ANESTHESIA IN THE UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM

Anaesthetists have a wide range of contributions to make to undergraduates studying in several subject areas. Within medical and dental schools, departments of anaesthesia have much to contribute to the teaching of resuscitation, practical skills, the taking of consent, rapid history taking and preoperative and pre-admission assessment, acute and chronic pain control, the management of recovery and the unconscious patient, fluid balance and clinical pharmacology. The intensive care unit also provides valuable experience in the need for humanity and compassion in a 'high tech', environment and can introduce the student to moral dilemmas and the financial costs of complex therapies. Since anaesthetists form the largest consultant group in the UK it is essential that students know what the specialty entails and the scope it offers so that they can consider it as a career option. Outside the medical and dental curriculum an anaesthetic department can also make valuable contributions to other undergraduate courses in nursing, law and health services management. In general, it is the authors' view that anaesthetic departments are under-utilized as a teaching resource by universities. © 1994 Baillière Tindall.