesthesia, including applied anatomy and pharmacology; pain therapy; all age groups
Renal	5	Renal anatomy, physiology, diseases, therapy; IV fluid therapy; electrolytes; anesthesia for urological & renal transplant surgery; ESWL
Respiration	10	Respiratory anatomy, physiology, diseases, therapy; physiology & analysis of blood gases/pH; respiratory therapy; chest x-ray; anesthesia for thoracic surgery
Miscellaneous	6	Aging; heat & temperature; statistics; surgical equipment & therapy; microbiology; infection & infection control; eye surgery; outpatient anesthesia; legal/malpractice; quality assurance; positioning and complications; hypothermia (non-cardiac); sepsis

CME Registration

Continued certification is contingent upon registration of 40 hours of continuing medical education every two years, including the year in which the CDQ Examination is taken. For each two-year CME registration cycle, forty (40) hours of continuing medical education must be registered in order to obtain CME credit for that two-year period. For each two-year CME registration cycle, CME credit will be registered for continuing medical education which is obtained during that two-year period. CME hours exceeding the 40 required hours for a registration period will not be registered.

Continuing medical education must be submitted using a current CME registration form (dated Oct 2006 or later) that is mailed to NCCAA, PO Box 15519, Atlanta, GA 30333-0519.

The deadline for CME registration and payment of CME registration fee is June 1st.

CME registration fee for 2007 is $190. Any change and the effective date of change for CME registration fee will be posted on NCCAA’s web site.

NCCAA will accept CME credit for programs approved for continuing medical education credit by the

- American Medical Association (AMA);
- American Association of Physician Assistants (AAPA);
- Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).

The content for thirty (30) hours of each registration period must be in the field of anesthesia or one of its subspecialties. The content for the remaining ten (10) hours may be in any medical topic. ACLS instruction will be tabulated as anesthesia-related content.

NCCAA will grant 40 hours of CME credit to any AA-C practitioner who is a full-time student in good standing in an LCME-accredited school of medicine during a two-year CME registration cycle.

Payment of the CME registration fee is due in full upon the registrant's initial submission for CME credit within the two-year cycle. When a check for CME registration is returned, registration of CME credit will be held in abeyance until the registration fee plus a $50 returned-check fee are submitted to NCCAA.

If CME registration is being held in abeyance at the deadline for CME registration, then CME registration will be declared void and the anesthesiologist assistant will not be certified.

The practitioner who fails to register CMEs and/or pay the CME registration fee by the June 1st deadline will not be certified by NCCAA and will be notified immediately following the June 1st deadline by certified/return receipt mail that he/she

o Is not certified by NCCAA and
o Has until August 31st to bring CME registration, including payment of CME registration fee, up to date or he/she
o Will be decertified by NCCAA and
o Will only be able to regain certification by successfully completing a Certifying Examination.

The practitioner who is a candidate for CDQ Examination and who fails to register CMEs and/or pay the CME registration fee by the June 1st deadline will not be certified by NCCAA and will be notified immediately following the June 1st deadline by certified/return receipt mail that he/she

o Is not certified by NCCAA and
o Has until August 31st to bring CME registration, including payment of CME registration fee, up to date or he/she
o Will be decertified by NCCAA and
o Examination results will be declared void and will not be released and
o Will only be able to regain certification by successfully completing a Certifying Examination.

CME Audit
The National Commission randomly audits CME submissions of practitioners on an annual basis. The practitioner who is selected for audit must comply in full in order to remain certified.

The basis for audit is the CME credit registered during the preceding two-year CME registration period.

The practitioner who is selected for audit will receive notification of audit via certified/return receipt mail in which an audit form and directions will be included.

CME programs from the preceding two-year CME registration period must be listed legibly on the CME audit form. Incomplete or illegible CME audit forms will be returned without processing.

The CME audit form must be accompanied by complete, legible copies of the original documents of CME credit issued by the granting organization. CME materials will not be returned.

The documents awarding CME credit must state the source of accreditation of the CME granting organization.

The CME audit form must be signed and dated by the practitioner.

The practitioner has 90 days to comply with the audit by completing and returning his/her CME audit form, along with all requisite documents, to NCCAA at PO Box 15519, Atlanta, GA 30333.

The practitioner who complies with the audit and passes will continue to be certified by NCCAA.

The practitioner who fails to comply with the audit or does not pass the audit will be notified by certified/return receipt mail that he/she has been decertified by NCCAA and will only be able to regain certification by successfully completing a Certifying Examination.

If for whatever reason a practitioner cannot submit appropriate documentation for CME credit registered in the preceding two-year CME registration period, then that practitioner may substitute CME credit that is acceptable to NCCAA according the above guidelines.

Certificates

NCCAA issues a certificate upon successful completion of the Certifying Examination and every two years thereafter so long as certification requirements are met. In years two and four of the certification cycle, certification requirements are met when 40 hours of CME credit have been registered and the CME registration fee has been paid and processed. In year six of the certification cycle, certification requirements are met when 40 hours of CME credit have been registered, the CME registration fee has been paid and processed, and the CDQ Examination has been completed.

Replacement certificates are available upon written request (see Downloads).

Reinstatement of Certification

• Reinstatement of certification has been eliminated.  Any practitioner who has permitted his/her certification to lapse may re-enter the certification process by applying for and successfully completing the Certifying Examination for Anesthesiologist Assistants.