Cardiothoracic Anesthesia Fellowship Curriculum

A one-year training program includes:

• Eight months of intraoperative cardiac anesthesia
• One month of thoracic anesthesia
• One month of cardiothoracic ICU
• Two months of elective rotations including but not limited to cardiology, transthoracic echocardiography, perfusion, and pediatric cardiac anesthesia

Appropriate vacation time, as well as time for participation in professional meetings and conferences, is allotted.

Formal Instruction

There are various conferences over the course of the year given by St. Elizabeth’s staff and visiting professors as a part of the core anesthesiology residency program. Attendance is mandatory and every effort is made to relieve the fellows from clinical responsibilities at the time of these lectures. The schedule is distributed in advance and is updated every month.

The fellows are expected to participate in the following lecture series:

• Monthly TEE lectures
• Case conferences
• M&Ms
• Multidisciplinary conferences – Cardiothoracic surgery M&Ms, TAVR conferences
• Selected residency lectures
• Cardiology core curriculum lectures

Objectives of Training

• To provide an intellectual environment for acquiring knowledge, skills, clinical judgment, attitudes and values that are essential to cardiac anesthesia.
• Provision of the best possible care for each individual patient delivered in a compassionate manner.
• Development and maintenance of humanistic and ethical attributes among all physicians undergoing training in cardiac anesthesiology.
• Active effort by faculty members to encourage trainees to cultivate an attitude of scholarship and dedication to continuing education that will remain with them throughout their professional careers.
• Participation in journal clubs, literature reviews and presentation in conferences is expected to inculcate a habit of critical thinking to achieve greater insight into analysis of published literature.

Duration of Training

The rotations of the fellows in training are determined by the curriculum, not by the needs of the facility or the faculty. After successful completion of training in cardiothoracic anesthesiology, fellows are expected to serve as high-level expert consultants and procedural specialists. The core components of the training program reflect that expectation.