Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T05:32:16.530Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Determinants of learning to perform spinal anaesthesia: a pilot study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 2008

Z. Kulcsar ,
A. Aboulafia ,
T. Hall  and
G. D. Shorten
Z. Kulcsar*
Affiliation:
Cork University Hospital, Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Cork, Galway, Ireland
A. Aboulafia
Affiliation:
University of Limerick, Interaction Design Centre, Limerick, Galway, Ireland
T. Hall
Affiliation:
National University of Ireland, School of Education, Galway, Ireland
G. D. Shorten
Affiliation:
Cork University Hospital, Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Cork, Galway, Ireland
*
Correspondence to: Zsuzsanna Kulcsar, Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Cork University Hospital, Wilton, Cork, Ireland. E-mail: [email protected]; Tel: +353 87 0524270; Fax: +353 21 4546434
Get access

Summary

Background and objective

This study examined attitudes and views held by stakeholders regarding their experience of training in spinal anaesthesia. The aim was to identify key factors related to learning and teaching processes which were perceived to influence the acquisition of competence in spinal anaesthesia.

Methods

The study was carried out at a busy acute tertiary referral teaching hospital over a period of 1 yr. It applied a qualitative research approach in three phases, namely (i) completion of preliminary questionnaires, (ii) completion of focused questionnaires and (iii) focus group discussions.

Results

Five factors were perceived to be critical ‘determinants of learning’: (i) the existence of a formal, structured training programme; (ii) time constraints/theatre efficiency; (iii) trainer–trainee interaction; (iv) patient safety/trainee/trainer stressors; and (v) visualization of the anatomy and procedure.

Conclusion

The study highlighted the need for a formal and structured training programme in spinal anaesthesia, through which many of the undesirable and discouraging factors (such as stress, adverse trainer–trainee interaction and time constraints) identified in the study could be minimized. Further studies are needed to validate the results in other hospital settings, as well as to define the relative importance of each of the proposed determinants and their interrelationships.

Keywords

EDUCATION AND TRAININGSPINAL ANAESTHESIA
Type
Original Article
Information
European Journal of Anaesthesiology , Volume 25 , Issue 12 , December 2008 , pp. 1026 - 1031
Copyright
Copyright © European Society of Anaesthesiology 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Brown, K. Teaching anaesthesia in the operating theatre. Update Anaesth 2005; 6 (19): 1.Google Scholar
2.Kopacz, DJ, Neal, JM, Pollock, JE. The regional anesthesia “learning curve”. What is the minimum number of epidural and spinal blocks to reach consistency? Reg Anesth 1996; 21 (3): 182–190.Google ScholarPubMed
3.Reznick, RK, MacRae, H. Teaching surgical skills – changes in the wind. N Engl J Med 2006; 355 (25): 2664–2669.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4.Aggarwal, R, Darzi, A. Technical-skills training in the 21st century. N Engl J Med 2006; 355 (25): 2695–2696.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5. Doyle D.J. Simulation in medical education: focus on anaesthesiology. Medical Education Online, 2005; www.med-ed-online.org/f0000053.htmGoogle Scholar
6.Bimbach, D, Santos, A, Bourlier, R et al. The effectiveness of video technology as an adjunct to teach and evaluate epidural anaesthesia performance skills. Anesthesiology 2002; 96 (1): 5–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7.Lim, MW, Burt, G, Rutter, SV. Use of three-dimensional animation for regional anaesthesia teaching: application to interscalene brachial plexus blockade. Br J Anaesth 2005; 94 (3): 372–377.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8.Hoffman, H, Vu, D. Virtual reality: teaching tool of the twenty-first century? Acad Med 1997; 72 (12): 1076–1081.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9.Creswell, JW. Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Traditions. US: Sage Publication, 1998.Google Scholar
10.Pope, C, Mays, N. Qualitative research: reaching the parts other methods cannot reach. An introduction to qualitative methods in health and health services research. BMJ 1995; 311: 42–45.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11.Averbach, CF, Silverstein, LB. Qualitative Data: An Introduction to Coding and Analysis. New York: New York University Press, 2003.Google Scholar
12.Jones, R. Why do qualitative research? BMJ 1995; 311: 2.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13.Smith, AF, Pope, C, Goodwin, D, Mort, M. What defines expertise in regional anaesthesia? An observational analysis of practice. Br J Anaesth 2006; 97 (3): 401–407.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed