Critical Care

official impact factor 4.60

Commentary

Achieving the aims of education: curricular decisions in critical care

Timothy G Buchman

Author Affiliations

Departments of Surgery, Anesthesiology and Medicine, Washington University in Saint Louis, Mail Stop 8109, 660 South Euclid Avenue, Saint Louis, MI 63110, USA

Critical Care 2008, 12:188 doi:10.1186/cc7094

Published: 5 November 2008

Abstract

Curricula for residents on rotations through intensive care units are necessarily abbreviated. The selection (and omission) of topics can be informed by assessment of perceived needs. A curriculum cannot, however, be formed exclusively from the top-scoring needs. Topics that are encountered exclusively in the critical care unit (such as brain death) must be included.