What is an Anaesthetic Technician?

Special thanks to Mike Smith and the team from Canterbury District Health Board.

Pharmac notices about supply issues

Please see the following notices regarding supply issues of commonly used anaesthetic drugs.

https://www.pharmac.govt.nz/information-for/enquiries/propofol/

https://www.pharmac.govt.nz/information-for/enquiries/suxamethonium-supply-issue/

https://www.pharmac.govt.nz/information-for/enquiries/fentanyl-injection-supply-issue/

December 2020 Registration Examination Documentation

December 2020 Registration Examination documents are available on the Registration Examination page.

Please note: candidates need to be available until 18:00 on the day of the exam.

Charge Anaesthetic Tech and Team Leader Forum

The new date for this event is Friday 24 July.

In order to download or print the agenda and registration details, please click here.

NZATS 2020 Conference

Please find the latest conference information available here.

NZATS events announcement

Kia ora!

Now that we are in level 2 lockdown, NZATS are pleased to announce that planned events for later in the year will proceed as planned, subject to government restrictions lifting as time progresses.

Please remember to renew your membership, allowing you access to these events free of charge.

Events that are in planning:

• NZATS Mid Year Training and Development Meeting – Saturday 27 June (this will be a zoom session)
• NZATS Emergency Airway Skills Workshop (North Island) – Saturday 15 August
• NZATS Emergency Airway Skills Workshop (South Island) – August
• NZATS Registration Examination (Burwood Hospital) – Saturday 5 December
• NZATS Conference (Bay of Islands) – November 12 to 14

AUT announcement regarding academic plan

This announcement was made available on AUT Blackboard on Friday 17 April.

Revised semester plan

Revised plan for academic assessment- Anaesthetic Technology

17^th April 2020

I trust you are all well and are balancing the complexities that COVID-19 has brought with the resumption of something close to normal life. As we enter our final week of the mid-semester break, I would like to outline the following in relation to the Anaesthetic Technology programme.

Generic update

• The semester will resume on Monday 27^thApril.
• The semester will end on Monday 15^thJune.
• Semester two will commence on 20^thJuly.
• The implementation of a ‘block teaching and learning’ initiative which was announced by AUT previously, has been rescinded.
• Academic assessment components have been revised due to the implications which COVID-19 and the subsequent Alert Level statuses have had on universities nationwide. What this means for each individual paper is outlined below. Of note, subsequent planning is in-line with an AUT directive that there are to only be two academic assessments per paper, of which, none may be formal written exams.

• • There will be no mid-semester test for the three Anaesthesia theory papers.
  • There will be no end-of-semester exam for the three Anaesthesia theory papers.
  • For specific details for each paper, please see below.

• Reminder for students to engage with the worksheets and online content, as content covered within these Anaesthesia theory papers will be applicable to knowledge as a competent practitioner, Anaesthetic Technology exams and registration exams.

In-hospital formal teaching

• AUT guidelines recommend that students are to be allocated 3-4 hours of formal study time per week per Anaesthesia theory paper.
• Self-directed study time is appropriate where formal teaching may not occur due to the prevailing Alert Level status. This will need to be managed in-house on a case-by-case basis as each location will be able to facilitate teaching differently.
• Consider video technology where applicable.
• Students have a large amount of content within the Anaesthesia papers in comparison to previous years, which will serve as guidance for self-directed study in the absence of formal in-house education.

Anaesthetic Technology logbooks

• Each hospital is responsible for the action taken on whether students are to attend their place of work or not.
• Minimising clinical hours during this time will have implications for those enrolled within Anaesthetic Technology 1 and 2 and the completion of student logbooks.
• Where students are instructed to stay at home, replacing clinical experience is not possible. There is now an ‘Education’ tab within each Anaesthetic Technology paper on Blackboard. This material is being created to supplement learning, especially for those students who cannot attend the clinical environment.
• If a student is restricted from clinical work whilst enrolled in Anaesthetic Technology 1, there may be a delay in progressing to level 2 supervision and subsequent enrolment in 2021. This will be monitored from an AUT perspective, and each hospital should provision for a delayed academic year whilst providing additional support measures where possible, once clinical work resumes.
• If a student is restricted from clinical work whilst enrolled in Anaesthetic Technology 2, there may be a delay in attaining competencies to graduate within the usual timeframe. This will be monitored from an AUT perspective, and each hospital should provision for a delayed academic year whilst providing additional support measures where possible, once clinical work resumes.

Block courses

• Block courses for Anaesthetic Technology 1 & 2 are tentatively being held in September (dates TBC).
• Anaesthetic Technology 2’s block course has provided certification for NZRC CORE Immediate to students undertaking the NZATS registration exam and their subsequent registration with the MSC. Hospitals should provision for alternative measures to provide students with CORE Immediate certification if the Anaesthetic Technology 2 block course is cancelled in September.
• A decision regarding both block courses will be made closer to the time.

New academic assessment components for each paper

• Anaesthesia I

• • Assignment 1 will be due Monday 18^th May at 4pm.
  • Assignment 2 is cancelled permanently.
  • Mid-semester test is cancelled permanently.
  • End-of-semester exam is cancelled permanently.
  • Online weekly MCQ’s will now be compulsory.

• These will become available at 12pm on the Monday of the relevant week and close the following Monday at 12pm.
• Students must complete all online weekly MCQ’s.

• • Online weekly MCQ’s and Assignment 1 will make-up 100% of the overall grade. Weighting of each will be announced.
  • A video for students outlining these requirements will be made available on Blackboard.

• Anaesthesia 2

• • Assignment 1 will be due Monday 18^th May at 4pm.
  • Assignment 2 is cancelled permanently.
  • Mid-semester test is cancelled permanently.
  • End-of-semester exam is cancelled permanently.
  • Online weekly MCQ’s will now be compulsory.

• These will become available at 12pm on the Monday of the relevant week and close the following Monday at 12pm.
• Students must complete all online weekly MCQ’s

• • Online weekly MCQ’s and Assignment 1 will make-up 100% of the overall grade. Weighting of each will be announced.
  • A video for students outlining these requirements will be made available on Blackboard.

• Anaesthesia 3

• • Assignment 1 will be due Monday 18^th May at 4pm.
  • Assignment 2 is cancelled permanently.
  • Mid-semester test is cancelled permanently.
  • End-of-semester exam is cancelled permanently.
  • Online weekly MCQ’s will now be compulsory.

• These will become available at 12pm on the Monday of the relevant week and close the following Monday at 12pm.
• Students must complete all online weekly MCQ’s

• • Online weekly MCQ’s and Assignment 1 will make-up 100% of the overall grade. Weighting of each will be announced.
  • A video for students outlining these requirements will be made available on Blackboard.

• Anaesthetic Technology 1

• • Mid-semester progress report/survey for semester one will be required by 11^th May.
  • Manuals are to be submitted to AUT no later than the 15^th June for interim marking by National Assessors.
  • End-of-semester exam in October is scheduled to continue. Any updates on this will be announced as required.
  • The checklist on page 4 of the logbook whilst not prescriptive, should be used as a guide. Any students who are significantly behind this schedule due to any implications caused by COVID-19 should contact myself () at the earliest opportunity to ensure they are ready for both the ‘National Machine Check’ exam and the ‘Clinical Assessment’. This will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

• Anaesthetic Technology 2

• • Mid-semester progress report/survey for semester one will be required by 11^th May.
  • Manuals are to be submitted to AUT no later than the 15^th June for interim marking by National Assessors.
  • End-of-semester exam in October is scheduled to continue. Any updates on this will be announced as required.
  • Case studies/clinical assessments should not be a priority at this time given the current impact which COVID-19 has had on our working environment. If appropriate cases arise, assessments may continue.
  • Any students who are significantly behind with clinical assessments/case studies due to any implications caused by COVID-19 should contact myself () at the earliest opportunity to ensure they may complete the logbook intime for graduation at the end of the year. This will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
  • Reflective essay due dates will now be as follows:

• 25^thMay
• 3^rdAugust
• 5^thOctober

Throughout everything which has been outlined above, students’ interest and welfare during this time is of paramount importance. It is essential that educators or students highlight any issues which they are having immediately so that they can be resolved with minimal distress. Please also remember that the situation which universities are responding to globally is far from perfect. This revised academic plan is both in-line with AUT directives, national guidance, and has been designed to minimally disrupt student’s education and the workload placed on those within the clinical environment under what is a stressful and complex time for many.

If you have any concerns at all, please feel free to contact myself () or David () so that we may provide further clarification.

Thanks,

Mike Smith

Anaesthetic Technology Co-ordinator AUT

MSC CPD advice re COVID-19

This information is directly from the Medical Sciences Council website.

CPD Advice

3 April 2020:

The Council has received a number of queries from practitioners who are concerned about meeting their CPD requirements during this time of health services being focused on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic situation.

The Council expects that practitioners will have already completed their CPD activities for the 2019-2020 year and so those called for an audit should have their CPD information to-hand.  However we will be extending the timing of the 2020 audit:

The audit for MLTs, MLPATs and ATs that was scheduled for April will be deferred until later in 2020.  The date will be decided once we have more clarity about the national lockdown and its likely time span.

CPD requirements for 2020-2021 will be considered separately once we have a better understanding of the effect of the pandemic on practitioners.  We expect this may take some months.

December Registration Examination

In light of the current pandemic at this stage we have not set a date for the December registration examination.

We will be making a decision at the August Executive meeting.

MSC Accredited Training Hospitals

In December 2019,  accreditation of Bay of Plenty DHB and Hawkes Bay DHB was in progress.

MSC have announced that accreditation has been granted for both Bay of Plenty DHB and Hawkes Bay DHB.  However, please note that Bay of Plenty DHB proceeded with the accreditation of Tauranga Hospital only (not Tauranga Hospital and Whakatane Hospital).