Obtaining a Primary Certification in Anesthesiology
Dr. Paul Barach presently serves as guest professor at the University of Oslo, and was associate professor at the University of Southern Florida’s College of Public Health and guest professor at the University of Stavanger in Norway. In addition to additional teaching positions, Dr. Paul Barach maintains board certifications in anesthesia and intensive care. Individuals seeking primary certification in anesthesiology need to take a two-part examination administered by the American Board of Anesthesiology. The first part of the exam takes place at a computer-based testing center utilizing the Pearson network and consists of 250 questions, of which 25 are experimental items that do not count toward the overall score. The exam lasts five hours and includes an optional 20-minute break. Topics covered during the first examination include anatomy, mathematics, pharmacology, and various clinical subspecialties. The second part of the examination concerns a physician’s ability to make decisions while managing a patient in a clinical setting. The examination may pertain to any area of anesthesiology. Two examiners oversee the test, which is divided into a pair of 35-minute sessions. Examiners score each test-taker individually and take into account correct answers as well as the physician’s ability to adapt to different scenarios.