Program Curriculum
Research
Within the Anesthesia Residency Training Program is formal teaching on research methodology and critical appraisal, and an active journal and research club. Under the supervision of the Resident Research Director, all residents are involved in a research project that is usually presented at a national meeting or published in recognized journals. Major areas of research activity in the department include pain management, airway management, obstetrics, pharmacology and cardiovascular and ambulatory anesthesia.
PGY1
In Postgraduate Year 1, residents acquire specific clinical skills critical to the specialty of anesthesia. They also develop a working familiarity with those disciplines with which anesthesiologists typically interact. The year is fully integrated into the anesthesia program, starting with an eight-week anesthesia rotation wherein residents are introduced to anesthesia at the QEII Health Sciences Centre and the IWK Health Centre. During this rotation, staff are appointed as resident mentors. Rotations include
- anesthesia, 8 weeks
- internal medicine, 8 weeks
- surgery, 8 weeks
- emergency medicine, 4 weeks
- pediatrics, 8 weeks
- obstetrics/gynecology, 8 weeks
- elective, 8 weeks
PGY2 to PGY5
In PGY2, residents are introduced to relatively low risk anesthesia procedures at both QEII sites (Victoria General and Halifax Infirmary), and at the IWK for the first two months. Designated as a core rotation, residents work exclusively with two or three department members. Early training is centred around patient assessment, airway management, and recognition and management of common intra- and post-operative problems. Weekly simulator sessions are held during this time to complement OR training.
For the balance of PGY2, residents rotate through many anesthesia settings to learn the technical skills and management associated with a variety of specialty areas. These include anesthesia for general surgery, urology, ENT, gynecology, plastics and orthopaedic, and one-month rotations in cardiac anesthesia, pediatric anesthesia and obstetric anesthesia. As well, an airway rotation has been established where residents work with selected staff who have considerable interest in airway-management skills acquisition. Experience is provided in the operating room and in the anesthesia simulator in the use of airway adjuncts such as the fiberoptic bronchoscope, lightwand and Bullard laryngoscope. There is also an introductory four-week ICU rotation during this year.
From PGY3 to PGY5, residents complete the mandatory requirements of the program. Timing of the various subspecialty anesthesia rotations and the off-service rotations are not fixed. Five months of off-service rotations are usually done in PGY3, five months in PGY4, and one month in PGY5. Off-service rotations include five months in a med/surg ICU (one month as PGY2), cardiology and respirology consult services (two months each), two medical electives and a one-month rotation in a pediatric ICU.
Subspecialty anesthesia rotations are intermixed with off-service rotations through PGY3 to PGY5. Included in the anesthesia rotations is a three-month rotation in a New Brunswick teaching hospital. This rotation is mandatory and an integral part of our program. During the rotation, residents participate in a broad variety of anesthesia procedures.
Six months of elective experience is available in the program under section 2C in the Royal College Training Requirements. Although this is generally taken in PGY5, some of this time may be taken in earlier years (e.g. if a resident required one to two research months each year). Residents may also choose to organize an elective outside of the Dalhousie system, either within Canada or internationally.
The content of the elective rotations is decided through discussion and consultation between the resident and program director. The resident's choice is often influenced by potential career options or by the perceived need to expand their experience in a certain area.
