Innovative technologies in regional anaesthesia education: a scoping review.

Background: Regional anaesthesia has experienced a global resurgence over recent decades alongside increasing demand for anaesthetists to be competent in its delivery. This was reflected in a recent UK anaesthetic curriculum update, which mandates a wide range of specific regional anaesthesia competencies. Despite this, regional anaesthesia education remains Methods: This review was conducted using established frameworks for scoping reviews, and included searches of three major databases, alongside targeted citation searching. Data were analysed numerically, followed by reflexive thematic analysis. Results: In total, 855 citations were identified. After removal of duplicates and abstract eligibility screening, 106 full-text articles were assessed and 38 met the criteria for inclusion. The majority of studies were published in the last 2 yr and a lack of high-quality evidence, particularly focussing on educational outcomes, was noted. A wide range of applications for innovative technologies in regional anaesthesia education were described including roles in anatomy education, accelerated skill acquisition, simulation-based medical education, and assessment. Conclusions: Innovative technologies were associated with benefits such as provision of reliable learning experiences, reduced supervisory requirements, and enhanced educational outcomes. Future educators should consider their utility and provide structured evaluation. Significant heterogeneity was noted in the literature base and further research is recommended, specifically studying primary educational outcomes.