All about EDAIC

It is held annually in September or early October simultaneously in several centres. The venues sell out like hot cake on a first-come, first-serve basis. You need to keep a keen eye on the opening of online bookings if you wish to book the centre of your choice. *TIP* Sign in to the ESA website for the earliest ping on examination updates right in your inbox.

Besides English, the examination is conducted in a multitude of other languages as well. German, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Polish, Hungarian, Portuguese, Turkish, and Romanian are other languages provided.

It is curated in form of MCQs in two parts. The first paper covers basic sciences, and the second half is dedicated to clinical anaesthesia and intensive care medicine.

Basic Science (60 MCQ’s), includes Physiology (20 MCQ’s), Pharmacology (20 MCQ’s) and Physics, Clinical Measurement, Statistics (20 MCQ’s).

Clinical Practice (60 MCQ’s), including General anaesthesia, Special anaesthetic techniques, Local/regional anaesthesia, Intensive care, Internal medicine and Emergency medicine.
For sample paper please visit here

Part I exam and ITA are based on positive marks for every correct entry and do not include negative marking. Each question has 5 options and each one needs to be marked true or false. Each correct entry (T/F) carries a positive mark, while incorrect entries are marked as null/zero. Candidates attempting the examination must attempt all the questions maximising their chances of success.

1. Candidates need to clear the Part I examination before they can sit in for the second part.

1. + A certification in anaesthesia from their native country.

2. OR Applicants in the final year of Anaesthesia training in the European member states of the World Health Organisation.

2. There are some exceptions to this :

1. Candidates from Pakistan should hold FCPS or equivalent before sitting for EDAIC. Part I is not exempted for FCPS holders.

2. FRCA/FCAI/FCARCSI are exempted from EDAIC I.

Part II examinations are held annually between February and December each year, in several centres. The venues are served on the first-come, first-serve basis and stay open for a week for native candidates before opening up for the rest of candidates. The popular centres sell out fast.

Candidates may be examined in English, French, German, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish or Scandinavian languages (provided there is sufficient demand).

Part II is carried in form of oral viva spanned across 4 sessions, interrupted for a lunch break. The First 2 cover basic sciences and the next 2 cover clinical anaesthesia and intensive care (scope is the same as in part-1). The viva also includes ECG and Radiology spots (XRAY, MRI, CT scan).

Students are given 10 minutes time before each viva and presented with the starting question of the examiner. Sheets of paper and pencil are provided to formulate their strategy, chart down their answers focusing on suitable scoring points, and draw diagrams/charts/equations.

Students are interviewed by a set of two examiners at multiple stations at the same time. The interaction is very student-friendly and encouraging.

The examination of each candidate is held in a single day during which there are four separate 25-minute oral examinations (vivas). In each of these, the candidate is examined by a pair of examiners (each of different nationality), thereby meeting eight examiners in all. As far as possible, candidates are not examined by examiners to whom they are known.

The results are announced at the end of the day itself, celebrated with a toast of champagne by examiners and examinees, providing for an amicable interaction ground. The final confirmation with marks is mailed within a period of 2 weeks.