Imperial Novice Course

PROVIDING AN INTRODUCTION TO ANAESTHESIA SINCE 2010

Take the Course

You can register for free access to the online modules by clicking the link below.

Course Format

Our hybrid course consists of online and face-to-face components.

About the Imperial Novice Course

The Imperial Novice Course was established in 2010 and we have over a decade of experience delivering a high-quality introduction to Anaesthesia. We actively try to keep our content relevant to the developing needs of our novices and our course represents a high quality hybrid learning package. Below are some examples of our course feedback. The name of our course dates back to when the Anaesthesia training region in North West London was known as the Imperial School of Anaesthesia.

"It has been a fantastic course - both in content and execution!"

"The best teaching I’ve had as a postgrad!"

"Fantastic discussion, faculty were excellent and provided plenty of opportunity to ask questions and clarify points"

"Excellent course content! Very useful for our stage of training"

"Really well put together mixture of talks and written format pieces."

"Useful and well structured, gives insight into the knowledge expected of us at this stage"

Our course content has been devised to familiarise you with the essential knowledge, drugs, equipment, and skills necessary to provide safe anaesthetic care to patients. You will be expected to be familiar with these basics within weeks of starting your Anaesthesia rotation. The course content will support you to attain the Initial Assessment of Competency which must be obtained within your first 3-6 months of Anaesthesia training.

This course will not only provide you with the very basic knowledge you need to achieve your Initial Assessment of Competency but also a taste of things you should be considering during your everyday practice. We know and understand that to begin with it’s about surviving and getting through the list (both novices and patients alike – we were novices once too and remember how tough some days can be!).

In recognition of the steep learning curve you are facing, the North West London School of Anaesthesia has made our hybrid novice course a regional mandatory requirement for all Core Anaesthesia trainees, all ACCS trainees and all ICM trainees with a rotation in Anaesthesia.

Course Format

Our course is available in two formats – hybrid (online AND face-to-face components) and a standalone online course.

The hybrid course is available to all novices completing an anaesthetic rotation within the North West London School of Anaesthesia. A small number of places may be available on our hybrid course for novices outside of our training region.

The standalone online course can be accessed by any healthcare professional for free. A certificate of achievement for completion of each module will be available for you to upload to your training portfolio.

Course Components

The course components are outlined below:

Online Course (Free)

Learners progress through online material at a self-directed pace. The online material is divided into 71 video podcasts and 46 written topics. Each topic is stand-alone and approximately 10 minutes duration. The content has been divided in this way to allow it to be viewed in easily digestible chunks with a low risk of screen fatigue. A certificate of achievement for completion of each module will be available for you to upload to your training portfolio.

The podcasts have been recorded by consultants and trainees from hospitals across North West London and we would like to thank all those that have contributed to this material.

INTERACTIVE SESSIONS

The online course material will be accompanied by live interactive sessions which will be held once a week for four weeks on Zoom. During these sessions, the online content will be applied in small-group discussions of case-based scenarios.

February 2025 course interactive session dates are as follows:

Wednesday 12th February 2025
Thursday 20th February 2025
Wednesday 26th February 2025
Thursday 6th March 2025

FACE-TO-FACE TRAINING

Practical Skills Workshop Day

Workshops will include airway management, spinals, epidurals, arterial lines and central lines. This will be held on Friday 7th March 2025.

Simulation

We will run through a mixture of common and uncommon emergencies you may encounter in your Anaesthetics rotation. For each scenario, we will consider the clinical management as well as the non-technical skills important to managing similar anaesthetic emergencies.

February 2025 course simulation dates will take place week beginning Monday 28th April 2025 – exact dates TBC.

We wish you a warm welcome to the Specialty of Anaesthesia. We hope you enjoy the course. Good luck!

Meet the TEAM

Hello and welcome to Anaesthesia training! Please do not hesitate to email us during your novice period or beyond. We will do our best to help you and if we can’t, we’ll be able to point you towards someone who can help with your query.