Didactic Teaching
The program has generous, dedicated educational time, including a
comprehensive didactic conference schedule to provide a solid foundation of anesthesia knowledge and skills. Residents are routinely relieved from clinical duty by attendings so that they can attend these protected didactic sessions.
Resident lectures are predominantly provided by faculty or guest speakers. In some instances, residents are invited to present with faculty mentorship. Monthly chief conferences allow senior residents to lead interactive case management discussions. Medical simulation continues to play a growing role in the educational process and many of the Thursday afternoon sessions are conducted in the
Carl J. Shapiro Skills and Simulation Lab.
Monday
3:30 PM CA-1/PGY-2 Lecture (month of July only)
4:30 PM Resident Lecture
Tuesday
3:30 PM CA-1/PGY-2 Lecture (month of July only)
4:30 PM Resident Lecture or Journal Club
Wednesday
7:00 AM Department Grand Rounds/Equipment Workshop/Airway Workshop
7:45 AM Clinical Conference (M&M)
4:30 PM Bronchoscopy Simulation (Sep/Oct)
4:30 PM TEE Lecture (last Weds of the month)
Thursday
3:30 PM CA-1/PGY-2 Lecture (month of July only)
4:30 PM Simulation scenarios, Mock Oral Boards, or Chief Resident's conference,
The curriculum for the year is divided into three sections, each with a different emphasis. An effort is made to coordinate subspecialty blocks and grand rounds topics to make for a more coherent experience.
Section 1- Core Topics- (13 weeks):
The first quarter of the year is committed to providing essential information on the fundamentals of anesthesia and perioperative management.
CA-1 Preceptorship-(4 weeks):
The month of July is dedicated to a core lecture series for CA-1 residents. During several hours of intense daily didactics, basic topics in anesthesia are covered at a level appropriate for new learners.
Throughout the course of the month, lectures are designed to complement and enhance the content of Stoelting and Miller's "Basics of Anesthesia". This lecture series is coupled with the clinical tutoring program designed to ease the transition to the OR environment. Residents are paired with a limited number (2-3) of experienced faculty for the bulk of their initial month of clinical training. By the end of this orientation period, it is expected that new CA-1 residents will have an appropriate knowledge base and basic skill set to allow them to begin functioning as members of the OR team.
Perioperative care- (3 weeks):
This portion of the curriculum is focused on sharpening the understanding of the role of the Anesthesiologist as a perioperative physician. Topics focus on anesthetic management of co-existing diseases. Preoperative assessment and optimization and postoperative management issues are also highlighted.
Adjunctive issues in anesthesia- (3 weeks):
Diverse topics pertaining to anesthesia such as understanding anesthesia equipment, billing, mediocolegal issues, and careers in anesthesia are covered.
Pharmacology (3 weeks):
More in-depth pharmacology of anesthetic and related agents are explored. Pharmacokinetics and dynamics are covered more comprehensively.
Section 2- Subspecialty blocks (30 weeks):
Each subspecialty discipline is allocated 1 to 6 weeks of lecture time based on input from division chiefs and the didactic workgroup. Some subspecialties or interest areas are combined to decrease degree of overlap. Lecture series are augmented by on-service lectures (e.g. ICU). All are enhanced by teaching in the OR relevant to rotations. Pediatrics topics are covered at Boston Children's Hospital during dedicated pediatrics rotations.
Section 3- Board Preparation - (9 weeks):
The final section of the curriculum focuses on board review and test taking strategies. It has grown out of popular response to a series of "keyword" sessions which will continue to lead off this block. The concept of this block is to unfetter the lectures in the remainder of the year from "teaching to the boards", while at the same time acknowledging that this is an important component of a resident's training which should be addressed. Questions are grouped by topic area and discussion is facilitated by faculty expert in that area. Several longitudinal components are part of this curriculum as well. A newer addition comes in the form of a monthly written board review designed to bring together questions on the theme topic of the month. There is also a monthly mock oral board session, which is typically administered by one of several department members who are also oral board examiners. Another recent addition is a monthly session on differential diagnosis designed to aid residents in preparation for oral boards as well as in daily problem solving in the operating room.
Other components- Once a month on Wednesday, there is a Transesophageal Echocardiography conference open to all faculty and residents. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy skills labs are on Wednesday afternoons in the fall and are small groups mediated by faculty. A small group, hands on, tracheostomy workshop and several airway and equipment workshops are also held during the year.