Anesthesiology Training Program
The anesthesiology training program is fully accredited for three years of training by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. The three year continuum consists of training in clinical anesthesia (CA-1, CA-2, and CA-3). The department participates in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) for entrance at the CA-1 year of training.
Graduates of UPMC Mercy’s residency training program are successful in securing competitive fellowship training positions, university faculty appointments, and jobs in private practice. Numerous graduates of the program are anesthesia department chairpersons, division chiefs, and oral board examiners. Several have authored well-respected textbooks and book chapters in important anesthesia textbooks. Two graduates of our residency program became presidents of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, and one became president of the American Board of Anesthesiologists.
Intraoperative Echocardiography
The department has a strong focus on intraoperative echocardiography (IOE). All faculty who perform IOE at UPMC Mercy are testamurs of the Perioperative Transesophageal Echocardiography Examination by the National Board of Echocardiography. The IOE service is provided exclusively by anesthesiologists on the faculty. Faculty members have participated in preparing the national written examination for perioperative transesophageal echocardiography and speak regularly at national meetings on IOE.
The department sponsors a biannual conference on intraoperative echocardiography that features UPMC Mercy faculty members and distinguished speakers from other universities. The conference attracts anesthesiologists, cardiologists, and cardiac surgeons from across the country and Canada.
Residents have ample opportunity to learn IOE from faculty members during their cardiac and dedicated transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) rotations.
The Didactic Program
The didactic program begins in September and runs through the first part of June. Conferences are held regularly.
Grand Rounds are presented by residents and attending faculty members on an assigned basis. Problem-based learning discussions are patterned after the successful format from recent meetings of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, emphasizing participation of the entire group. The sessions provide in-depth reviews of factors surrounding common and uncommon clinical problems; the format reinforces communication skills vital to a consultant in anesthesiology.
A didactic lecture series based on the current content outline of the In-Training Council of the American Board of Anesthesiology and the American Society of Anesthesiologists is structured to provide a systematic approach to the basic sciences and anesthetic management. The course is presented over three years and each senior resident is required to give one lecture.
A written examination workshop is based on ASA’s Self-Evaluation Examination, and members of the faculty with experience as associate examiners for the American Board of Anesthesiology conduct practice oral examinations in group and individual settings throughout the continuum of training.
An important and unusual feature of UPMC Mercy’s didactic program is scheduled library time. Each resident is assigned one library day per month, where the resident can peruse reading assignments or prepare Journal Club or Grand Rounds presentations.
Journal Club meetings occur throughout the year and are hosted by members of the attending faculty. Residents present timely articles from recent publications to stimulate discussion centered on selected topics.
Anesthesia Library
A comprehensive departmental library has current textbooks and subscribes to the major anesthesia journals and other pertinent literature. At departmental expense, each resident receives three textbooks, the Journal of Anesthesiology, and Refresher Courses in Anesthesiology.
Visiting Professorship Program
The department invites distinguished teachers and investigators during the year to present lectures and to participate in clinical instruction in the operating rooms as an integral part of the educational program.
Educational Allowance
Each house officer may attend one major educational meeting during each of the CA-1 through CA-3 years. The yearly allowance covers expenses to most meetings in the United States. Alternatively, residents may use this educational allowance to purchase reading or computer educational material.
Night Schedule
Residents in anesthesiology begin taking night and weekend call with a more senior resident during their second month of clinical anesthesia and assume additional clinical responsibility that is commensurate with their experience and progress. A member of the faculty attends all night, weekend, and holiday emergency procedures. Residents begin their call day at 11:00 a.m. and are off the day after night call. The frequency of call averages one night in seven.
Faculty Advisers
Each resident is assigned to a member of the faculty who will act as adviser and counselor during the course of the resident’s training.