Teaching and training in airway management: Time to evaluate the current model?

Management of the airway is central to the practice of anaesthesiology and yet surveys reveal that trainees frequently feel poorly trained in this area. Good skills in airway management include not only technical proficiency with an increasingly complex and wide range of equipment but also the clinical judgement and experience to use them appropriately. Lapses in judgement, education and training are leading causes of patient morbidity and mortality. It is now more imperative than ever for anaesthesiology training programmes to carefully review their curricula and evaluate the educational tools being used for effective advanced airway education of the next generation of airway specialists. Residency programmes have also seen the need to incorporate a formalised airway rotation into their curricula. One to 2-year long airway fellowships are now being advocated to provide the trainee a unique opportunity to master the advanced clinical knowledge and techniques necessary to successfully manage the most challenging clinical scenarios in airway management. It is essential for educators and practitioners alike to consider innovative models of training, advancing and retaining of skills. Such advanced skills can ensure the safe airway management and delivery of quality care to patients of all ages and medical complexity. Before preparation of the manuscript, a PubMed and Cochrane search of the scientific literature published in the past 10 years with the terms 'anesthesiology training', 'airway management education' and 'advanced airway management skills' was conducted.