Peripheral Block Education and Level of Competency: A Survey of Turkish Anesthesiologists

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Presently, in Turkey, there is no work being conducted on the period of regional anesthesia education, and there are no statistics available on the frequency with the administration of basic extremity blocks. The present survey was conducted on anesthesia doctors throughout Turkey to explore the personal knowledge and competency of the participants. Simultaneously, this survey aimed to evaluate the information sources for regional anesthesia training in Turkey.

MATERIAL and METHODS

The present study surveyed 377 anesthesia doctors in March 2017 through a questionnaire formulated on the Delphi platform. The voluntary participants were recruited from professional organizations, hospital portals, and Turkey's anesthesia departments. Descriptive analyses were conducted for statistical evaluation.

RESULTS

Of the total participants, 3.2% were professors, 3.2% were associate professor doctors, 7.4% were assistant professors, 64.5% were specialist doctors, and 21.8% were residents. In the segment concerning skill and information level self-evaluation for blocks, the most commonly performed act was infraclavicular block (26.8%). With regard to their "information source," 40% of the participants chose "from my colleagues" for upper extremity blocks. The specialist training was the least popular information source for ultrasound-guided interscalene block, while the digital visual information sources were often consulted for the same.

CONCLUSION

Various sources have been identified as the source of information as much as the specialty training, more so in some blocks. A significant majority of the participants avoided block applications. In the future, it would be useful to collect data on a more comprehensive national scale to overcome the limitations of the present issue.