On-Line Education In Anaesthesiology: Perioperative Echocardiography For Latin America

Background: Echocardiography is a versatile tool for anaesthesiologists. There was a lack of availability in Latin America. For those reasons starting in 2011, the Chilean Society of Anesthesiology had sponsored an online program with pre-recorded echocardiography lessons, bibliography, homework, and forums. Methods: An observational, descriptive, and transversal study was carried out, analyzing this online course from 2011 to 2020 led by certified Chilean echocardiographers. In 2023, a survey was emailed to formal students. Specifically, students were asked if they were teaching echocardiography before and then after the program. Results: A total of 211 completed questionnaires were received. The results showed that before training, 89.1% of anesthesiologists did not use echocardiography. However, after training, 81.5% responded that they use echocardiography. Also 100% of the anaesthesiologists that responded used echocardiography in clinical practice, 51.2% do it weekly, 15.2% monthly and 2.8 quarterly. The main responders were from Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay. Students were teaching echocardiography in 10.9% before their echo program after 45.5% their echo program comparing (p < 0.001). Conclusions: After participating in these 8month online echo course a high and significantly number of former students were teaching echo. Probably this can be a pivotal element in disseminating this image technique. This report shows that online education can overcome many limitations thus expanding promising alternatives to education in anaesthesiology in a developing region such as Latin America. And remarkable it was a pioneering online teaching way starting in 2011, about 10 years before SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the reconversion of all teaching system into online.