In their logbooks, most trainees collect information on the quantity of super-vision received by documenting the grade of senior anaesthetist with them in the operating theatre. This system records the number of cases conducted in the presence of another anaesthetist but does little to reflect the quality of supervision, or who had primary clinical responsibility for the patient. Airline pilots maintain logbooks in much the same way as anaesthetists. Perhaps there is something we can learn from this industry. Pilots routinely record their command status for the flight. The terms used are as follows: P1 - pilot in command of the aircraft. P2 - co-pilot (a more senior or equivalent pilot is in command of the aircraft). P/UT - pilot under training (where the individual is either undergoing training to achieve the basic pilot's licence or working towards a more advanced rating). P1/S - pilot under supervision (the pilot is fully trained and in command of the aircraft but is being supervised for the purpose of refresher training or assessment/re-certification). Perhaps we should consider using this method to reflect both the quality and the quantity of supervision of trainee anaesthetists. Some modifications are necessary as most commercial aircraft operate two-man crews, whereas there may frequently be only one anaesthetist. If we adopted two sets of terms to record supervision, the first could include data on ‘assistance’ and the second ‘clinical responsibility’. For assistance we would record either ‘solo’ or the grade of the other anaesthetist in attendance. In the clinical responsibility box we could use a modification of the pilot's system. A1 - anaesthetist responsible for the case; A2 - anaesthetist supporting the anaesthetist with primary responsibility for the case; A/UT - anaesthetist under training. This would encompass basic training or specialties in which the trainee is not yet deemed competent to undertake an unsupervised operating list; A1/DS - anaesthetist under DIRECT supervision/assessment by a more senior anaesthetist where the trainee has primary and full responsibility for the patient; A1/IS - anaesthetist under INDIRECT supervision/assessment by a more senior anaesthetist where the trainee has primary and full responsibility for the patient. The trainer is not actually in the operating theatre but remains available and has overall responsibility for both the trainee and the patient. Thus a typical entry for a trainee anaesthetist in his/her first few weeks of training may read ‘Consultant’ and ‘A/UT’ reflecting an individual undergoing instruction/training by a consultant anaesthetist. This form of data collection allows the cross-tabulated analysis of both the degree of supervision and the extent to which trainees take primary clinical responsibility for the patients they anaesthetise. As departmental logbooks also collect data on the grade of the individual anaesthetist, this information can be used to analyse the working practice of teams of anaesthetists operating in individual operating theatres or within specialties. In the light of recent reports in the popular press concerning the competence and activities of trainees, such objective information may prove to be invaluable by reflecting more accurately the degree, quantity and quality of training/supervision in anaesthesia and invasive procedures.