Page 16 - CASA Bulletin of Anesthesiologisy 2022 9(6)-1 (3)

CASA Bulletin of Anesthesiology

The role of ICPNT in Standardization of Neuroanesthesiology

Fellowships

Shobana Rajan MD, FASA, Jad Alchoubassi MS3, Meghana Bharadwaj MD, Andrew Kofke MD

I) Foundation and Current Scenario of the ICPNT

With the demand for improving patient outcomes during complex neurosurgical procedures,
there is an increased interest and necessity for perioperative experts in Neurocritical patient care.
Neuroanesthesiologists are fellowship-trained physicians with the skills, knowledge, and
experience to orchestrate the perioperative environment to optimize care and support innovations
in the neurosurgery and neuroradiology operating rooms. In its current state,
Neuroanesthesiology training is still heterogeneous both in the U.S. and internationally, with
fellowships varying in length, curriculum, and standards. As such, the pathway unfortunately is
unacceptably ambiguous, and the need for an explicit and unified standardized curriculum for
interested fellows is greater than ever. This heterogeneity in neuroanesthesia education creates
confusion and produces variation in the standards of care and likely adversely impacts patient
outcomes. In addition, recent surveys by Swell et al. in Canada, Rajan et al. in the U.S., and
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Valero et al. in Europe showed a general lack of standardized curriculums in their respective
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, w ’ R ’ ,
further supporting the urgent need for action.
Recognizing the need for an international homogenous curriculum to advocate for and
improve the subspecialty, SNACC created The International Council for Perioperative
Neuroscience Training (ICPNT) in 2019 (icpnt.org). The ICPNT was created to serve as an
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entity that provides new and existing Neuroanesthesiology fellowship programs the opportunity
to get accredited through a stepwise process that ensures the highest standards in the field
globally. The curriculum was based on the three pillars of Neuroanesthesiology described by
visionary and former SNACC president Dr. George Mashour . The recommended curriculum
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consists of all essential elements of perioperative neuroscience and anesthesiology divided into
12 modules 4-weeks each. Figure 3 depicts a summary of the core Curricular and Cognitive
Competencies in Neuroanesthesia that a fellow must be proficient in. The development of this
curriculum marks a monumental moment for the subspecialty, paving the way for an official
accrediting council. With 25 internationally accredited programs and a novel accreditation
process, the ICPNT is setting standards for Neuroanesthesia fellowship training worldwide.
II) Mission and Goals of the ICPNT

Since its creation, the mission of the ICPNT has been “ -quality neuro-anesthesia
” t mission, the
ICPNT set forth a set of goals (Figure 1) and a clear vision to achieve. The vision of the ICPNT
is:

1. To accredit and thereby ensure standardization of Neuroanesthesia education with an
international spectrum and scope.

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