ExAC study guide
ExAC · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
ExAC is a multiple-choice certification-style examination in airway and critical-care practice. It is aimed at clinicians and advanced practitioners who manage airways, ventilation, hemodynamics, sedation, and peri-procedural risk in acute or procedural settings - for example anesthesia providers, emergency and critical care clinicians, respiratory therapists, and advanced practice nurses whose scope includes airway rescue and procedural sedation. The ExAC study guide has 6 sections and about 2,372 words.
01Airway Management: Prediction, Device Choice, and Confirmed Placement
This domain tests whether you can predict a difficult airway before sedation starts, choose a device matched to the intended depth of anesthesia, and confirm placement with objective data rather than impression. Items typically give a vignette and ask for the next best step among mask ventilation, a supraglottic airway, video laryngoscopy, or front-of-neck access.
410 words, about 2 min02Respiration and Ventilation: Separating Oxygenation from CO2 Clearance
Items in this domain test whether you can separate oxygenation from ventilation, interpret a capnogram in real time, and recognize respiratory depression before desaturation occurs. Expect vignettes about sedation in obesity, obstructive sleep apnea, or procedural apnea.
363 words, about 2 min03Cardiovascular System: Hemodynamic Monitoring and Instability
This domain tests hemodynamic interpretation, adherence to monitoring standards, and recognition and management of instability during sedation and anesthesia. Questions often present a blood pressure and heart rate trend and ask what to do next.
408 words, about 2 min04Neurological and Sedation Monitoring: The Continuum and Validated Scales
This domain tests the sedation continuum, validated depth scales, and recognition of oversedation, delayed recovery and awareness. Items often ask you to name the sedation level or identify the next action from a described response to stimulation.
400 words, about 2 min05Pharmacology and Reversal Agents: Onset, Offset, and Why Reversal Is Not Discharge
This domain tests drug selection by onset and offset, mechanism, weight-based dosing, and reversal, including why reversal does not end monitoring. Items commonly combine a dose history with an unexpected level of consciousness.
387 words, about 2 min06Patient Assessment and Risk Stratification: From ASA Class to Site of Care
This domain tests structured pre-procedure assessment, correct ASA physical status assignment, fasting rules, and matching the patient to the right site and depth of care. Items frequently ask you to classify a patient or decide whether a case is appropriate for a given setting.
404 words, about 2 min