Consultation on proposed changes to the draft anaesthesia associates curriculum
Training for anaesthesia associates (AAs) currently follows a draft curriculum developed by the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) and published in 2022. Since December 2024, AAs have been regulated by the General Medical Council (GMC), which is responsible for approving postgraduate curricula.
Now that regulation is in place, the draft curriculum must be submitted to the GMC for formal approval. As part of this process, we have updated the curriculum to align with the interim AA scope of practice (published in December 2024) and the GMC’s revised standards on curricula.
As regional anaesthesia is not included in the scope of practice, we propose amending the relevant learning outcomes in the curriculum to reflect this. Our explanatory notes on the interim AA scope of practice provide the rationale for the exclusion of regional anaesthesia.
We are committed to reviewing the interim AA scope of practice following the conclusion of the Leng Review. However, it is important we align the curriculum now so that training for student AAs focuses on the learning outcomes relevant to their clinical role at the point of qualification.
Consultation on our proposed changes
The GMC requires organisations developing curricula to consult with relevant groups. We are therefore inviting feedback on the proposed changes, which are outlined below.
The consultation is a short online survey, which we have emailed to all members working as anaesthetists or AAs in the UK and to relevant stakeholder organisations. Please note that responses are not anonymous.
If your organisation has not received an email from us and would like to respond, please contact us at engage@rcoa.uk and we will send you a link to the survey.
The consultation is open until midnight on Friday 23 May 2025. We will share an anonymised summary of responses with respondents in due course.
Proposed updates
The table below shows the high-level learning outcome, domain learning outcome, key capabilities and examples of evidence pertaining to regional anaesthesia in the draft AA curriculum currently in use. Column 3 indicates where we are proposing a change to align with the interim AA scope of practice (in bold).
| Draft AA curriculum currently in use (version 1.3) | Proposed update | |
|---|---|---|
| High-level learning outcome | Provides safe and effective regional anaesthesia. | Provides safe and effective spinal anaesthesia. |
| Domain learning outcome | Performs simple peripheral nerve blocks and spinal anaesthesia and understands the principles of all forms of neuraxial anaesthesia. | Performs spinal anaesthesia, and understands the principles behind the safe delivery of peripheral nerve blocks and other neuraxial anaesthesia. |
|
Key capabilities A) |
Explains clearly to patients the risks and benefits of regional anaesthesia. | No change proposed. |
| B) | Describes the indications and contraindications to regional anaesthetic techniques. | No change proposed |
| C) | Practices measures to avoid wrong-site blocks. | Understands measures to avoid wrong-site blocks. |
| D) | Explains the principles of spinal anaesthesia for ASA 1-3 surgical patients and can perform spinal anaesthesia under level 1b supervision. | No change proposed |
| E) | Performs simple peripheral nerves blocks with and without ultrasound under level 1b supervision. | Understands the principles of peripheral nerve blocks and can describe the management of immediate complications. |
| F) | Identifies and describes the initial management of complications of regional anaesthesia including systemic local anaesthetic toxicity. | No change proposed |
| G) | Understands the principles of neuraxial anaesthesia and can describe the management of immediate complications. | No change proposed |
| H) | Discusses the scientific basis of ultrasound and the generation of ultrasound images of vessels and nerves. | Discusses the scientific basis of ultrasound and the generation of ultrasound images. |
| I) | Discusses drugs and equipment used in regional anaesthesia. | No change proposed |
| Examples of evidence |
Supervised learning events (SLEs) throughout stage of training across range of surgical specialties to include spinal anaesthesia and simple peripheral nerve blocks eg fascia iliacus, ankle (non-exhaustive list). These should include demonstration of Stop Before You Block measures. |
SLEs throughout stage of training across range of surgical specialties to include spinal anaesthesia. |