Purpose

The purpose of the NCCAA is to ensure that CAAs have the necessary knowledge and skills to practice safely and effectively. In so doing, the NCCAA also protects the value of the CAA credential. The NCCAA is responsible for:

• Establishing and maintaining criteria for the earning of designation as a Certified Anesthesiologist Assistant, including requirements for initial certification and continued certification.
• Adopting and confirming compliance of initial and continued certification eligibility requirements for certified anesthesiologist assistants.
• Formulating, adopting, and confirming compliance of the requirements for eligibility for admission to NCCAA-administered examinations or assessments including, but not limited to, the NCCAA Certification Exam (CERT) and the NCCAA Continued Demonstration of Qualifications (CDQ) Exam.
• Developing, administering, scoring, and analyzing the NCCAA examination to establish proficient applicants for the credential of Certified Anesthesiologist Assistant.
• Formulating, adopting, and administering NCCAA-created examinations or assessments to candidates who have met all requirements for examination or assessment and have been found eligible.

No national organization can expect to determine the specific procedures that any individual CAA is qualified to perform. Nor can any national organization adequately determine whether an individual CAA may have developed an impairment that could interfere with the proper administration of anesthesia. Ultimately, these judgments must be entrusted to the individual CAA, to those with whom they work, and those that provide state licensing for CAAs. The NCCAA seeks to protect the public’s interest by enacting a plan of certification and recertification based on evidence of continued competence in providing anesthesia as indicated by participation in continuing medical education, substantiation of satisfactory performance, and undergoing periodic re-examination to confirm maintenance of current medical knowledge.