The Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation Scientific Evaluation Committee has announced that the University of Pittsburgh Difficult Airway Research Group's grant proposal entitled "Using Whole Task Human Simulation To Improve the Difficult Airway Management Skills of Practicing Anesthesiologists" has been funded for the period beginning January 1, 2005. The specific aims of the grant are to validate a whole task simulation-based evaluation method for determining difficult airway management competency; use this evaluation method to determine the baseline skill level of a large group of practicing anesthesiologists in difficult airway management; ascertain whether whole task simulation training can improve practitioners' knowledge and skills in airway management, and determine how long these improvements in knowledge and skills persist. The grant was primarily authored by Drs. Joseph Quinlan and John Schaefer, and Dr. Quinlan will function as the Primary Investigator. The members of the University of Pittsburgh Difficult Airway Research Group also include Drs. Mohamed Foraida, Robert Krohner, William McIvor, David Metro, Andrew Murray, Ryan Romeo, Kelly Shannon, Erin Sullivan, Joseph Talarico, and Li-Ming Zhang.