The In Vivo Skills Laboratory in Anesthesiology Residency Training

• Published in: The journal of education in perioperative medicine 2014-07, Vol.16 (9), p.E075-E075
• Main Authors: Monreal, Gretel, Moran, Kenneth R, Gerhardt, Mark A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2333-0406; 2333-0406
• DOI: 10.46374/volxvi-issue9-monreal

Anesthesiologists routinely perform high-risk procedures that are associated with permanent disability or death. Critical perioperative events require that the anesthesiologist perform procedures that are only used intermittently. Teaching these procedures is complicated by their infrequency and pressure to maximize operating room efficiency; therefore we created an annual 1-day anesthesiology skills lab as an innovative method of residency education. Anesthetized pigs served as the educational platform for first-year anesthesiology residents to gain hands-on experience performing regional, thoracic, vascular, and difficult airway techniques. A 20-question test was administered pre- and post-lab to assess the effectiveness of our educational intervention. Participants evaluated the quality of the educational experience (1-poor to 5-excellent). First-year anesthesiology residents participated (n=70, 2008-2012). Residents' pre-test scores measured 50.3±2.6% (range 20-80). Following lab participation, their test scores signi ficantly improved to a mean of 84.2±1.9% (range 45-100, p