#35 – Asynchronous learning and the future of anesthesia education

This podcast follows up on the previous show which discussed free open access medical education (FOAM) and the use of social media in anesthesia education. Here, I discuss the power of asynchronous learning to shape the future of anesthesia education. The power of asynchronous learning comes from the ability of content experts to produce something truly informative and engaging once and then make that widely available to learners over a prolonged span of time.  The opportunity, the chance, the potential of asynchronous learning is to harness the best educators and minds to create engaging content to help raise the level of expertise of providers while reducing the upfront workload and cost of producing that content.   Asynchronous learning challenges traditional paradigms of education. It brings up numerous questions for us to consider… Why does every university need to have an expert in pharmacology on campus to deliver semester-long courses on anesthesia pharmacology year after year?  Why do universities struggle to find and retain content experts when they could harness the power of asynchronous education to share a library of the best resources for cheaper tuition? Why do universities, who charge astronomical tuition fees, then require their students to purchase third-party board preparation programs?  Shouldn’t the tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in tuition be enough to get students successfully over the hurdle of boards? Why are continuing education conferences so boring and expensive?  Why do continuing education conferences rarely improve clinical skills or change practice?  Why are thousands of grand rounds presentations given every year across the US and only a very select few individuals who happen to show up hear what leading experts are saying? Why does it take on average 17 years for new evidence to find its way into widespread practice? Why do we too often put profits ahead of advancing our field and improving access to patient care? We have the opportunity to redesign the way we do education in the future.  Harnessing technology to maximize the benefit of asynchronous learning can reduce costs and likely make education more efficient and effective. Some of you are today’s thought leaders and content creators.  Some of you will be the content creators, professors, educators and clinical experts of the future.  How will you step into those roles?  How will you harness the technology available to us to create more compelling, more interesting and effective learning tools? These are the questions that will help us redefine what is possible in the way we train anesthesia providers and build better continuing education.