The ethics of anaesthesia learning curves

While the concept of the 'learning curve' is widely accepted and understood in medical education, the ethical appreciation of what this involves for patients has been under-represented in medical journals. Advances in medical technology have produced an armoury of diagnostic and therapeutic invasive procedures, which must be perfected by anaesthetists for the benefit of patients. Anaesthetic training involves practice using patients, which potentially exposes patients to excess procedural risk. However, such risk can be minimised through close supervision of trainees and the development of non-patient training aids. Most importantly, for training to be ethical, it must involve the patient: it is for patients to decide whether they consent to taking part in training and their consent should always be sought where possible.