Survey of the current status of teaching intensive care medicine in Australia and New Zealand medical schools.

INTRODUCTION

The place of Intensive Care Medicine education within Medical Schools in Australia and New Zealand was investigated by survey in 2009.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

All intensive care units in Australia and New Zealand were invited to take part in the survey. The survey included commitment to intensive care medicine training, teaching methods, curriculum content, assessment, and hours of student contact. All university teaching hospitals were identified and results analyzed.

INTERVENTIONS

None.

RESULTS

From recognized tertiary referral teaching hospitals, the response was 60%. A mandatory teaching program was offered by 56%, with a further 22% offering an optional program. The medical school curricula were primarily a mix of problem-based learning and traditional, lecture-based courses. Intensive care experience was usually undertaken in the latter years of the course. Contact hours allocated under the curriculum was less than 1 wk in the great majority. Assessment of students, where it existed, was undemanding. Intensive care medicine, although growing in stature within medical schools, still appears to occupy only a small place in the overall curriculum.

CONCLUSION

A survey was undertaken to determine the extent of intensive care medicine training undertaken in medical student courses in Australia and New Zealand. A small majority of university hospitals had mandatory programs, with nearly a quarter having neither a mandatory or optional program. This is a higher proportion than identified in previous international surveys, but the results indicate considerable deficits requiring ongoing development within the undergraduate program.