Overview

The Department of Anaesthesia was established in 1985. There are 35 clinical staff of whom 4 hold concurrent academic appointments with the National University of Singapore.

Clinical work
We provide anaesthetic care for 20,000 patients annually, and this continues to grow. Our clinical work includes:

• General and regional anaesthesia for all surgical specialities, including cardiac, thoracic, neuro, paediatric and transplant surgery
• Anaesthetic care for critically ill patients in the surgical and cardiothoracic intensive care units
• Acute post-operative pain relief service
• Pain management clinic for chronic non-malignant pain and cancer pain
• Obstetric epidural service
• Resuscitation service for wards and accident and emergency department
• Pre-operative anaesthetic clinics and in-hospital consultation service

Acupuncture Clinic
Acupuncture has an increasing role in pain management either as a stand alone therapy or to complement other treatments. Musculoskeletal pain such as back, neck, shoulder and facial pain respond especially well and some forms of abdominal, pelvic, menstrual, nerve and scar pain may also respond. Patients are screened for suitability for acupuncture treatment. Adjunctive treatments include moxibustion, cupping and electro-acupuncture.

Teaching
The department is actively involved in both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and training. Medical students from the National University of Singapore are attached to the department for their 2-week anaesthesia posting. They receive both theoretical and practical teaching on the principles of anaesthesia, resuscitation, perioperative care of patients, airway management and practical procedures.

Basic specialty training of medical officers is geared towards the MMed Anaesthesia degree conferred by the School of Postgraduate Medicine, National University of Singapore. Advanced speciality training is geared towards Speciality Accreditation. Development of subspeciality interests and research are encouraged.

The department has a comprehensive 'in-house' teaching programme involving ICU and critical incident case presentations, journal reviews and lectures by invited speakers. Tutorials are also conducted for residents geared towards anaesthesia postgraduate examinations. Resident positions in the department are fully recognized as training positions for the MMed (Anaesthesia) and FANZCA (Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists, Australia), including the provisional fellowship year of the FAnZCA.

Simulator Training
Training with the computerized Human Patient Simulator (HPS) is used to enhance teaching of doctors, nurses and medical undergraduates. Vital signs, drug pharmacology and HPS responses to interventions can be programmed to simulate pathophysiological states encountered in a wide range of clinical scenarios.

While HPS training cannot substitute actual clinical experience, it has its advantages:

• The “hands-on” training is ideal for rehearsing management protocols for medical emergencies.
• It helps participants learn and gain confidence in a controlled environment without fear of inflicting harm to real patients.
• In addition to practical application of medical knowledge, participants learn communication, teamwork and leadership skills.

Research
The department’s emphasis is on clinical research, geared towards improving patient care.
Research interests include:

• Identification and characterization of novel neuropeptides involved in pain
• Acupuncture in the treatment of pain and nausea
• Evaluation of new equipment for difficult airway management
• Outcome studies in cardiac anaesthesia