Training in pediatric anesthesia for registrars--UK National survey

The aim of this National survey was to review the training provided in pediatric anesthesia to all registrars across all deaneries in the United Kingdom. The Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCA) recognizes training in pediatric anesthesia as an important training module for specialist registrars in years 1 and 2 of their training and recommends that this training should be delivered in 1-3-month blocks.

This was a simple online survey (http://www.esurveyspro.com). We aimed to contact all registrars via the Association of Paediatric Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland and the RCA.

Our survey indicated that there is wide variation in the duration of modular training across all deaneries. Three hundred and sixty-two registrars (65.5%) thought that the implementation of the European working time directives (EWTD) would hamper training in this specialty. One hundred and sixty-seven trainees (42.7%) spent more than 75% of their time doing pediatric anesthesia during their training module. Only 34 trainees (6.4%) had the opportunity to anesthetize children every week in District General Hospitals (DGHs), while 280 trainees (53.03%) said they did not have regular pediatric lists in DGHs.

It will be necessary to increase the duration of modular training with the implementation of EWTD. Modular training in pediatric anesthesia should be provided as a dedicated and protected module. Training opportunities in DGHs are limited. There is also a need for new guidelines, as current guidelines regarding pediatric anesthesia training will be outdated with the implementation of EWTD.