Newsletter March 2023: ATAIC Committee 2022 report

Leila Niemi-Murola, Valentina Almeida

Accreditation of Training in Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, formerly the Hospital Visiting and Training Accreditation Programme (HVTAP), has offered a teaching accreditation under the European Training Requirements on a voluntary basis to the academic departments of Anaesthesia and Intensive care Medicine.

Since 1989, the ATAIC has performed over 100 international audits. Germany and Turkey have been the two most active countries interested in accrediting their hospitals. However, it is interesting to note that many hospitals have been convinced of the programme’s interest and have requested re-visitations after the initial accreditation.

The self-evaluation process is always the most valuable part of the centre applying for re-accreditation. These hospitals, having high-quality educational methods, assess their practices compared to the latest European Training Requirements. Furthermore, the expert ATAIC international visitors provide the applying hosts with new ideas and perspectives to further improve the department’s education. The ATAIC Committee takes a final decision based on the thorough audit of the ATAIC visitors. All recommendations are helpful for the continuous advancement of the training of the accredited department, and they will be reviewed systematically in case of a future re-accreditation.

The application is simple. Those who wish to apply to complete a questionnaire outlining the hospital’s structure, the staff’s composition and the organization of teaching and training and submit it together with supporting documents to the ESAIC Secretariat. The questionnaires each trainee of the applying department sends individually to the ESAIC office constitute another essential source of information for the visitors and reviewers. Each application is sent by the Head of the Department or Institute to the ESAIC Secretariat and reviewed by the ATAIC Joint Committee, which will determine whether an accreditation or re-accreditation visit is applicable.

Why should your department apply for ATAIC accreditation?

• The detailed ATAIC report gives recommendations on how to possibly improve the training of the residents, which can benefit both the personnel and the patients.
• ATAIC accreditation is given jointly by the UEMS and by the ESAIC, providing maximum visibility and credibility to the accredited departments
• All accredited departments are listed on the ESAIC website
• A representative of each accredited department is invited to receive the official ATAIC certificate from the hands of the ATAIC Committee Chairperson during the Awards Ceremony of the Euroanaesthesia congress
• As recognised centres of  Excellence, each accredited department is automatically invited to consider joining the following ESAIC educational programmes: the On-Line Assessment, the Trainee Exchange Programme, the CEEA and potentially the EDAIC Part I examination.

Join the ATAIC community today and send your application or your question to: ataic@esaic.org

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