UNC Department of Anesthesiology congratulates Professor of Anesthesiology, Immediate Past Chair, and current UNC Hospitals Chief Medical Officer David Zvara, MD, FASA, FAHA, for receiving the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA)’s “Spoon” award, reserved for those Oral Board Examiners who have completed their commitment to the board. As an Oral Board Examiner, Dr. Zvara examined and ensured that hundreds of candidates were meeting the standard of becoming a board-certified anesthesiologist. Recognized for his 26 years (1998-2024) of service, Dr. Zvara was honored as one of four retiring Oral Board Examiners at an October 2024 “Spoon” ceremony during the Week 6 of ABA APPLIED exams.

The ABA’s “Spoon” award originates from the era when the oral exams occurred in various hotel rooms across the country, prior to the establishment of a central exam center in Raleigh, NC. After experimenting with various objects to make a loud and consistent sound, the ABA adopted the use of a spoon as the most effective means of signaling the end of an oral examination by using it to knock on doors. As a result, the award presented to retiring ABA Oral Examiners pays homage to the spoon and the commitment that examiners contributed over the years.

ABA Board of Director Dr. Rob Isaak, who presented Dr. Zvara with his Spoon Award noted: “Dr. Zvara is the truest example of what it means to be a dedicated examiner and leader at the ABA. Not only did he provide decades of volunteering at the oral board exams, he also mentored countless new examiners over the years, consistently taught UNC residents on how to succeed on the exam, and provided extremely valuable sponsorship to several UNC faculty members so they could follow in his footsteps as an ABA Oral Examiner. Dr. Zvara epitomizes what it means to advance the highest standards of the practice of anesthesiology.”