Medical Student Education | Department of Anesthesiology - University of Rochester Medical Center

Medical Student Education

Thursday, October 2010 13:44

Our department interacts with the students even during the first year of medical school. Many in our faculty teach and facilitate a variety of educational offerings in pharmacology and physiology. In securing relationships with the students early in their graduate training, we have been able to foster many successful mentorships and career guidance. These positive interactions have annual yields in the form of consistent numbers of fantastic applicants into our specialty.

The department also sponsors a summer externship program to a select group of post-first year medical student. This eight week experience allows the junior student to get a robust exposure to our field and to obtain some early firsthand experience of bringing the pharmacology and physiology classroom experience to life in the clinical setting of the operating room.

In 2009, the department partnered with the Department of Surgery and developed an Anesthesiology curriculum within the core surgical rotation. Directed by Joseph Dooley, MD, all students participate in an afternoon Airway Lab, where they learn about the anatomy of the airway and the various tools used to aid patients in ventilation and oxygenation, and the indications for such intervention. Also, a separate lecture series focuses on teaching students about the various ways that Anesthesiologists provide care for patients.

The five elective courses offered to the medical students include:

Anesthesiology Clerkship – Introduction to Anesthesiology

Under the supervision of our Director of Medical Student Education, Dr. Jennifer Macpherson, this two week basic elective is highly popular amongst our 3rd and 4th year medical students. Students are paired with senior residents 1:1 and exposed to the entire perioperative experience. The first week includes a day in the Preadmission Evaluation Center and another day in the Post Anesthesia Recovery Unit. In addition, there is a workshop in airway management and a simulator session covering crisis management. The student is encouraged to be an active member of the anesthesia team – learning to do pre-ops, come up with a general anesthetic plan, and given a variety of reading assignments and opportunities for procedures.

Advanced Anesthesiology Clerkship

The department offers an advanced Anesthesia course under Dr. Karan, our Residency Program Director. This course is specialized for medical students that are considering Anesthesia as their career path and is personally tailored to their individual needs. This has included time scheduled in regional anesthesia, in research, and in our simulator.

OB Anesthesia

Under the supervision of Dr. Richard Wissler, students have an opportunity to spend two weeks on the OB floor gaining exposure to analgesia for labor and anesthesia for cesarean sections. Daily conferences allow the student to participate in discussions with faculty and residents about the anesthetic implications of the parturient.

Pain Management

The pain management elective supervised by Dr. Thakur is a two week course in pain. This elective occurs at Sawgrass, our off-site Pain Treatment Center.

Hemodynamic Monitoring

The Hemodynamic Monitoring elective supervised by Dr. Iannoli is a one week elective that focuses on teaching the student about the monitors used to assess the dynamic cardiovascular pathophysiologic changes during cardiac anesthesia.