Chapter 1 Scope of Anesthesia Practice
Evolution of anesthesia as a multidisciplinary medical specialty
6. Name the four subspecialties of anesthesiology that require an additional certification process from the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA).
7. In pain management, anesthesiologists are usually part of a multidisciplinary team. Name some of the other specialties that provide services that support pain management.
8. Describe an open versus a closed critical care unit.
9. Which other anesthesia subspecialties are evolving toward a separate certification process?
10. What factor dictates whether some institutions have subspecialized anesthesia teams? Give an example of two such teams.
Training and certification in anesthesiology
15. What subspecialties are studied in the clinical anesthesia postgraduate training years (years 1 to 3)?
16. Describe the fundamental steps that lead to being a “board-certified anesthesiologist.”
17. What is the emphasis of the Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology (MOCA)?
18. What are other anesthesia specialties that the ABA certifies?
19. Name the three new professional performance concepts developed by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and the American Board of Medical Specialties.
Quality of care and safety in anesthesia
21. The Joint Commission provides quality improvement guidelines in anesthesia for health care organizations. What three fundamental areas do these guidelines address?
22. Continuous quality improvement (CQI) programs may focus on both critical incidents and sentinel events. Describe critical incidents versus sentinel events.
23. What are some of the key factors in preventing patient injuries related to anesthesia?
24. Provide two examples of Patient Safety Practices and the Suggested Penalties for Failure to Adhere to the Practice as published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Organizations with emphasis on anesthesia and safety
25. Anesthesia has the distinction of being the only specialty in medicine with a foundation dedicated to issues of safety in patient care. Name the foundation.
26. Which organization provides a retrospective database of patient and safety data that can be used to assess and improve patient care?
27. Which organization investigates legal cases as a vehicle for identifying patient and practice areas of risk?
28. Name the foundation that provides research support in anesthesia.
Professional liability
29. This chapter states that 93 claims were filed in the United Kingdom in the years 1995 to 2007. What two areas of patient care and safety did these claims emphasize?
30. What is the anesthesiologist’s best protection against medicolegal action?
31. What actions should the anesthesiologist take in the event of an accident?
Risks of anesthesia
32. What is the estimated mortality rate from anesthesia?
33. What are some of the factors that have contributed to the decrease in anesthesia-related deaths?
34. What is the anesthesiologist’s greatest anesthesia patient safety issue?
35. Vigilance accounts for a large proportion of avoidance of adverse anesthesia events. What are some of the factors in the operating room environment that diminish the anesthesiologist’s ability to perform the task of vigilance?
