UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION IN ANESTHESIA - THE INFLUENCE OF ROLE MODELS ON SKILLS LEARNT AND CAREER CHOICE

Undergraduate teaching of anaesthesia occurs in about two-thirds of Au stralian departments of anaesthesia: however, student contact hours ar e limited compared with those of other disciplines. Seventy-five direc tors of anaesthesia were surveyed by written questionnaire concerning the time devoted in their department to undergraduate study and teachi ng of practice/skills to undergraduate students (40 responded). One hu ndred and sixty final year students were surveyed regarding career cho ice, anaesthesia skills taught them and role models identified during their training (101 responded). Most final year students had been taug ht and had learnt the basic skills of life support such as bag and mas k ventilation, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and intravenous cannulati on. However, fewer were taught more specialized skills such as inducti on of anaesthesia and spinal anaesthesia. Positive role models in teac hing anaesthetists wee identified by 66% of students, more commonly if they were taught advanced skills, and were significantly associated w ith satisfaction with theoretical and practical training. For those st udents intending a career in anaesthesia (18%), 94% identified a posit ive role model compared to 65% who did not (P=0.03).