Education for perioperative medicine

Education programs that teach perioperative medicine in anesthesia departments that practice it are vital to promote the transition in our specialty from providing operating room anesthesia to providing a full range of care for the surgical patient. Undergraduate and graduate programs, along with more subtle education of the public, will not only create a cadre of practitioners who are able and eager to provide these services, but a generation of physicians, administrators, and patients who expect them.