The changing face of postgraduate anaesthesia teaching curriculum: Need of the hour!

Abstract

The speciality of anaesthesiology is evolving rapidly. The recent pandemic witnessed anaesthesiologists as the front-liners catering not only as critical care physicians but also as trainers and even administrators. Today, anaesthesiologists are required to have not just sound clinical knowledge but also proficiency in skills and techniques and aptitude for leadership. The recently introduced competency-based postgraduate training programme for anaesthesiology in India with its specific learning objectives envisages the creation of competent specialists with a broad range of skills who are competent not only to handle effectively medical problems but also acquire the basic teaching skills, communication skills and leadership qualities. The curriculum marks a paradigm shift from university-based, passive, teacher-centric to student-centric, active teaching-learning methods including problem-based and self-directed learning. The mindset, lack of adequately trained faculty, infrastructure, learning resources and time constraints form the major impediment in the successful implementation of the new curriculum.