'What do I need to learn?'
'What do I need to teach?'

While these questions are universal for all students and all teachers, they become particularly difficult to answer in disciplines of great depth and complexity, when the expectation is for the student to develop a basic level of knowledge and competence. Anesthesiology presents such a dilemma, due to its complex and varied mix of basic sciences and clinical medicine. Where should the learner start? What are reasonable limits for the knowledge and skills required by beginning trainees in Anesthesiology, and in the many other disciplines that involve resuscitation, emergency care, acute interventions, and perioperative medicine?

Fundamentals of Anesthesia Care: Competency-based Learning Modules for the Health Professionsis a compilation of 165 teaching and learning modules that cover the essentials of anesthesia practice. The modules are divided amongst eleven categories including; Airway, Anesthesia Considerations, Assessment, Equipment, Cannulation/Injection Procedures, Monitors & Monitoring, Pharmacology & Physiology, Clinical Management, Protocols, Policies & Guidelines, Pediatric Anesthesia, and Regional Anesthesia & Pain Management. View at http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/medicine/units/anesthesia/students/acap.html Modules are complete unto themselves and prepared in template style. Each module guides the learner through the acquisition of information by posing a series of objectives for learning and advanced topics for consideration, then selects out related competencies to be mastered in the clinical area through apprentice-style education. A limited number of references are provided and where possible, the URLs of web-based information sources are listed. Links between modules are included when relevant. The format permits flexibility in the timing and presentation of topics, depending on the needs of the individual student and the availability of clinical learning opportunities. Both the student and the teacher can use the modules to focus on "what to learn" and "what to teach" - the knowledge, skills, and judgment considered essential to support a future role as a member of an anesthesia care team.

The value of the information inFundamentals of Anesthesia Careextends beyond Anesthesia to the many health professionals who must acquire an entry-level understanding of the wide range of topics that encompass clinical care in the Acute Care disciplines. A selection of relevant modules can be integrated into a variety of curriculums, and adapted to programs in Emergency Medicine, Critical Care, Nursing, Respiratory Therapy and Emergency Medical Services. Undergraduate and postgraduate program directors, teachers, and supervisors of trainees in clinical settings will find these modules helpful for guiding medical students as well as resident doctors in the early years of their specialty training.

New trainees in complex fields are easily overwhelmed. It is hoped that the collection of modules inFundamentals of Anesthesia Carewill help guide students of all types, and their teachers, in Anesthesiology and related Acute Care areas through a structured introduction to the trainee's new discipline.

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