Student Education
An Anesthesia Assistant needs to be a graduate of an accredited Respiratory Therapy Program with a 3-year diploma, 4-year joint diploma/degree or an accredited Registered Nursing Program. They must also complete the Anesthesia Assistant Graduate Certificate course, as well as Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS).
At UHN Anesthesia Assistants must complete an initial in-house conscious sedation training program. As well, they must successfully complete entrance to practice exams for echocardiology, catheterization lab, and general anesthesia coverage certification using high fidelity simulations.
Anesthesia Assistant at The Michener Institute of Education at UHN
The Michener Institute offers a part-time, three-semester anesthesia assistant graduate certificate program. The program covers subjects including pharmacological principles of anesthesia, airway management, evaluating pre-, peri- and post-operative patients and performing procedural sedation.
For more information, visit the
Anesthesia Assistant program page at Michener.ca
Professional Education
Anesthesia Assistants provide a variety of educational training and certification activities for:
- RT students
- AA students
- Anesthesia residents
- Anesthesia fellows
- Critical Care ICU and OR nurses
The Anesthesia Assistants group at UHN manage the Anesthesia High Fidelity Simulation Centre which is used for:
- Training and maintenance of AA staff competency
- Providing ACLS reviews for nurses
- Reviewing crisis management scenarios with anesthesia residents and medical students
- Training MSICU nurses in extracorporeal life support
- Reviewing interprofessional team communication
The simulation program coordinator works collaboratively with clinical educators from various disciplines to create unique scenarios that are tailored to the specific educational and training needs of the group utilizing the centre. The scenarios provide formative and summative assessments with structured feedback for the participants.
Anesthesia Assistants also utilize low fidelity simulation to train medical students on IV and arterial line insertions and airway management. They are involved in the orientation of anesthesia fellows and residents. As well, the AAs provide point of care training on arterial blood gas analysis for OR nurses, anesthesia fellows and residents.
Anesthesia Assistants take part in weekly Anesthesia rounds, ongoing in-services and lectures. They also participate in UHN's continuing education programs to maintain their competency.
The UHN AA group hosts a yearly Anesthesia Assistants Professional Development Day in November, which is open to AAs from across the province.
Contact Us
Ana Lopez Filici, Practice Leader – Anesthesia Assistants
Email:
ana.lopezfilici@uhn.ca
