Paediatric Profofol TIVA without a Paedfusor

This morning there weren't enough nursing staff to run the theatre I was allocated to this morning. In addition one of the fellows was sick after having a Covid vaccination. I was redeployed to his theatre to help a colleague of mine doing a paediatric ENT list. 1/ We turned it into a peer review […]

My routine for an all-day breast reconstruction (plastics) list

I’m just writing some quick notes to help any registrars who may be working with me on a Wednesday all-day plastics list. Medications from the cupboard Special monitoring/equipment Cannulation Other medications Airway Paralysis

Notes on ‘Predictive Performance of the Modified Marsh and Schnider Models for Propofol in Underweight Patients Undergoing General Anaesthesia Using Target-Controlled Infusion’ by Lee et al (South Korean study)

Why am I making notes on this? I use propofol TIVA virtually 100% of the time when I administer a general anaesthetic. I use the Schnider PK model. What is it telling me? The Marsh model tends to underdose underweight patients in the South Korean (East Asian) population. Schnider tended to overdose. Marsh more inaccurate […]

Working with me for the first time in theatre? Here are some notes on how to administer Andrew’s anaesthesia

Update 1/8/2023: I’ve written an updated piece titled “My preference card” which is a bit more straight to the point about my likes and dislikes. Feel free to read the piece below which is a bit more philosophical. Working with a new boss I’ve written this little note to help clarify expectations when you work […]

Notes on ‘Legislation needed to wipe out quacks’ #chinozhist #whiteaustralia #racism #familyhistory

Why am I making notes on this? I stumbled across this article when researching my family history in July 2020. I was reminded of it by a twitter exchange with an associate professor of anaesthesiology in Canada, Dr Gordon Launcelott. I initially read a tweet on some new clinical practice guidelines recommending acupuncture for patients […]

Notes on ‘Efficacy and Safety of Videolaryngoscopy-Guided Verbal Feedback to Teach Neonatal and Infant Intubation. A Prospective Randomised Cross over Study’ by Saran Dave and Karnik

Why am I making notes on this? Because I found this paper as part of my literature search with three domains – population (doctors); concept (video of actual clinical practice – ACP) and; context (when used in feedback/coaching/learning conversation) Inclusion check Doctors? Yes – trainees in anaesthesia Video of ACP? Yes Feedback/LC/CC? Yes Empirical peer-reviewed […]

Notes on ‘Using Modern Technology to Coach Performance of a Nerve Block from a Remote Location’ by Gonzalez & Hauck

Why am I making notes on this? Because I found this paper as part of my literature search with three domains – population (doctors); concept (video of actual clinical practice – ACP) and; context (when used in feedback/coaching/learning conversation) Inclusion check Doctors? Yes Video of ACP? Yes Feedback/LC/CC? Yes Empirical peer-reviewed research? No – conference […]

A reflection on anaesthesia training and my own personal journey – starting as an anaesthetics registrar at Campbelltown Hospital in 2008

Last week, I had cause to reflect on my trainee journey from a PGY8 doctor with 18 months of ICU experience, out-of-hospital medical experience with the Australian Defence Force, a different life experience/perspective owing to a 4 week mission’s trip teaching English in a cross-cultural setting (Thailand), and 12 months full-time training in a Bible […]

Point-of-view high-definition video assessment: the future of technical skills training by Leslie et al.

This is a great little letter to the editor, but being a letter it doesn’t make the cut for the literature review unfortunately. What is interesting about it is it uses sports glasses to record a case of “actual clinical practice” from the trainee and a third-person perspective. They noted that the trainees “have been […]

Advice for those considering a career in anaesthesia

First the benefits I believe that anaesthesia is an awesome career choice. It affords you the luxury of a relatively civilised lifestyle (with relatively protected hours), working in a team, working in a theatre environment (if that’s what you enjoy) and reasonable remuneration. Anaesthesia can also be intellectually stimulating. It gives you the opportunity to […]