Basic Perioperative Transesophageal Echocardiography

Exam at a glance

Exam fee

The 2026 registration fee is $1,095 USD with no member/non-member split published

Questions on exam

The exam has 150 multiple-choice items in five 30-question blocks, with 42 minutes per block

Duration

3 hours 30 minutes of item time, and a maximum appointment length of 4 hours 20 minutes including NDA, tutorial, pooled breaks, and survey

Passing score

Passing is criterion-referenced against a standard established by NBE rather than by candidate rank; score reports indicate the minimum required score

Validity

The first year is free, then maintenance costs $85 annually and requires completion of maintenance requirements by December 31 each year

Published exam facts, from the official outline.

What’s on the PTE exam

1. Patient Safety Considerations
2. Echocardiographic Imaging: Acquisition and Optimization
3. Normal Cardiac Anatomy and TEE Imaging Plane Correlation
4. Global Ventricular Function
5. Regional Ventricular Systolic Function and Recognition of Pathology
6. Basic Recognition of Cardiac Valve Abnormalities
7. Identification of Echocardiographic Findings in Non-Cardiac Surgery
8. Basic Perioperative Hemodynamic Assessment
9. Basic Recognition of Congenital Heart Disease in the Adult
10. Surface Ultrasound for Vascular Access

Official exam blueprint domains — your practice bank mirrors this outline.