An HIT

The Royal College of Anaesthetists, the professional body representing anesthesia in the UK, is introducing an interactive e-Learning resource to support training and professional development in anesthesia. The program will be launched by the president of the organization, Dr. Judith Hulf, at its annual College Tutors conference on Thursday.

e-Learning Anaesthesia (e-LA) is a joint initiative between the Royal College of Anaesthetists and e-Learning for Healthcare (e-LfH), a UK Department of Health program. It is an interactive web-based educational resource that encourages self-directed learning and is available free to all anesthetists practicing in the National Health Service (NHS).

Authored, edited and peer-reviewed by anesthetists experienced in both teaching and examining, e-LA provides the following elements:

• e-Sessions – Knowledge or scenario based e-learning tutorials covering the postgraduate training curriculum in anesthesia.

• e-Library – Direct access to thousands of journal articles cross-referenced to sessions in the anaesthetic curriculum.

• e-Assessment – Self-assessment sessions with feedback for examination practice and to support continuing professional development amongst specialists.

Hulf said, "Technology is set to transform the way doctors access high-quality training materials both in and out of the workplace. e-LA is at the forefront of this change and will provide a national e-learning program to ensure that all anesthetists continue to be trained to a consistent and high standard and are supported to maintain that standard with continuous learning throughout their professional lives."

Julia Moore, national director for e-learning for healthcare, said, "As a mode of delivery for educational material, e-learning harnesses the latest technology to support flexible and self-directed learning for today and tomorrow's medical workforce."

The Royal College of Anaesthetists is the professional body, founded in 1992, responsible for the specialty of anesthesia throughout the UK. Its principal responsibility is to ensure the quality of patient care through the maintenance of standards in anaesthesia, pain management and intensive care. The college has about 14,000 fellows, members and trainees.

e-Learning for Healthcare is a Department of Health program in partnership with the NHS and professional bodies, providing high-quality e-learning content for the training of the healthcare workforce across the UK.