The Department provides abundant educational resources and media to facilitate maximal learning. The program
provides each resident with:
Additionally, any resident who has an abstract accepted for presentation at a scientific meeting
is given additional allowance to cover the expenses of presenting the abstract. Finally, learning is optimized when
interspersed with adequate time to relax. We have always given each resident the maximum vacation time allowable by the
ABA – 4 weeks per year.
Department Intranet
The Department’s PC-based Network forms the backbone of information processing and communication for all members of
the Department. The Department’s full-time support staff in the Information Systems Group (ISG), eight servers, and 150 Departmental terminals reflect the Department’s commitment to and dependence on computer/intranet technology for all of its information/data needs. Examples of current applications include e-mail, internet access, access to MEDLINE and all services provided by the Edward G. Miner Medical Center Library, word processing, data and statistical analysis, call schedules, billing, daily case assignment scheduling, etc. The Department’s Intranet is easily accessed from afar via the Internet or directly via modem connection with the Department servers. Residents, too, rely on the ISG-supported department Intranet for their needs and are provided full access and support from day one.
Simulation
The Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Rochester owns and operates one of the first
anesthesia simulators in the U.S. The simulator uses computer-driven
models of human physiology, pathophysiology and pharmacokinetics combined with lifelike hardware to approximate a living patient. It not only "breathes" (consumes oxygen and produces carbon dioxide) and "circulates" (has a measurable pulse, blood pressure and cardiac output) but also is capable of responding to a variety of drugs and other interventions in a very realistic manner. This entire package is located in a realistic, configurable operating room or acute care suite with patient monitoring systems, ventilators, anesthesia machines, and surgical equipment to complete the simulation.
Applications of the simulator vary from basic science teaching and educational research to preparation of residents for
critical incidents. During the initial weeks of residency, the CA-1 residents use the simulator to familiarize themselves
with the induction and management of general anesthesia in healthy young patients. For more advanced residents,
the simulator provides a means of learning and reviewing the management complex cases and critical incidents.
Crisis situations in the operating room (cardiac arrest, massive blood loss, cardiac ischemia, dysrhythmias, pneumothorax,
tamponade) can be simulated, allowing residents to assess and hone their clinical management skills. Software is available
for scenarios such as malignant hyperthermia and massive pulmonary embolism, which are extremely rare but may result in
devastating complications. Practice on the simulator can help prepare the resident to manage these rare situations.
Residents also participate in full-scale, realistic resuscitation crises along with nurses and surgical staff.
These sessions focus on developing leadership and communication clinical skills. Simulators may one day find applications
in ABA certification and/or continuing demonstration of clinical competence. As with our program of oral practice exams
which help prepare residents for the ABA oral exam, simulator experience during residency training should make our residents
more comfortable with this evaluation tool in the future.
Our Department has been recognized by the American Society of Anesthesiologists for work in the use of simulators in
education and continues to host an International Conference on simulators in anesthesiology education.
The Edward G. Miner Library
The Edward G. Miner Library
can provide you with the help
you need to locate and manage
health sciences information. In
addition to print books and journals,
Miner offers a growing
Digital Library www.urmc.edu/
hslt/miner/digital_library).
Here you will find a vast collection
of full-text journals and
books, as well as online databases
such as MEDLINE,
UpToDate, MD Consult and the
Cochrane Database of Systemic
Reviews. Miner also offers a complete
photocopy and interlibrary
loan service via ILLiad, an electronic
online document delivery system.
Within Miner’s Computer Learning
Center, both Macs and PCs are
available. Consultants are available
to help you with: software (including
graphics and statistical programs),
setting up a password account to
access the Digital Library from off
campus, downloading web pages
and email to your palm device by
InfraRed, and configuring your laptop
(or other mobile device) to take
advantage of wireless networking,
now available throughout Miner
Library.
The collections total more than
240,000 volumes and include many
complete runs of important medical
periodicals and serials, a large selection
of the latest monographs and
textbooks, and an extensive reference
collection of handbooks, directories
and bibliographical works.
The History of Medicine section
contains about 15,000 rare books
plus another 5,000 circulating
books.
Additional library resources are
available in other University of
Rochester libraries, particularly the
River Campus libraries—Rush
Rhees Library, which holds over 2
million volumes, primarily in the
humanities and social sciences.
There are approximately 40,000
volumes in the central reference collection.
The library includes several
smaller specialized libraries: Art
Library, Government Documents,
Management Library, Robbins
Library, Koller-Collins Graduate
English Center, and the Department
of Rare Books and Special
Collections.We also have the
Carlson Library, which is the main
science library, and a separate
Physics-Optics Astronomy Library.
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