Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Anesthesiology has developed Anesthesia Playground, an AI-enabled simulation website built to give medical students early, consistent exposure to anesthesia care.
According to an Oct. 14 news release, Chanseo Lee, a fourth-year Yale medical student, created the platform at anesthesia.guide with department faculty, including Christopher Szabo, MD, associate professor of anesthesiology. The site offers tutorials, common clinical scenarios and a dashboard for instructors.
Mr. Lee designed the tool first for students on clerkships and sub-internships, but it is open to any medical student or more senior trainee. Dr. Szabo noted that most medical schools do not require anesthesia training, so simulated cases can help students get familiar with the specialty before they enter the operating room.
The platform addresses uneven early training. What a student sees often depends on which cases are underway when they arrive. Mr. Lee described the operating room as a “black box” for many students. The AI tailors simulations to each user and opens up complex cases in obstetric, critical care and head and neck anesthesia, which could help students choose a specialty.
The team positions AI as a supplement to supervised, hands-on teaching, not a substitute for it. “AI can’t replace the mentoring relationship,” Mr. Lee said. Dr. Szabo added that the technology may give learners a common baseline, but attendings, senior residents and experienced clinicians remain essential.
Faculty contributors include John Guzzi, MD, and Viji Kurup, MD, along with residents Kevin Rooney, MD; Landon Crippes, MD; Manuel Angel Cintron, MD; and Thomas Stovall, MD.
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