An interactive e-learning programme aimed at anaesthesia providers in low-income countries has been launched through eIntegrity.
Essential Anaesthesia has been developed in the UK by the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) and the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA).
The clinical content, which has been written by practising clinicians, draws on the RCoA’s award-winning e-Learning Anaesthesia (e-LA) programme. Essential Anaesthesia is available online at a low cost – making it accessible and affordable to practitioners in some of the poorest parts of the world.
How the programme works
The programme is arranged into two parts to suit practitioners working in different roles and with varying levels of experience and qualifications.
Advanced level:
- Around 150 online learning sessions covering areas of anaesthesia, such as:
- paediatrics
- obstetrics
- critical care
- anaesthesia in patients with specific conditions (such as diabetes)
- topics related to anaesthesia (such as chest X-rays and ECGs)
- pain management
- anaesthesia in humanitarian situations and challenging environments
These sessions are aimed at medically qualified anaesthetists and anaesthesiologists, as well as nurses and clinical officers who are at an advanced stage of training or gaining further experience. The advanced sessions are designed for self-paced study.
Basic level:
- Around 100 sessions on basic anaesthesia from the Safer Anaesthesia From Education (e-SAFE) programme developed by the RCoA and the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland.
The content is suitable for healthcare professionals at an early stage of their training. It is particularly useful for teaching purposes or for revision.
Widening access to high-quality resources
Jo James, Project Lead for the programme, said: “We are delighted to be launching this programme with the WFSA. Essential Anaesthesia is an interactive learning resource which meets the highest quality standards. The learning sessions have been carefully selected by anaesthetists from across the world for practitioners working in many different environments. This work is part of the RCoA’s wider strategy of sharing best practice and improving educational standards globally.”
Julian Gore-Booth, Chief Executive Officer of the WFSA, said: “This programme will play a vital role in supporting the continuing training and development of clinicians and anaesthesiologists, especially those in less well-resourced environments. Ultimately this means improved care and better outcomes for the surgical patient.”
For details, please email the RCoA’s Global Partnerships team: global@rcoa.ac.uk
