Successful Development and Implementation of Pediatric Sedation-Analgesia Curriculum for Residents

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Medicine
• Medical Education
• Anesthesiology

Background:

• Pediatric residency graduates increasingly manage procedural sedations.
• Current training often limits resident exposure outside the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the evolution of pediatric sedation and analgesia (PSA) services.
• To evaluate resident experience and outcomes in PSA over six years (2010-2015).

Main Methods:

• Analysis of an administrative database for the PSA team.
• Review of resident evaluations from respective residency programs.
• Descriptive statistical analysis of procedural and complication data.

Main Results:

• 100 residents performed 1,742 sedations (average 17 per resident).
• Lumbar puncture and MRI were the most common procedures requiring sedation.
• Complication rates were similar between resident-performed (28.6%) and attending-only sedations (36.2%).

Conclusions:

• Resident participation in PSA is a positive educational experience, rated highly by residents.
• Involving residents in procedural sedations does not increase complication rates.
• The program demonstrates a safe and effective model for resident training in pediatric procedural sedation.