Undergraduate education in anaesthesia, intensive care, pain, and perioperative medicine: The development of a national curriculum framework

Introduction: The study describes the development of the first UK national framework to guide undergraduate education in anesthesia, perioperative medicine, critical care, and pain medicine.

Methods: We followed an inclusive process of curriculum design aiming to promote high-level learning amongst students. We conducted telephone interviews with senior anesthetic educators at 33 UK medical schools to establish current provision and practice. We then held a consultative national workshop for educators, using focus group interviews to set broad aims for the final framework and gather information.

Result: Anesthesia undergraduate educators demonstrated a conceptual focus that moves beyond simple acquisition of knowledge to one geared to encouraging clinical behavioral change in learners to equip them for practice as new doctors. Respondents also highlighted the opportunities for promoting spiral, integrated, and longitudinal learning within the undergraduate curriculum. We also formulated eight key domains of practice in anesthesia and critical care and mapped 63 of the 106 General Medical Council’s Outcomes for Graduates against these domains, and created a brief suggested syllabus.

Conclusions: The framework aims to provide support and guidance for medical schools in the development of competent, well-rounded doctors who are able to provide safe, patient-centered care in all areas of medical practice.