A Growth Mindset Approach
“In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.” —Carol Dweck
Our Program:
Education & Training
Where Will You Train?
- 48 operating rooms
- 12 non-OR anesthetizing locations (including endoscopy, interventional radiology/angiography, the cardiac catheterization laboratory, and a hybrid MR-OR)
- 4 surgical intensive care units (including dedicated thoracic surgery and cardiac surgery ICUs)
- 6 obstetric suites (4 operative delivery rooms and 2 procedure rooms)
- 24 labor and delivery suites
- Center for Assisted Reproduction
- Weiner Center for Preoperative Evaluation
- Post Anesthesia Care Unit
- Pain Management Center
- Throughout the hospital when on the Postoperative Pain Management Service.
Residents also rotate through Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, and other outside facilities.
Tutorial
CA1 residents start residency together at the beginning of July and spend the months of July and August in our comprehensive, immersive CA1-Tutorial, addressing the unique educational and professional needs of the brand-new anesthesiology resident physician. Our CA1 Tutorial includes an extensive educational program, including CA1-specific didactic lectures, simulation sessions at the BWH world-renowned “STRATUS” simulation center, and interactive, hands-on workshops, feedback sessions, debriefing sessions, and wellness activities.
This educational curriculum is specifically designed with the learning goals of the CA1s in mind and receives extremely high praise each year for its educational quality and innovation.
- General OR
- Gynecologic & ENT
- Out of OR
- Cardiac
- Thoracic
- Orthopedics
- Neurosurgery
- Surgical ICU
- OB Anesthesiology
- Boston Children’s Hospital (3 months)
- Chronic pain clinic
- Post-operative Pain Service
- Falkner Hospital (Regional and Vascular cases)
- Cardiac 2
- Thoracic 2
- Orthopedics 2
- Neurosurgery 2
- Surgical ICU 2
- Obstetrical Anesthesia 2
- General OR
- Gynecologic & ENT
Additional Main OR Rotations
- General OR
- Gynecologic & ENT
- Thoracic
- Orthopedics
- Neurosurgery
- Float (focus on flexibility as a senior resident)
- Vascular Surgery
Electives (3-4 months)
- Teaching
- Negotiation
- Technology
- Ultrasound
- Foxboro (ambulatory surgery center with a focus on peripheral nerve blocks)
- Research
– 1-4 months
– 6-month research track - Pain Clinic
- Management
- Advanced Airway
- Lahey Liver Transplant Anesthesiology
- Junior Attending
- Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB)
- International Elective
Didactics
- Weekly protected Wednesday in-person Didactics 9 -12 pm (1 pm twice a month, for humanism sessions), taught by experts in the field and covering a wide range of topics including basic and advanced practice of anesthesiology, simulation courses, QI, health care disparities, DEIB, wellness, and humanism topics
- Junior and senior classes alternate weeks to better address the unique needs of each training stage and cover the ABA Basic and Advanced content.
- All sessions are recorded so the residents can view them anytime.
- Mock oral board sessions with experienced faculty who serve as Board Examiners.
Rotation specific didactics:
- Pediatric, ICU, Chronic Pain, and Cardiothoracic anesthesiology rotations hold weekly and Pre-operative clinic and OB daily didactic sessions
Department teaching sessions
- Grand Rounds, weekly 7 – 9 am, with local, national, and international experts presenting topics on most recent scientific discoveries, cutting-edge clinical treatment, DEIB, and health equity topics.
- Morbidity and Mortality Conferences, allowing our trainees to participate in departmental efforts in quality and patient safety.
Simulator Training
Simulator Training is taught at the on-campus STRATUS Center for Medical Simulation. During structured academic time, the residents are exposed to routine intra-operative problems and low-frequency high-acuity events they might never see in clinical training or practice. The tenets of Crisis Resource Management are taught in the Simulation Lab, the Skills Lab, and the classroom by faculty anesthesiologists with dual training in medical simulation.
Besides simulator training in the STRATUS Center, residents are also offered workshops in airway management, ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia, and line placement. ACLS training is also provided multiple times throughout the year.
Ultrasound Curriculum/ASA POCUS Examination
Our ultrasound curriculum is woven throughout the entire residency, including the tutorial. Taught by experts from CCM, PACU, Cardiac, and Regional Anesthesiology divisions, we cover all relevant areas of ultrasound applications. Trainees create their ultrasound portfolio throughout residency and complete formal ultrasound modules approved by the ASA as CME for the POCUS exam. Monthly training sessions provide hands-on training using live volunteers and a simulator at the STRATUS Center. Residents also have access to monthly “Echo Rounds” in the recovery room and the ICUs. Ongoing clinical studies provide research opportunities to interested advanced residents and fellows.
International Electives
We have a long departmental history of supporting faculty and trainees in global health pursuits: globalanesthesia.org.
Trainees can pursue international electives for 1 – 2 weeks or an entire month, and participate in established rotations, including:
- Team Heart in Kigali, Rwanda (1 – 2 weeks): A multidisciplinary team of cardiac anesthesiologists, surgeons, perfusionists, and nurses, to provide valve repairs for rheumatic heart disease.
- Abu Dhabi (one month): In partnership with the Cleveland Clinic, residents rotate through the anesthesia department.
- Operation Smile/Global Smile Foundation (1 – 2 weeks): Providing anesthesia care for cleft lip and palate surgeries at various sites.
International elective locations can also be chosen by the trainee (one week to one month). We have guided residents to create electives based on personal interests and educational goals. Some recent destinations include Kenya, Japan, Ecuador, Vietnam, Peru, and the Philippines. Our trainees have also successfully received scholarships from SEA-HVO and ASA-GHO.
Moonlighting
Residents can moonlight during their CA-2 and CA-3 years. Opportunities are available in the main operating rooms, the OB floor, and the ICU.
Call Schedules
CA-1s: Usually in the main OR, providing overnight anesthesia care for urgent and emergent cases.
CA-2s: Split between providing care for more complex cases overnight in the main operating room and as the overnight emergency airway resident.
CA-3s: As a CA-3, you will finish the most complex cases of the day in the OR and supervise the urgent and emergent cases in the operating rooms overnight as the “OC-1 Resident.
The frequency of calls will vary but are generally as follows:
Main OR Call: MOR call is a 24-hour call system. The call team is comprised of junior and senior residents and the overnight attending anesthesiologist. Residents typically take approximately 4 overnight calls monthly and receive a post-call day the following day. Weekend overnight calls generally are 2 of these 4 calls each month. Residents also take late calls (until 7 – 8 pm) 2 – 3 times per month and work a normal day on the following day.
OB Call: This is generally a 24-hour call system, with some shorter calls for senior residents. Residents typically take 6 – 8 overnight calls per month, depending on their level of training. These days are followed by a post-call day off. Weekend calls usually occur one to two weekends during the month.
ICU Call: 24-hour call, which averages once per four days.
