The European diploma in anaesthesiology and intensive care.

An attempt has been made to outline the reasons for introducing this examination and the mechanics of running it. The examination is an international end-of-training examination and it is believed that it can play an important role in those countries where a national diploma does not exist but where anaesthesiologists responsible for training believe a postgraduate examination will contribute to training programmes. In addition, it has a role in easing the movement of anaesthesiologists between various European countries and helping to attain a uniformly high standard of training within the specialty.