Choosing a new CME/CE course sometimes is like picking a new dish at a restaurant hoping you like it. Over the years, I’ve routinely used the same two or three companies to stay current with continuing education credits. However, I thought it was time to leave my comfort zone and try something new, hoping I wouldn’t regret it.
On the menu.
Anesthesia File by Dannemiller.
How it Works?
Anesthesia File, aka AFile, offers three different options for courses.
AFile Premium and Pro is composed of current curated journal articles addressing new techniques and studies. AFile Basic is a review of older journal articles addressing practices providers are probably already familiar with in concept or application. Each subscription allows you to obtain 60 credits over the course of two years.
Each month a new “File” is published consisting of 30 journal abstracts and a post exam of 30 questions.
AFile is accredited for anesthesiologists, CRNA’s and CAA’s. Make sure to check out their Accreditation Page for more information.
The AFile Experience
I ended up choosing the Premium edition to listen to APOD (their Anesthesia Podcast) while driving back and forth from work. Unfortunately, I hardly used APOD. Rather than listening to the narrator read the abstracts I preferred to read them myself. So next time I would purchase the Pro edition.
Overall, the abstracts were well chosen for content and easy to read. Each abstract took about 2-3 minutes from start to finish. Keep in mind that each activity has 30 abstracts before you take the post exam test.
The post exam test is the only thing I would like to see changed. Sitting down for 60-90 minutes to read through all the abstracts and then take the exam is not something easy to always fit into a busy schedule. Most activities I would complete in two days other times it was a little longer.
I would’ve preferred a post exam question or questions after each article instead of 30 questions at the end of the activity. I think it helps retention of information to have immediate recall repetition of main ideas.
If you take multiple days to to read all the activities and then take the exam its difficult to answer questions like “The Smith study showed hypoxia increased by how much? 20%, 25% 30% or 40%”. A few days later I’m just guessing because they all look good! Taking the post exam right after an abstract would help hammer those key points home.
So what happens if you do not pass the exam. They let you take it again!
The website was easy to navigate and keeping track of completed activities was easy. Certificates for completion of an activity are available for printing from the Transcript page. Dannemiller also can report credits directly to AANA and ABA if you supply a valid reporting number in the profile section.
Last thing, the FAQ is incredibly informative and talking to customer support was friendly and extremely helpful.
Was it worth it?
Sometimes picking something different on the menu is disastrous. Anesthesia File proved to be a good choice for educational purposes. If you’re looking for quick and easy credits, this is not the program for you. AFile provides lengthy activities with solid content and at an incredibly reasonable price for the amount of material provided.
In the end, it was worth it to try something new and left me curious enough to check out another Dannemiller product down the line.
For information about Anesthesia File check out their site here.
