Bill Klaproth (Host): This is an AAOMS On the Go Podcast. I'm Bill Klaproth. With me is Dr. Stan Smith. He is Assistant Professor at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. And he's Chief of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at James J. Peters VA Medical Center. And today we're going to be talking about the Dental Anesthesia Assistant Certification Examination or DAANCE. Dr. Smith, welcome.

Stanley Smith: Thank you very much. I'm happy to be here.

Host: Yeah, thank you for your time. Great to see you. So let me start here, Dr. Smith. What is the Dental Anesthesia Assistant Certification Examination or DAANCE? Can you explain that to us?

Stanley Smith: Yes, it's an examination that is designed to, utilizing a psychometrically strong exam, to validate the skills that an anesthesia assistant has. And in doing that, it also enhances the team between the anesthesia assistant and the oral and maxillofacial surgeon.

Host: Is it fair to say that anesthesia is one of the questions you most get asked about in practice that people potentially are worried about is anesthesia?

Stanley Smith: I wouldn't say that because I'm a surgeon. I treat a lot of problems and they're there for a particular surgical problem, so most of the questions are with that. But patients do have a fear or apprehension or like to see if they could do things more comfortably. And I can talk to them about the anesthesia and how we can do it in a safe, effective way.

Host: Got it. So, why is the exam important for OMS practices then?

Stanley Smith: Again, it helps foster the relationship between the OMS and his assistant. Also, it provides the validation, like I said, about our model. Our model is very safe. Stats have showed that clearly, unequivocally that we deliver anesthesia in a very safe way. Our detractors like to say things like, you know, we have high school grads treating you. They want CRNAs and RNs to come in. There's nothing wrong with them coming in and assisting us, but our anesthesia assistants are so much more than just high school grads. They're very skilled at oral and maxillofacial surgery procedures, and they are very skilled at assisting anesthesia.

Host: Okay. Well, thank you for that, Dr. Smith. So, I know this is very important as you just said. So how can OMSs help their assistants to prepare for the exam?

Stanley Smith: I'm glad you asked me that question. I walk around in the exhibit halls in the convention center, and I talk to a lot of anesthesia assistants, I talk to a lot of OMSs. And I usually find two ends of the spectrum. One end where they say, "Oh, it's a very tough exam. I don't know, I don't know if it's fair." And then, at the other end, I find them saying, "Oh, it was a piece of cake, I had no problems." And the ones that find it's a piece of cake, it's no problem, were mentored by their oral surgeons. They sat down, they spent a little time, not a tremendous amount of time, but they spent some time, maybe an hour a day, going over the questions, really fostering that. And then, they do very well on the examination.

The exam is no good if we can't make it a challenging exam. And we do our very best to make it a fair, challenging exam. Our committee, which I forgot to say, I'd like to thank the DAANCE Committee for their hard work, dedicated work. We spent hours upon hours making sure that we're giving out proper questions, relevant questions, not just some esoteric question, but something that really relates to what we do on a day-to-day basis.

Host: So when an OMS mentors and coaches their assistants and goes over all of this information, it is certainly, as you mentioned, seems to be a little easier for when it comes time to take the exam.

Stanley Smith: Dramatically different results. Like I said, from my own poll in terms of walking around and talking to people, that's what I find. And the stats in when they're calling in, it bears that out too.

Host: Everybody needs a mentor. I bet you're a great mentor, Dr. Smith.

Stanley Smith: I try.

Host: I can just tell. I can just tell you're a great mentor. So, does AAOMS offer continuing education courses for anesthesia assistants, if somebody wants to do this?

Stanley Smith: Yeah, AAOMS offers several courses. And they have one course called the Anesthesia Assistants Review Course, AARC. We call it the AARC. It concentrates on structured training that has the latest innovations and methods and techniques in anesthesia and monitoring and emergencies that may come up. It's really a very hardcore course, but it's given face-to-face live. But it's also given online so you could take it at your own leisure. You know, do an hour here, do an hour there. It's very valuable.

Another course that AAOMS has is Advanced Protocols for Medical Emergencies, we call it APME. And they go over just the emergency procedures, and that's a very good course.

But my favorite course, personally my favorite course, is the Anesthesia Assistants Skills Lab. It's like an ACLS course for the anesthesia assistants. They go through different stations, learning intubation, venipuncture, and they go through codes. Just like mega codes when you go through the ACLS, the anesthesia assistants actually run a code during the course, and it's very exciting, and it's just fun to do with it. We have a lot of fun doing those courses, and they learn a lot. They have hands-on experience. So if an emergency comes up, or anything comes up, or they need to help out, they've already touched the materials, the equipment. They have a much better idea about how to assist in that.

Host: So your favorite then, if you had to vote, Anesthesia Assistants Skills Lab, or the AASL, that's your favorite?

Stanley Smith: Right.

Host: You… so you feel that's most beneficial, that one too, as well?

Stanley Smith: Well, it's my most favorite, but I think the AARC and the APME also. If you take all three of those courses, you're going to be in very good shape.

Host: You're in good shape then? Okay.

Stanley Smith: You do that, and then you do the mentoring with oral surgeon, and you're going to say, "What's all this about this being such a hard exam?" It's going to be a breeze for you.

Host: You're going to be golden at that point.

Stanley Smith: Yes.

Host: I like it. So, I'm sure people have questions like, "Where is the exam given, and what should participants expect on exam day?" What would you say?

Stanley Smith: Well, the exam is given multiple times during the course of the year. You can contact AAOMS, or we contract with a company called PSI and they administer the exam. They can tell you where the sites are available and the dates so you can go ahead and take the test that way. If you're interested in learning more, you can visit psiexams.com or you can call PSI at 833-333-4755. And you can also go online at AAOMS.org/DAANCE and get more information there. But I'll give you one more contact information. You can contact me personally on my email address, which is stanley, S-T-A-N-L-E-Y, dot smith, S-M-I-T-H, at va.gov, G-O-V. And I'd be happy to talk to you and steer you in the right direction if you have any questions, what have you.

Host: Now that's an invitation right there.

Stanley Smith: Oh, it is.

Host: I like it. That's very nice of you. See, I said you're probably a great mentor, and look at that, you're giving out your email address, stanley.smith@va.gov. Is that right?

Stanley Smith: That's me.

Host: Wow, I love it. Look at that. Dr. Smith, you're amazing. Also, as Dr. Smith said, you could call 833-333-4755 as well for information. Okay, so you're mentoring us now, Dr. Smith, and I thank you for that. Can you share some helpful tips for assistants preparing to take the DAANCE?

Stanley Smith: Yes. First, everything in the exam is going to be in the study guide. Every single one. We spend hours, our committee spends hours, making sure that every single question on that exam is referenced in the study guide. Also, just bear in mind, we're not asking esoteric questions about the things that you're not going to come into contact on a normal basis. It's practical stuff, things we handle every single day. Things like laryngospasms and the drugs we use. And it's not going to be something that is not going to be on a common basis. So just focus in on that. If you say, "What does that got to do with administering? I’ve never seen that. I never had to deal with that in my course of work during a normal day." It's probably not going to be on the exam. So, don't worry about that.

Host: Okay. So number one, make sure you pay attention to the study guide. And then, don't worry about, they're not going to ask you any esoteric type questions.

Stanley Smith: Right. It's practical questions that you deal with on a day-to-day basis.

Host: Got it. Well, that's wonderful.

Stanley Smith: And I have to tell you that on our committee, we have a number of oral and maxillofacial surgeons, but we have a number of assistants, and we always rely upon them to keep us on track and make sure asking questions that are relevant, that are fair. And it's surprising, sometimes we think, "Well, this may be a little too much," and they say, "No, no, no, they need to know that." So, we have some good assistants on there. They’re DAANCE-certified assistants. And I'm really appreciative to have them on the committee with me.

Host: Yeah. So, well, this has been very informative for anyone approaching the Dental Anesthesia Assistant Certification Examination or DAANCE. Any final thoughts, Dr. Smith, that you want to add for someone listening to this who is thinking of this or is about to take the exam?

Stanley Smith: I think it's a good thing for anesthesia assistants to do, and I think the oral and maxillofacial surgeons should encourage their assistants to do that.

Actually, you need to have a certified assistant. It's going to become a requirement in terms of your OAE, your Office Anesthesia Evaluation. So, it's a good thing to do. It'll strengthen, it'll give you peace of mind, it'll give your assistants peace of mind in terms of being prepared for everything that might happen.

Host: Yeah. Well, that makes sense. Well, you are very accomplished, Dr. Smith. And I want to thank you for your effort and work in this area for the specialty and giving back like you do.

Stanley Smith: Okay. My pleasure. It's a lot of fun working with the assistants. It's a lot of fun dealing with the oral surgeons and getting the assistants certified. It's work, but it's good fun.

Host: Yeah, absolutely. And thanks for your time today on the podcast. We appreciate it.

Stanley Smith: No problem. My pleasure.

Host: Yeah. And once again, that is Dr. Stan Smith. And for more information, visit AAOMS.org/DAANCE. That's D-A-A-N-C-E, AAOMS.org/DAANCE. And if you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social media and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss an episode. Thanks for listening.