The Certified Anesthesiologist Assistant (CAA) is a skilled person (practitioner) qualified by advanced academic and clinical education to provide anesthetic care under the direction of a qualified physician anesthesiologist. The physician anesthesiologist who is responsible for the CAA is available to prescribe and direct particular therapeutic interventions in the operating room, all non-operating room anesthetizing locations, and the intensive care setting. By virtue of the basic science education and clinical practice experience, the CAA is skilled in the use of contemporary state-of-the-art patient monitoring techniques in anesthesia care environments. The CAA performs complementary and supplementary anesthetic care and monitoring tasks that allow the directing physician anesthesiologist to use his or her own skills more efficiently and effectively. The CAA is prepared to gather patient data, assist in the evaluation of patients’ physical and mental status, record the anesthetic timeline for the surgical procedures planned, and help the directing physician anesthesiologist administer the therapeutic plan that has been formulated for the anesthetic care of the patient. The tasks performed by CAAs reflect regional variations in anesthesia practice and state regulatory factors.
Job Description Anesthesiologist Assistants work under the direction of an anesthesiologist to design and implement anesthesia care plans. Their responsibilities include: taking patient histories, performing physical exams, and administering diagnostic tests; operating anesthesia equipment, maintaining anesthesia levels, and adjusting or sustaining anesthesia levels as needed; monitoring patients before, during, and after anesthesia, and establishing multi-parameter monitoring; assisting with life-saving measures such as CPR and airway management; making patient rounds and monitoring their conditions as they recover; assisting in research projects; instructing others in the principles and practices of anesthesia; and preparing case summaries and performing administrative duties
Certified anesthesiologist assistants work as members of the anesthesia care team in any locale where they may be appropriately directed by legally responsible physician anesthesiologists. The CAAs often work within organizations that also employ nurse anesthetists, and their responsibilities are identical. Experience to date has been that CAAs are most commonly employed in larger facilities that perform procedures such as cardiac surgery, neurosurgery, transplant surgery, and trauma care, given the training in extensive patient monitoring devices and complex patients and procedures emphasized in AA educational programs. However, CAAs are used in hospitals of all sizes and assist physician anesthesiologists in a variety of settings and for a wide range of procedures.
Education Programs Length. These master’s level programs are 24 to 29 months. Prerequisites. The programs require an undergraduate premedical background (premedical courses in biology, chemistry, physics, and math) and a baccalaureate degree. Although any baccalaureate major is acceptable (if premedical requirements are met), majors typically are biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, computer science, or one of the allied health professions, such as respiratory therapy, medical technology, or nursing.
Certification/Registration Organization(s) The National Commission for Certification of Anesthesiologist Assistants (NCCAA), which was founded in 1989, provides the certification process for AAs in the United States. The Commission includes physician anesthesiologists and anesthesiologist assistants. The certification process for AAs includes an initial certifying examination, ongoing registration of continuing medical education, and interval examinations for continued demonstration of qualifications. National Commission for Certification of Anesthesiologist Assistants (NCCAA) https://www.nccaatest.org/
Careers/Curriculum Joining an Anesthesia Care Team as a Certified Anesthesiologist Assistant (CAA) is a rewarding career. CAAs medically manage patient conditions under anesthesia, expand access and quality of anesthesia care to rural and under-served areas, and advocate for patient safety. Many AA students receive multiple job offers before they even graduate. The starting salary for CAAs is about $150,000 annually, with generous sign-on bonuses, an average of five weeks of vacation each year, pension and profit-sharing, and other excellent benefits. The combination of educational coursework and clinical practice trains CAAs extensively in the delivery and maintenance of quality anesthesia care as well as advanced patient monitoring techniques. The American Academy of Anesthesiologist Assistants (AAAA®) is the national organization dedicated to the ethical advancement of the CAA profession and to excellence in patient care through education, advocacy, and promotion of the Anesthesia Care Team. American Academy of Anesthesiologist Assistants (AAAA) www.anesthetist.org Curriculum The Association of Anesthesiologist Assistant Education Programs (AAAEP) facilitates communication among its communities of interest, promotes faculty development, and advocates for AA education. Association of Anesthesiologist Assistant Education Programs (AAAEP) http://www.aaaep.org/
The National Commission for Certification of Anesthesiologist Assistants (NCCAA), which was founded in 1989, provides the certification process for AAs in the United States. The Commission includes physician anesthesiologists and anesthesiologist assistants. The certification process for AAs includes an initial certifying examination, ongoing registration of continuing medical education, and interval examinations for continued demonstration of qualifications. National Commission for Certification of Anesthesiologist Assistants (NCCAA) https://www.nccaatest.org/
