Why the ABA Pediatric Anesthesiology Exam is Important.

In 2013 the American Board of Anesthesiology held its first examination in subspecialty Pediatric Anesthesiology. This was followed by another in 2014. Because of this thousands of Pediatric Anesthesiologists across America have worked to prepare themselves for the exam and have reviewed countless hours of lectures, notes, and/or test preps. This has been expensive to all that have undertaken the process, but in every sense the expense has been worth the outlay. The process of review improved the knowledge base of those that may not have considered the scientific basis of Pediatric Anesthesiology for some years. It familiarized all with new aspects within the field such as the growing literature on anesthetic toxicity to the developing CNS. Even for those that don't spend their lives caring for children with cardiac disease, review of this information was and is important. Neonatology has changed tremendously in the last twenty years; this is another aspect that is worthy of review.
In the coming years, those that take the exam for Pediatric Anesthesiology will be fresh out of Fellowship programs, many of these fellowships having been created with the expectation that there would someday be a board certification process for the subspecialty. These clinicians will have been educated in a standardized fashion governed by the ACGME, the ABA, and the ASA. Their training and their experience will be better because of the process of building toward board certification, More important, can there be any doubt that patients will receive better care? The exam is important. There really is no question.