The National Board of Echocardiography (NBE) has developed a certification in advanced critical care echocardiography (ACCE) in cooperation with CHEST and multiple other professional societies of critical care. The first certifying examination, written in collaboration with the National Board of Medical Examiners, will be on January 15, 2019. The session titled The New National Board of Echocardiography Certification in Advanced Critical Care Echocardiography at CHEST will provide information and review requirements for the certification and examination, said Paul H. Mayo, MD, FCCP.
This session, which starts at 7:30 am Monday in room 217C of the convention center, is designed as an interactive session from members of the CHEST ultrasonography working group who are involved with the development of the NBE certification. The session will review the evolution of ACCE as a distinct category of echocardiography, the background and requirements for the Certification, and some recommendations for preparation for what will be a challenging examination.
Critical care fellows from all critical care subspecialties have shown a keen interest in this certification for several reasons, Dr. Mayo added.
“Fellows often don’t have a lot of other life responsibilities beyond learning to become expert clinicians,” he said. “They are young, energetic learners who are naturally interested in a new component of their subspecialty. They also have a ground-level perception that knowing ACCE is going to allow them to be better doctors. They also feel that when they come out of fellowship, they are juniors in the attending hierarchy. One of the ways a junior person can put a flag in the ground and say, ‘I am someone who knows something’ is by getting a high-level certification in a skill that very few clinicians at senior level have. Also, if they develop ACCE skill in combination with general ultrasonography skill, they are going to be top in the job market for clinical academic positions. There’s no doubt about that.”
The second group of physicians interested in the NBE ACCE Certification are attending level intensivists who have a well-defined practice related requirement for competence and/or who decide that competence in ACCE will allow them to be a more effective clinician. Initial registration for the examination has indicated very strong interest in the Certification from both attendings and fellows, Dr. Mayo added.