Dear Friends and Colleagues

We would like to announce that starting the next ECTAS conference to be held in Cairo, in February 2010, an accreditation exam in adult transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) will be held. After a long preparation period and after a rehearsal exam was held during the 5th ECTAS Conference, the European Association of Cardiothoracic Anesthesiologists (EACTA) has approved to cooperate with the Egyptian Cardiothoracic Anesthesia Society (ECTAS) to organize and supervise an annual exam for accreditation in TEE. The first EACTA/ECTAS TEE exam will be held on the last day of the upcoming ECTAS Conference in 2010, to be repeated annually during the ECTAS Annual Conference. This exam will be the first of its kind to be held in Egypt or the Middle East.

The accreditation process will include the written examination plus an evaluation of a log-book of TEE examinations performed by the candidate under the supervision of a practicing echocardiographer, preferably holding a certification or an accreditation in echocardiography.

Accreditation is meant to be a way of recognition of the knowledge and skills of the candidates, as well as a guarantee to a high-standard care provided to patients. That’s why cardiac anesthesiologists, cardiologists, and physicians who are planning to perform TEE, are strongly encouraged to undertake such process of accreditation.