Innovative technologies in regional anaesthesia education: a scoping review

Regional anaesthesia has experienced a global resurgence over recent decades alongside increasing demand for anaesthetists to be competent in its delivery. This was reflected in a recent UK anaesthetic curriculum update, which mandates a wide range of specific regional anaesthesia competencies. Despite this, regional anaesthesia education remains ad hoc and inconsistent. Innovative technologies (artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and augmented reality) are increasingly integrated within medical education, and have the potential to transform training practices. This scoping review aimed to explore the ways in which innovative technologies are currently used in regional anaesthesia, and to consider their role in education and training.

This review was conducted using established frameworks for scoping reviews, and included searches of three major databases, alongside targeted citation searching. Data were analysed numerically, followed by reflexive thematic analysis.

In total, 855 citations were identified. After removal of duplicates and abstract eligibility screening, 106 full-text articles were assessed and 38 met the criteria for inclusion. The majority of studies were published in the last 2 yr and a lack of high-quality evidence, particularly focussing on educational outcomes, was noted. A wide range of applications for innovative technologies in regional anaesthesia education were described including roles in anatomy education, accelerated skill acquisition, simulation-based medical education, and assessment.

Innovative technologies were associated with benefits such as provision of reliable learning experiences, reduced supervisory requirements, and enhanced educational outcomes. Future educators should consider their utility and provide structured evaluation. Significant heterogeneity was noted in the literature base and further research is recommended, specifically studying primary educational outcomes.