Teaching consultants airway management skills

Summary Airway management skills are integral to the practice of anaesthesiology and also to the practice of emergency medicine and allied health professions such as respiratory care, emergency medical technology, and emergency and critical care nursing. The basic information to be taught is the same but the level of detail will vary depending on the audience. The learning process usually involves progression from didactic lessons to skills training on inanimate models to supervised clinical practice. Modalities that may be used for skills training include cadavers, recently dead patients, videotapes, mannequins, simulators and virtual reality trainers. To maintain knowledge and skills, review and possible retraining should be conducted on an approximately annual basis.