The Department of Anaesthesiology presents the following workshops and a symposium. All General Practitioners and Specialists are welcome to attend. The feedback from all of the workshops and the symposium has been extremely positive:
Please
contact us for more information. Download the relevant
workshop dates.
Diploma in Anaesthetic (DA) Refresher Course 
Our department presented our first DA refresher course in March 2012 and a second course in August 2012. The aim of the course is to help candidates prepare for their DA(SA) examination. The course is also open to anybody interested in updating their Anaesthetic knowledge. CPD points can be earned.
Lectures are presented by consultants and registrars in Anaesthesiology, Clinical Imaging Sciences, Internal Medicine and Chemical Pathology. The aim is to cover topics which are current and are considered favourite topics for the DA(SA). We also focus on practical and interpretation issues to prepare candidates for the OSCE.
Topics typically include the following and is by a mock oral and Osce exam.
- ECG interpretation
- CXR interpretation
- Interpretation of lung functions and Blood gases
- Paediatric Anaesthesia
- Obstetric Anaesthesia
- Anaesthesia for trauma patients and obese patients
- Pitfalls and management of complications in Anaesthesia
- Practical Machine Check and CPR
- Ultrasound guided regional anaesthesia pig workshop
Our course was well received and we are planning to have 2 courses annually during March and August, each within 2-3 weeks of the actual DA(SA) examination.
Ultrasound guided regional anaesthesia workshop – Pelonomi Hospital
This workshop was first presented in November 2011 by the Department of Anaesthesia and Private Anaesthetists under RAPSA (Regional And Pain society of South Africa). Dr Rob Raw from the University of Iowa was invited to lead the first workshop. An intermediary skill level with ultrasound guided regional anaesthesia is expected for this workshop, as the blocks will be performed by the delegates on sedated patients with the demonstrators guiding the delegates.
Patients are taken to the Theatre Complex where the surgical and anaesthetic teams are waiting. All patients at this workshop are orthopaedic patients awaiting surgery and have given informed consent. A maximum of six delegates are allowed to attend, in order to optimize the experience. Two areas are allocated for the workshop with three demonstrators in each area. About thirty-six patients are blocked with each workshop. It is a two-day workshop.
The blocks being done include: 
- Brachial plexus (Interscalene, supraclavicular, infracoracoid and axillary), ulnar, radial, median, sciatic, femoral (with obturator nerve), popliteal and saphenous nerve blocks.
- TAP (Transverse abdominis plane), rectus sheath, intercostals, paravertebral blocks and central venous access will be demonstrated on the patients, which will only be done if indicated.
Two more workshops were held in June and November 2012 and we are planning two each year. These workshops are tax deductable and are accredited for CPD points
Current demonstrators: Dr M Reyneke, L van der Nest, A Travers, P Kruger, H van Rooyen, C Louw and
J van der Westhuizen.
Pain Symposium
The annual pain symposium is usually held during August in Kine 1 and 2 in the Francois Retief Building. The 2012 Pain Symposium was opened by Dr Van der Nest and followed by seven formal lectures given by various renowned speakers. After lunch there was an ultrasound guided regional anaesthesia workshop with formal short lectures followed by practical demonstrations and practice on five models. RAPSA also presented an ultrasound guided regional workshop demonstrated on a live pig at the animal laboratory at the same time.
Peri-operative Echocardiography courses
The Department of Anaesthesiology is proud to announce that we have hosted 8 international guests during these 2012 courses and workshops. Prof Erik Sloth (Aarhus, Denmark) lead an outstanding faculty including local and international experts in the first ever FATE (focused assessed transthoracic echocardiography) workshop to be held in South Africa. Thirty odd delegates from all over South Africa attended this first ever South African FATE workshop.
Three Peri-operative Hands-on Trans-oesophageal Echocardiography (TOE) courses were held during 2012 and we were fortunate to host Dr Joerg Ender (Leipzig-Germany) and Drs Andrew Roscoe and Johan A Snyman from Toronto, Canada. These Peri-operative Hands-on TOE courses were until December 2012 the only courses of its kind to be held in South Africa.
We plan to hold 4 Peri-operative Hands-on TOE courses annually and by doing that, will be playing a leading roll in developing South African Anaesthetists as expert peri-operative echosonographers. More international guests will visit the department during the planned courses. Download the relevant course dates.
Ultrasound guided regional anaesthesia pig workshop
This workshop was presented for the first time in 2011 by the Department of Anaesthesia and Private Anaesthetists under RAPSA (Regional And Pain society of South Africa). In 2011 two workshops were held, but in 2012 four were held due to high demand.
This workshop is ideal for beginners in ultrasound guided regional anaesthesia to learn and improve skills and knowledge. A pig of about 40 kilogram is anaesthetised by the demonstrators after which the delegates practise regional techniques on the pig with sonar guidance and nerve stimulation.
To maximise the experience only six delegates are allowed per workshop. Two delegates are able to work simultaneously on the pig at any given moment. There is also a station for knobology. Four demonstrators attend this workshop.
Two workshops are planned annually and lasts for six hours. It takes place on a Saturday (morning or afternoon). The workshop is tax deductable and is CPD accredited.
Current demonstrators: Dr M Reyneke, L van der Nest, A Travers, P Kruger, H Van Rooyen, C Louw,
J van der Westhuizen.