Are you planning on taking the Part II EDAIC in 2023? This is what you should know

Joana Berger-Estilita^1,2, Markus Klimek³, on behalf of the Part II Examinations Subcommittee of the European Society of Anaesthesiology

As of 1 October 2020, the European Society of Anaesthesiology became the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care. The ESAIC has a proven record of intensive care medicine as a part of its activities, education, examination and research, and it is a significant speciality in our community. The addition of intensive care to the name of our Society was imperative as we worked together to end the COVID-19 pandemic and unite our global community. The decision to alter the Society’s name was met with full support from our leadership, council, and members.

This has set the need to cover further the topic of Intensive Care in Society’s current educational offer. As it is known to many of you, the EDAIC is a multilingual, end-of-training, two-part examination covering the relevant basic sciences and clinical subjects for a specialist anaesthesiologist. It is attributed to members of the ESAIC who pass both Parts of the diploma. Its primary goal is to assess the necessary knowledge on a uniformly high standard for anaesthesiologists throughout Europe^1-3.

During the last months, the Part II Examination Subcommittee has put much effort into developing new questions to fill this gap. These questions, which will be used in the upcoming exams, are mainly related to ICU topics, recent developments in the field (e.g. guidelines, patient safety, antibiotic management) and clinical images that represent information used in our monitoring systems. All topics and questions are chosen in line with the EDAIC preparation guide.

How to prepare for the EDAIC and the Syllabus to the postgraduate training program of the European Board of Anaesthesiology.

Therefore, and in light of the current updates, the committee would like to stress the following points:

1) Make sure your knowledge is sufficient before appearing for the exam. Many candidates need to consider how basic (e.g., anatomy, physics, chemistry) the questions in the primary science papers are. That understanding is examined and not only the reproduction of knowledge. It is also frequently underestimated how necessary it is to make sound decisions when discussing clinical dilemmas. Moreover, expect and prepare for basic and clinical questions related to Intensive Care Medicine.

2) Make sure you can maintain a fluent conversation in the language you choose for the exam. The time for the exam is limited, and a severe language barrier makes it impossible to cover all the topics allocated for this short time, severely compromising your chances of success. Therefore, a CEFRL (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) level of B2 or higher is highly recommended for a successful professional dialogue with the examiners. If you are unsure about your language level, we strongly recommend having a language test.

3) Make sure to show up if you have signed up for the exam! Indeed, we witness a high number of no-shows. Although the number of EDAIC Part II seats will increase in 2023, it remains limited. The registration process is based on a “first-come-first-serve” policy, and candidates working in Europe will be given a 2-week period to enrol before all other non-European candidates.  Please help your fellow candidates and us by showing up when you have signed up.

If you have any further pending questions, we will gladly address them at exam@esaic.org. We hope to have many fluent interviews with well-prepared candidates, so we look forward to the 2023 exams.

References: 

1. Goldik Z.. Rev Esp Anestesiol Reanim. Aug-Sep 2011;58:403.
2. Kusza K, Goldik Z.. Anestezjol Intens Ter. Jan-Mar 2011;43:6.
3. Alsina E, Gilsanz F. Rev Esp Anestesiol Reanim. Jun-Jul 2008;55:383

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