EXAMINATION INFORMATION

PRACTICE EXAMINATION AND ORIENTATION

The Practice Examination and Orientation module has been recently updated and is now online at:

http://orientation.nbme.org/Launch/NCCAA

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 certified 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 certified 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, the National Commission for Certification of Anesthesiologist Assistants will rule on an applicant’s eligibility and so notify him/her within 30 days.

SCHEDULING AN EXAMINATION

Once an application for an examination has been approved, the candidate will be emailed a scheduling permit by the National Board of Medical Examiners to the email on file with NCCAA. The candidate should follow the directions on the scheduling permit to obtain a seat at a Prometric testing center. Prometric is solely responsible for scheduling and rescheduling examinations.

SUGGESTED READING MATERIAL FOR CERT & CDQ EXAMINATIONS

Questions are written using numerous textbooks representing both clinical and basic sciences. The following list is excerpted from the references cited for each question. The list is a guide but it is not inclusive of all sources from where questions are derived

  • Butterworth, Mackey and Wasnick. Morgan & Mikhail’s Clinical Anesthesiology. 5th ed. McGraw-Hill Incorporated, 2013.
  • Miller, Cohen, Eriksson, Fleisher, Wiener-Kronish, and Young. Miller’s Anesthesia. 8th ed. Churchill Livingstone, 2015.
  • Vacanti, Sikka, Urman, Dershwitz, and Segal. Essential Clinical Anesthesia. 1st ed. Cambridge University Press. 2011.
  • Hines, Roberta and Marschall, Katherine. Stoelting’s Anesthesia and Co-Existing Disease. 6th ed. Saunders, W.B. 2012.
  • Longnecker, Brown, Newman, and Zapol. Anesthesiology. 2nd ed. McGraw-Hill Incorporated. 2012.
  • Barash, Cullen, Stoelting, Cahalan, Stock, and Ortega. Clinical Anesthesia. 7th ed. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. 2014.
  • Hall, John. Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology. 13th ed. Saunders, W. B. 2011.
  • Levine, Wilton, et al. Clinical Anesthesia Procedures of the Massachusetts General Hospital. 9th ed.
  • Hall, Brian and Chantigian, Robert. Anesthesia, A Comprehensive Review. 5th ed. Saunders, W. B. 2015.
  • Duke, James and Keech, Brian. Duke’s Anesthesia Secrets. 5th ed. Mosby. 2016.
  • Miller, Ronald and Pardo Jr., Manuel. Basics of Anesthesia. 6th ed. Saunders, W. B. 2011.

CONTENT BLUEPRINTS

The Content Outline for the 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.