Establishment of Anesthesia Certification and the ABA

Abstract

The NY Society of Anesthetists (NYSA) established a Committee on Fellowships in 1931, incorporating as the “American Board of Anesthesiology” (ABA) in 1935. The ABA certified only local practitioners, excluding recognition by the nationally based American Medical Association (AMA). In 1936, the NYSA renamed itself the American Society of Anesthetists (ASA). Waters and Wood presented the need for formal recognition of credentialing by the ASA to the American Board of Surgery (ABS). The ABS instructed the ASA to form an examining board as a sub-board of the ABS. In 1938, the Advisory (later American) Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) approved the ABA as a sub-board of the ABS. In 1939 the ABA awarded its first certificate. In 1941, the ABMS approved the ABA as a primary board with standing equal to that of other boards.