http://frca.co.uk (Anaesthesia UK) is a free medical educational website which offers the opportunity to access standard and up to date anaesthesiology resource online. Endorsed by the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA), the Irish College of Anaesthetists, the Intensive Care Society (ICS) and the British Pain Society for its role in educational and professional development, the site provides many clinical resources, interactive practice exams, selected monthly journal abstracts and reference articles for the primary Fellow Royal College of Anaesthesia (FRCA), final FRCA, Irish FCARCSI and American Board examinations.

Homepage (Figure 1) displays the latest added resources, latest news and quick links. Fresh site additions are displayed on the Right hand along with the forum discussions. The left side menu consists of the following:

In the “Exam Home” link free registration based on GMC number and overseas residents are accommodated after submission of the Non UK Resident's form and then going through an email validation by the website administration. Exam Resource is interactive and on successful completion, one can obtain 1 Continuous Professional Development (CPD) point for each examination and up to 30 CPD points a year.

In the “Abstract” section one can view abstracts with references of selected recent papers under the headings of anaesthesia, intensive care, obstetrics and pain. Selected abstracts of up to one year can also be viewed.

Registered users can also access the “image library” and can download as well upload clinical and professional images for use in the presentations and so on.

“Clinical” link leads to a very rich and all-round resource on clinical anaesthesiology which contains sub-links on anaesthesia, anaesthesia journals, anaesthesia mnemonics, cardiovascular, clinical evidence, neuro-anaesthesia, pharmacology, renal and respiratory systems, statistics and stress in anaesthesia. “Mitchell Anaesthetic Notes” are a worth mentioning inclusion in clinical anaesthesia topics.

The “Exams” section provides examination papers of FRCA I and II, FCARCSI examination and American Board Examination I and II as well as OSCE and viva examination. This section is of considerable value to examination candidates anywhere in the world.

“Resources” section on the site is special feature of the website which covers one topic in all its relevant detail. Topics related to basics like anatomy, pharmacology and physics as well as related to clinical anaesthesia e.g. ECG interpretation, acute and chronic pain, coagulation, clinical governance, fluid management, obstetric and regional anaesthesia etc are covered in great detail. The most notable in this section is ever increasing number of Tutorial of the Week (TOTW) collection. Each tutorial covers one topic of clinical anaesthesia in depth.

“Intensive Care” section contains recent literature on respiratory, nutritional, renal and haematological therapy. It also includes articles on sepsis and cardiology and a special topic on ethics in intensive care.

Other sections include recommendations on the books for examinations and links to online bookstores, links to Pocket Document Assistant (PDA) sites and their accessories. “How to?” link helps the user by providing guidelines on how to get better search results and how to get best out of online exams etc.

“Software” page provides many desktop as well as palmtop software related to anaesthesiology. It also include link to downloadable RCoA electronic logbook.

“Forum” is one of the most active places of this website where discussions on different important topics are initiated by the users and it can be accessed after validation from the web administrators.

AnaesthesiaUK is one of the few anesthesia sites that have been certified to meet the requirements of the “Health on the Net” code (www.hon.ch).

On the whole frca.co.uk is very well maintained free professional website helpful to both the trainees and the consultants. The administration team is entitled to special commendation for maintaining this up to date resource. Highly recommended to all anaesthesia professionals!

Best features: Easy to browse. Free, up to date, peer reviewed, and well organized resources. Interactive Exams section, Tutorial of the Week.

Worst Features: Nil

Wish List: The Key of the FRCA II , OSCE and viva exam may also be provided with the questions for the better preparation and understanding the purpose of the question.

Site Map : http://frca.co.uk/SiteMap.aspx