The changing landscape of anesthesia education: is Flipped Classroom the answer?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Educators in the specialty of anesthesiology are facing a number of challenges. A new generation of residents are entering the specialty and they have unique learning styles and expectations. The new duty hour regulations also encroach on the time available to the residents for education. In the last decade, a number of models for teaching and learning have been proposed to tackle these issues.

RECENT FINDINGS: Recent research has looked at learning gains and acceptability of online material in medical education as well as specific models that can be implemented to address the challenges.

SUMMARY: The 'Flipped Classroom' model seems to combine the best of both worlds. It allows the learner to assimilate basic information (lower order cognitive skills) from material that is placed online, allowing asynchronous learning. It frees up the teacher to use the face-to-face interaction time in the operating room and classroom for training the student in advanced concepts (higher order cognitive skills). This model allows efficient and effective use of time and technology, but involves the redesign of how in person time between faculty and residents are spent, along with the faculty development to effectively engage this new type of curriculum.