Re-Boarded

When I initially became a Diplomate of the American Board of Anesthesiology back in 1996, I was 'Certified Indefinitely,' meaning that I did not need to repeat the process for certification in anesthesiology ever again.

In 2000, the status of indefinite certification was eliminated, and all anesthesiologists have had to re-test for board certification every 10 years.

For many reasons, I decided to take the re-certification exam in December. It was less stressful than the original process: a day-long exam followed a year later with an oral exam in front of some of the brightest minds in the field. I recall one of my stem questions was on an obstetrical patient, and the other was on an elderly patient with laryngeal cancer - typical patients for a pediatric anesthesiologist. Instead the re-certification exam was computer-based and took less than four hours.

Thanks be to God, I passed. While I am still certified indefinitely, I now can demonstrate that 15 years after finishing my training I still have enough knowledge of the basics to continue in my profession.

Of course, I prefer to limit my patients to those a lot lighter, younger, and healthier than me.