Spinal Anaesthesia: Teaching and Assessment

As performance assessment in medicine moves into a competence-based era there is a need to develop procedure-specific tools for evaluating technical ability. Spinal anaesthesia is one of the fundamental skills of the practicing anaesthetist. Changes in learning opportunities for trainees over the last decade mandates a change in the way practical skills are taught and assessed. In order to optimise the way the practical skill of spinal anaesthesia is acquired by trainee anaesthetists, it will be necessary to combine newer methods (e.g. simulation, structured feedback and assessment) with older techniques (e.g. didactic learning, clinical demonstration). The use of proven concepts from disciplines outside medicine should also be considered.