Department Overview

The Dalhousie Department of Anesthesia has a four-fold mandate encompassing safe, quality patient care, education, research and stewardship of people’s health at home and abroad.

Patient care

Created in 1945, the Department of Anesthesia has grown to provide a full spectrum of critical care and general clinical services and administer leading edge programs in blood management, pain management and regional anesthesia. It subspecializes in cardiac surgery, neurosurgery, obstetrics, pediatrics, thoracic surgery and transplantation.

The Department of Anesthesia provides expertise locally through a variety of community-based initiatives, nationally through a variety of committees, boards and agencies, and internationally through outreach programs.

Safe vigilant patient care is our hallmark. Ninety-six anesthesiologists perform more than 45,000 procedures annually at five main facilities in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick: QEII Health Sciences Centre, IWK Health Centre, Dartmouth General Hospital, Hants Community Hospital and Saint John Regional Hospital.

Education

The Department of Anesthesia’s faculty, many of whom have been recognized locally and nationally for their teaching efforts, teach all aspects of medicine related to anesthesia and acute care medicine and illustrate the application of the basic sciences of physiology, pharmacology and anatomy to anesthesia. 

The department trains undergraduate students, residents, fellows, and department members to be highly competent, confident professionals.  With more than 70 undergraduate students each year; 200 applicants annually for five residency positions; and an ongoing commitment to continuous learning for department members, our education program is among the most robust in Canada.

 

Research

We believe a vibrant and productive research environment is crucial to creating new knowledge that advances the science and practice of anesthesia. In 2008, we established an Office of Research, charged with fostering research and laying the foundation for a research-rich department. Reflecting the department’s values of transparency and accountability, the Office of Research, in working with researchers in the department, produced an accountability framework  - the first of its kind among clinical departments in Canada. The framework establishes clear standards and expectations against which performance is measured and reported.

Researchers within the department primarily focus their research efforts in: pain, airway management, and perioperative inflammation and organ protection. Outcomes research and device development have also been identified as areas of concentration. The research team has attracted substantial grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Teasdale Corti Global Health Research Initiative, the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation, and the Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation.

Stewardship

Department of Anesthesia members regularly ‘give back’ by sharing their expertise through a variety of outreach initiatives including the department’s Global Health Program. Current efforts include the development and delivery of a remote-locations training program and on-site training programs in Rwanda, Ghana and Thailand.

The department also administers the Anesthetic Services Program Encompassing Nova Scotia (ASPENS). ASPENS is a consultation service designed to assist and support departments of anesthesia in hospitals across Nova Scotia to provide safe, high-quality anesthesia care.