Curriculum

Clinical Base Year

Our PGY-1 year includes a diverse group of rotations:

• Internal medicine
• ENT surgery
• Emergency medicine
• SICU
• CTICU
• Chronic Pain
• Acute Pain
• OR Anesthesia

The two months of OR anesthesia in the PGY-1 year include a "boot camp" experience, serving as an introduction into the ORs with intense classroom instruction, simulation lab experience, and pairing 1:1 with either senior residents or teaching faculty. The purpose of our boot camp is to fully prepare our interns for the role and responsibilities of their CA-1 year and ensure a smooth (and less anxiety-producing) transition.

Clinical Anesthesia Years

During the three years of clinical anesthesia, residents assume increasing responsibility and autonomy in the selection and administration of anesthesia and the pre- and post-operative care of patients for all types of surgical and obstetrical procedures. Nearly one quarter of all surgical procedures are performed on children. With UH being a Level I Trauma center, residents get extensive experience in the trauma and emergency fields as well.

The Department of Anesthesiology stresses residents' active participation in the patient's anesthetic and respiratory management. Early on in clinical rotations, residents work closely with an experienced anesthesiologist. Later, residents are expected formulate anesthetic plans and manage anesthetic problems independently, but faculty consultation is always available.

In the CA-I and CA-II years, the clinical education focuses on the pharmacology and physiology related to clinical problems. Rotations are in all fields of anesthesia including pediatrics, cardiothoracic, neurological surgery, orthopedic surgery, and obstetrics. Residents also rotate through two months of perioperative medicine during this time, as well as one month of preoperative clinic for preoperative clearances. The CA-III year is designed to broaden the resident's experience and allows for customization of each resident's education, based on their interests. Residents may choose from a wide-range of available electives, or develop their own.

The department also offers ample opportunities in research, with research time available during the CA2 and CA3 years. The pain department in particular has published many articles in recent years in distinguished journals.

Unique Curriculum Highlights

TEE

One block (with the option of further electives) is dedicated to transesophageal echocardiography in our busy cardiothoracic operating rooms. Our board-certified cardiac anesthesiologists instruct our residents in all aspects of TEE and the residents are able to focus solely on learning TEE as the cases are front-lined by other providers. Part of our advanced curriculum then reinforces teaching of TEE, reviews further TEE studies in a classroom setting (to ensure eligibility for NBE Basic Exam), and then prepares our residents to pass the NBE exam.

Introduction to Publication

Our residents are paired with a mentor with the goal of publishing a piece in a peer-reviewed journal. In addition, they participate in our EQUIPS program to learn about the importance of quality improvement in healthcare and how to carry it out.

Acute Pain Service

We have a dedicated acute pain team that provides regional anesthesia both in and out of the OR for all types of perioperative patients. Our residents learn all types of regional anesthesia with state of the art ultrasound equipment and dedicated fellowship trained faculty.

Anesthesia Bootcamp

Over the years we have developed and refined an anesthesia bootcamp for our interns to help ease the transition from PGY-1 year to the operating rooms. A carefully cultivated curriculum with readings, lectures, discussions, workshops, simulation experiences, and operating room pairings with senior residents are the bedrock of this rotation. We continue to adapt and change this rotation in response to resident feedback to optimize their experience.

Global Health

We offer a limited number of spots to qualified residents (CA-3 in good standing) to participate in a global health initiative in collaboration with Dr. Chad Zender at the University of Cincinnati. Residents travel to Kampala, Uganda for surgical outreach and practice as independent anesthesia providers for relief work.

POCUS

One of the available electives to our residents focuses on point of care ultrasound. This elective is carried out in conjunction with our emergency medicine colleagues and their ultrasound fellowship. Our residents receive expert instruction in POCUS from world-renowned faculty on a multitude of patients as they pass through our ER and ICU.

Transition to Practice

An important part of the anesthesiology department at our hospital is in running the operations side of the ORs. The logistics of scheduling providers, cases, and triaging emergencies is an integral part of this curriculum along with learning about finance and the economics of anesthesia.

Example Schedule