A group of four doctors in the Department of Anaesthesia at Royal North Shore Hospital have developed a range of cognitive aids to improve patient safety during critical situations. 

Anaesthesia Cognitive Aids and Research (ASCAR) was formed in 2019 by RNSH doctors Dan Zeloof and Jessie Maulder, and later joined by Dan Moi and Dushyant Iyer, with a goal of improving and refining high-quality cognitive aids to assist anaesthetists during critical situations. 

The resources they developed have provided a professional-grade series of cognitive aids to deal with critical patient care, while building them with an RNSH-specific focus too.  

ASCAR’s aids even played an important role in several of RNSH’s initial COVID-19 responses, with the team working tirelessly to develop, test, and integrate these resources during a period full of rapid changes and updates to protocols. 

So far, the group has developed over 85 cognitive aids across nine different specialty areas, alongside a range of supporting videos and a digital mobile app.

Dr Matthew Doane, who is the senior staff specialist in the department of anaesthesia, pain, and perioperative medicine at RNSH, said the cognitive aids are invaluable during critical moments.

“Seconds matter and being able to ensure none of the key steps in treating a patient are missed is essential to giving them the best chance of a good outcome,” he said.