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Teaching Conferences and Rounds

The didactic program is comprehensive. Multiple tools are used to teach and assess residents in the six core competencies established by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME): patient care, medical knowledge, practice-based learning and improvement, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, and system-based practice.

Teaching conferences and rounds are among the most important teaching tools. Below are the key components. For related information, see Program Pathways.

CA-1 Introductory Seriesresident

CA-1 residents take an intensive introductory curriculum. Conferences are from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday throughout July and to mid-August. Readings are assigned for each conference. Main points are discussed during class, and then throughout the day with the clinical faculty preceptors.

Core Curriculum

The core curriculum represents the foundation of clinical practice: basic science, physiology, and the pharmacology of anesthesia. Conferences are from 6:30-7:00 a.m. every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, September through June. Advanced preparation by residents is expected. Faculty facilitators are experts in the topics of discussion. For a look at the full curriculum, see our online brochure.

Pre-Op Rounds

Pre-op rounds are conducted semi-monthly on Thursday mornings for CA-1 residents throughout the year. Residents present selected cases from the day's case list, and a faculty moderator facilitates in-depth discussions on important clinical management issues. Residents are able to hone their presentation skills and demonstrate their mastery of clinically relevant knowledge.

Keywords Sessions

Keyword sessions are conducted two Thursday mornings each month for CA-2 and CA-3 residents. Residents present frequently missed keywords, followed by insightful discussions by faculty and residents.

Comprehensive Knowledge Course

Residents are assigned chapters biweekly in Clinical Anesthesiology (CA-1s) and Barash's Clinical Anesthesia (CA-2s and CA-3s). Comprehension is checked with old ABA exam questions reviewed at two Thursday morning conferences per month.

Departmental Grand Rounds

Every Thursday morning from 7:00-8:00 a.m., all members of the department attend Grand Rounds. There are lectures from visiting professors, faculty presentations, case conferences, a monthly quality improvement conference, and presentations by senior residents in the winter of the CA-3 year.

Subspecialty Didactic Sessions

In addition to the core curriculum, the pediatric, pain, and OB anesthesia divisions conduct their own didactic sessions.

Critical Reading Skills

The ability to critically read the medical literature is a fundamental skill essential for lifelong learning. Without mastery of this skill, graduates risk obsolescence within years, while anesthesiology rapidly changes without them. Unfortunately, critical reading skills are not always emphasized or mastered in medical school. Therefore, we are committed to each resident mastering this important skill. The Critical Reading Skills Curriculum is given during the core curriculum during several morning sessions.

Journal Club

Journal Club meets several times per year. Articles are critically examined in a relaxed atmosphere over dinner at a local restaurant. Faculty and residents choose articles of clinical and scientific interest.

Practice Management Course

Experts in law, billing, compliance, contracts, credentialing, liability, and retirement planning teach our residents the business aspects and economics of anesthesia practice in about 10 conferences per year.

Senior Presentations Course

This series of biweekly seminars is designed to teach the skills needed to prepare a residentwritten abstract, and a 12-minute presentation with slides and a poster. Skills learned include defining a topic, medical informatics, writing an abstract, creating slides and posters, oral presentation skills, and critiquing skills. The course culminates in presentations to the department and at the annual Midwest Anesthesia Residents' Conference.

In addition to the curricula sessions held daily or weekly, special didactic sessions, conferences, and workshops are scheduled throughout the year. Some examples include:

  • Mock Orals
    Every June and December, faculty members provide mock oral examinations to each resident. Exams follow the the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) examination format: two examiners and 30-minute sessions. A 30-minute debriefing follows. These popular sessions give the residents valuable experience in the "hot seat."

  • Airway Management Workshop
    Every autumn and spring, faculty members provide a comprehensive Airway Management Workshop for all residents. Residents get hands-on experience in various special intubation techniques, including flexible fiberoptic laryngo-/bronchoscopy, Combitube, lighted stylet, retrograde wire, cricothyroidotomy, and translaryngeal jet ventilation.

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  • Regional Anatomy Workshop
    Every spring, the regional anesthesia faculty members provide a workshop on regional nerve blocks and relevant anatomy. The workshop includes human models as well as cadaveric prosections.

  • Crisis Management Simulation
    High-fidelity simulator: In these monthly four-hour sessions, three anesthesiology residents rotate working with a surgical resident, scrub nurse, and circulating nurse to handle three complex intraoperative emergencies, which are videotaped. After each scenario, the team is debriefed by an attending anesthesiologist. The team members learn appropriate emergency patient management techniques and teamwork skills.