Current opinion in anaesthesiology
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Anesthesiologists work in a complex environment that is intolerant of errors. Cognitive errors, or errors in thought processes, are mistakes that a clinician makes despite 'knowing better'. Several new studies provide a better understanding of how to manage risk while making better decisions. ⋯ Effective decision-making and risk management reduce the risk of adverse events in the operating room. This article proposes several new decision-making and risk assessment tools for use in the operating room.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Dec 2012
ReviewMobile computing in medical education: opportunities and challenges.
There is an increasing importance of incorporating mobile computing into the academic medical environment. A growing majority of physicians, residents and medical students currently use mobile devices for education, access to clinical information and to facilitate bedside care. Therefore, it is important to assess the current opportunities and challenges in the use of mobile computing devices in the academic medical environment. ⋯ Understanding the opportunities and challenges of using mobile computing devices in the academic medical environment can help determine the feasibility and benefits of their use for individuals and institutions.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Dec 2012
ReviewRobotic anesthesia: not the realm of science fiction any more.
Robots are present in surgery, to a much lesser extent in the field of anesthesia. The purpose of this review is to show the latest and most important findings in robotic anesthesia. Moreover, this review argues the importance and utility of robots in anesthesia. ⋯ Robots can improve performance in anesthesia and healthcare. Closed-loop systems are the basis for pharmacological robots. Safe anesthetic care might be delivered through teleanesthesia whenever qualified personnel are not available or need support. Mechanical robots are being developed for anesthesia care.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Dec 2012
ReviewBlended learning in anesthesia education: current state and future model.
Educators in anesthesia residency programs across the country are facing a number of challenges as they attempt to integrate blended learning techniques in their curriculum. Compared with the rest of higher education, which has made advances to varying degrees in the adoption of online learning anesthesiology education has been sporadic in the active integration of blended learning. The purpose of this review is to discuss the challenges in anesthesiology education and relevance of the Universal Design for Learning framework in addressing them. ⋯ This review examines recent literature pertaining to this field, both in the realm of higher education in general and medical education in particular, and proposes the application of a comprehensive learning model that is new to anesthesiology education and relevant to its goals of promoting self-directed learning.
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Curr Opin Anaesthesiol · Dec 2012
ReviewRecovery after orthopedic surgery: techniques to increase duration of pain control.
Ambulatory surgery continues to expand in scope and volume. Part of this development is supported by improvements in anesthesia care, especially in the realm of postoperative analgesia, which is often outlasted by the pain. The purpose of this review is to outline methods of increasing the duration of postoperative pain control. ⋯ The ideas and findings described in this review are taken from the most recent literature and show promise of aiding in the continued improvement of patient care through their dissemination and refinement by further research. Of the modalities reviewed in current use, the continuous perineural catheter combined with systemic multimodal analgesics represents the best combination of safety and efficacy to provide prolonged postoperative analgesia.