Foundation doctors in Anaesthesia: Should they be taught to administer an anaesthetic?

Background. Anaesthetic pre-registration house officer posts have been available since 1997. With the change to postgraduate medical training introduced in 2005, these posts have become vital building blocks for Foundation Programmes. Discussion. We debate the skills that new Foundation Programme doctors in such posts should be taught, particularly whether administration of an anaesthetic holds an important place. The opinion of college tutors prior to the institution of the foundation programme is included. These were obtained from a postal questionnaire. Summary. We maintain that teaching how to administer an anaesthetic remains an important learning objective and something that should be actively pursued. © 2007 Phillips et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.