New online SAFE training platform launched to increase access to quality-assured anaesthesia training
From its first cohort of 80 Ugandan anaesthesia professionals in 2011, the demand for the Safer Anaesthesia From Education (SAFE) programme has grown year on year. Over the last 10 years, this expansion has seen over SAFE obstetrics and paediatrics courses train over 5500 clinicians from 45 countries. This is just the tip of the iceberg, with many more courses conducted by partner organisations and the 1000+ trainers instructed through SAFE’s training of trainers programme.
Whilst the popularity of the course has continued to grow, COVID-19 and the accompanying restrictions and limitations, have meant that anaesthesia professionals the world over were unable to organise or physically attend in-person training. This lack of anaesthesia training is set against a background of increased workloads and demands on the anaesthesia community as they took a prominent role in the pandemic response.
The launch of SAFE online seeks to expand the global reach of SAFE and overcome barriers to training delivery and attendance.
SAFE, a joint project of the WFSA and the Association of Anaesthetists, aims to bring anaesthesia professionals to a level of practice whereby they can deliver competent and safe anaesthesia. The underlying principle is to equip anaesthesia professionals with the essential knowledge and skills they need to deliver safe care to their patients, even in very low-resource settings. Through the training of trainers, the SAFE programme creates a sustainable training model which can be embedded into national health systems.
“SAFE Online provides alternative low-cost, low-resource models of SAFE delivery with the potential to reach yet more providers and enable shared learning across broader geographical locations and with increased flexibility.”
Dr Jolene Moore, SAFE Programme Lead
Course page using module system and progress display. Badges are provided for each completed module to encourage participants to progress further.
The new SAFE Online learning platform is tailored to meet the challenges faced by anaesthesia providers in low-resource environments such as poor connectivity, limited computer access and mobile data costs. The learning platform minimises data usage and allows users to access materials and work offline, providing participants with the flexibility to continue learning when there is no connection.
The platform uses narrated presentations, interactive quizzes, engaging content and scenario-based learning. Individuals can undertake the online modules at their own pace while supported by an online community of in-country and international clinicians. SAFE Online also provides participants with additional resources (like the WFSA’s Anaesthesia Tutorial of the Week) for each topic covered in the course and the e-learning is accompanied by live online discussion sessions.
The first course to be available is SAFE Online Obstetrics. This is modelled on the SAFE Obstetrics course which covers the principles of obstetric anaesthesia with clinical scenarios based on the conditions causing 80% of maternal deaths including obstetric haemorrhage, sepsis and eclampsia as well as anaesthesia management and complications, and newborn resuscitation; areas all covered by the SAFE Online Obstetrics course.
Alternative available models of SAFE Online delivery include fully interactive modular or completely online courses as well as hybrid options.
Visit www.safe-anaesthesia.org
If you would like to view the course content or discuss running an online course, please contact programmes@wfsahq.org.
Further Resources
Safer Anaesthesia From Education (SAFE) information page
SAFE Paediatric & Obstetric Anaesthesia Pocket Handbook
‘I have watched SAFE grow and grown with it’ – Mary T. Nabukenya, Uganda.
‘I find myself learning something new with every course’ Ann Lee Clover , South Africa
SAFE Obstetrics in Papua New Guinea Terry Loughnan, Australia,
What it looks like conducting a SAFE course in the pandemic era, Susilo Chandra Indonesia,
