Who are CAAs

Certified Anesthesiologist Assistants (CAAs) are highly-educated medical professionals who plan and deliver safety-focused, patient-centered anesthesia care. CAAs practice exclusively within the Anesthesia Care Team (ACT) Model. The ACT practice model emphasizes patient safety through physician anesthesiologist led care as defined by the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA).

CAAs were born from a need for qualified anesthesia professionals in the early 1960s. Three physician anesthesiologists proposed a new member of the anesthesia care team to fill this need. This was how the CAA profession was created. Currently CAAs can practice in 22 states, Washington DC, and the territory of Guam. The goal of the American Academy of Anesthesiologist Assistants (AAAA) is to have CAAs be able to practice in all 50 states.

CAAs have practiced in Ohio since 1973 under delegated authority, and under licensure since 2000. There are currently over 400 CAAs that practice in the state of Ohio!

CAAs are highly-skilled medical professionals who work within the ACT to help plan and deliver anesthesia care. The ACT builds a patient-centric team that provides each patient with the safest model of anesthesia care. Within the ACT, CAAs deliver care under the supervision of the anesthesiologist. CAA responsibilities include:

• Perform a pre-anesthesia health history and physical examination
• Establish intravenous access
• Apply and interpret advanced monitoring techniques such as arterial lines, central venous lines, and pulmonary artery catheters
• Participate in all aspects of a patient’s anesthetic including, but not limited to, induction, maintenance, and emergence
• Manage a patient’s airway through bag mask ventilation, endotracheal intubation, or laryngeal mask airway
• Interpret and record the patient’s physiological status and pharmacological interventions
• Provide continuity of care into and during the post-operative period
• Perform and maintain regional anesthesia
• Respond to life-threatening situations, both in the operating room and throughout the hospital as part of the cardiopulmonary resuscitation team

CAAs complete a premedical education with advanced science courses prior to completion of a master’s degree from an accredited anesthesia training program.

Educational Program Requirements

An accredited CAA training program must be supported by an anesthesia department of a medical school that is accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education or its equivalent. The anesthesia department must have the educational resources internally through educational affiliates that would qualify it to meet the requirements of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), or its equivalent, for sponsorship of an anesthesiology residency program.

The CAA curriculum is based on an advanced graduate degree model and requires at least two full academic years. Programs are currently 24-28 months long. Graduates from all CAA training programs earn a masters degree upon completion of their program.

The National Commission for Certification of Anesthesiologist Assistants (NCCAA) was founded in July 1989 to develop and administer the certification process for CAAs. The NCCAA consists of commissioners representing the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and AAAA and includes both physician and CAA members.

Graduates or senior students in the last semester of an accredited CAA training program may apply for initial certification. CAAs are granted a time limited certification after passing their initial certification exam. Every two years documentation is submitted to the NCCAA proving completion of 50 hours of Continuing Medical Education (CME). Additionally, every 10 years the practitioner must pass the examination for Continued Demonstration of Qualifications (CDQ). The CDQ examination was first administered in 1998, making CAAs the first anesthesia profession to require passage of a written examination as part of the recertification process. Failure to meet any of the above CME or examination requirements results in withdrawal of the CAA’s certification.