Promoting research in paediatric anaesthesia

Abstract

In reference to the article by Drs. Linston and Jimenez on promoting research in paediatric anaesthesia,1 it is time to analyze the current status of research in children in our country and find timely solutions to encourage and increase academic work in this field of anaesthesiology. The population of Colombia at the present time is 47 million and, of those, 12 million (25%) are children under 15 years of age.2 Overall, there are close to 2430 anaesthetists in the country,3 which means that every anaesthetist must face paediatric patients with different degrees of complexity. The field of paediatric anaesthesia is demanding and requires specific skills and knowledge of paediatrics in order to achieve good outcomes in children. This poses a daily challenge in anaesthetic practice in Colombia and also presents a bleak perspective given that there is no academic subspecialty training in paediatric anaesthesia endorsed by the Ministry of Education in Colombia. Paediatric anaesthetists practicing in this country are a handful, no more than one hundred, and most of them have trained abroad or developed their experience through many years of working in paediatric anaesthesia. Against this background, there is then an urgent felt need to create formal training programmes in paediatric anaesthesia as a specialty. The degree should be awarded by a recognized higher education institution and endorsed by the Ministries of Education and Social Protection if this training is to be promoted among anaesthetists in Colombia. Paralleling the creation of this new academic training is the development