[Anesthesia Technical Assistants - a New Job Description in Health Care]

For many colleagues, the job of anesthesia technical assistant (ATA) is a new - previously unknown - job description in the healthcare sector. The anesthesia departments currently employ qualified nurses (3 years of training) or specialist nurses (5 years of training). However, there has been a known shortage of skilled workers in the care industry for many years. Vacancies are often difficult or impossible to fill. The result is a higher service burden for existing employees. It can also happen that operating theaters have to be closed because no staff is available - this has not only economic effects on the respective provider, but also in particular on patient care.The independent basic training of the technical assistant for anesthesia was not only created to counteract the shortage of skilled workers. At the same time, this new field of work was supposed to be attractive and to train specialists - directly. In the future, the anesthesia departments will be supported by anesthesia technical assistants. This article explains the training structure and areas of responsibility.