Upper Airway Anesthesia Techniques and Sedation Strategies for Awake Fiberoptic Intubation: A Novel Workshop for Anesthesia Residents.

Introduction: Awake fiberoptic intubation (AFOI) is a critical skill for anesthesia providers but infrequent exposure complicates learning from clinical exposure alone. This workshop teaches anesthesia residents upper airway anesthesia techniques and sedation strategies using low-cost, ultrasound-compatible, novel ballistic-gel phantom task trainers for superior laryngeal nerve (SLN) and transtracheal blocks. Methods: We developed a 3-hour workshop consisting of slide sets, breakout sessions, and task trainers for anesthesiologists to teach second- and third-year clinical anesthesiology residents. We created novel ballistic-gel phantom trainers using 3-dimensional printing and silicone molds. We assessed residents' prior experience, satisfaction, and changes in knowledge and self-efficacy from pre- to postworkshop and from postworkshop to 1-year follow-up, using anonymous paper surveys. Results: Twenty-five (40%) of 63 residents submitted surveys across 2024-2025. Knowledge scores (maximum 5 points) improved from a mean ( Discussion: Incorporating gel phantoms is effective at improving anesthesia residents' knowledge and self-efficacy with sedation strategies and upper airway anesthesia techniques for AFOI, including both landmark and ultrasound-guided nerve block techniques.