2021 Curriculum learning syllabus: stage 3 special interest areas

Published: 25/02/2021

Obstetric Anaesthesia

  • Group 1: 6 months to 1 year

Learning outcomes

  • Provides safe perioperative anaesthetic care for a wide variety of complex obstetric cases independently
  • Is capable of leading the delivery of care in this area of anaesthetic practice, to the benefit of both patients and the organisation

Key capabilities

A

Evaluates and triages the daily obstetric anaesthesia workload for labour ward and obstetric theatre to maximize patient and service benefit

B

Provides safe anaesthetic care for complex deliveries in all patients

C

Collaboratively manages the critically ill parturient requiring single-organ support on labour ward, recognising when to escalate care, including safe transfer if required

D

Is up to date with evidence-based guidance and publications to be equipped to represent obstetric anaesthetic services at a range of Trust maternity management meetings

E

Explains the essential principles of obstetric practice including basic CTG interpretation

F

Develops, organises and evaluates multidisciplinary drills training and teaching in obstetrics

G

Evaluates and introduces evidence-based obstetric anaesthetic practice

Examples of evidence

Experience and logbook:
  • experience in obstetric unit with wide range of cases including mothers with complex medical needs and high dependency unit caring for obstetric patients
  • exposure to multi-disciplinary team (MDT)meetings and obstetric management meetings.
Supervised Learning Events (SLEs) can be used to demonstrate:
  • pre-operative assessment for high-risk cases
  • understanding and knowledge of difficult airway management in obstetric cases
  • management of obstetric emergencies
  • management of critically ill parturients
  • ability to manage and provide safe and effective anaesthesia and analgesia for obstetric patients in the elective and emergency setting
  • elective Caesarean section list management
  • labour ward management of workload
  • effective management of high-risk patients
  • management of non-obstetric surgery in pregnancy
  • leading ward round of high dependency unit obstetric patients
  • leadership and delegation by leading anaesthetic handover, managing elective list and delivery suite workload
  • involvement with obstetric patients with complex medical needs eg congenital cardiac diagnoses
  • safeguarding issues in obstetric patients with learning difficulties, mental health issue or under age pregnancy
  • ethical dilemmas eg consent for delivery and anaesthetic in pregnant patients with severe mental health issue
  • perioperative assessment and MDT discussion for pregnant women with complex medial background
Personal Activities and Personal Reflections may include:
  • attending and leading high risk obstetric anaesthetic clinics to formulate management plans
  • attending MDT meetings to plan patient care
  • attending Obstetric management meetings
  • shadowing members of the MDT to appreciate their roles eg Lead Labour Ward Midwife, Consultant Obstetrician
  • teaching on PROMPT, BOAST, simulation courses
  • attending CTG teaching
  • attendance at joint obstetric specialist clinics eg cardiac/haematology
  • supervision/mentorship of junior anaesthetists doing IACOA/stage 1 obstetric anaesthesia
  • national and international meetings related to obstetric anaesthesia
  • presentation at relevant meeting eg abstract or free paper
  • development of guidelines and policies
  • leadership of QI projects related to obstetric anaesthesia
  • leadership training.
Other evidence:
  • satisfactory MSF.

Supervision level

  • 4 - should be able to manage independently with no supervisor involvement (although should inform consultant supervisor as appropriate to local protocols).

Cross links with other domains and capabilities

  • all generic professional domains of learning
  • Perioperative Medicine and Health Promotion
  • General Anaesthesia
  • Regional Anaesthesia