Change in staff anesthesiologists' opinions of an Anesthesia Information Management System (AIMS).

Following introduction of an Anesthesia Information Management System (AIMS) at a tertiary care, academic health sciences centre, a quality assurance initiative was conducted to assess staff opinions of the AIMS using a previously published, anonymous survey tool at 1 and 5 years following AIMS introduction. At 5 years compared to 1 year after implementation of AIMS, the majority (18 of 24, 75%) of responses to the survey questions had a statistically significant change (P < 0.05) in the proportion of respondents favoring AIMS compared to the 1 year survey.

Preparing anesthesiology faculty for competency-based medical education.

Purpose: Competency-based medical education (CBME) is quickly becoming the dominant organizing principle for medical residency programs. As CBME requires changes in the way medical education is delivered, faculty will need to acquire new skills in teaching and assessment in order to navigate the transition. In this paper, we examine the evidence supporting best practices in faculty development, propose strategies for faculty development for CBME-based residency programs, and discuss the results of faculty development initiatives at the pioneering anesthesia CBME residency program at the University of Ottawa.

Unplanned admission after day surgery: a historical cohort study in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Purpose: Practice guidelines suggest that patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) should be monitored postoperatively to reduce adverse events. This study evaluated outcomes following ambulatory surgery in patients who had previously undergone polysomnography (PSG), and compared unplanned admissions in patients diagnosed with OSA with those in patients without OSA.

Methods: A historical cohort study (July 2003 to March 2009) was conducted using administrative data and supplemented by selective chart review.