[Practical aspects of training in spinal anaesthesia (author's transl)]

The current "renaissance" in regional anaesthesia finds many institutions poorly prepared. Since the various methods of conduction anaesthesia can not adequately be acquired from journals or lectures alone, the main responsibility for the dissemination of the necessary technical skills rests with the training programs. The standard of care available to our patients depends upon the quality of the residency training and the practically oriented postgraduate courses, which we are able to provide. Unfortunately, teaching methodology, especially in the area of conduction anaesthesia, has sofar not attracted much attention. Initial sporadic investigations [1, 2, 3] have shown, that even in centers with a long tradition of training residents in spinal anaesthesia the results largely fall short of reasonable expectations. Systematic work in this area appears urgently needed. Teaching methods used within the Department of Anaesthesiology at the University of Alabama are briefly outlined.