Residency Program Information

Admission Requirements

Applicants must hold an M.D. or D.O. degree from an accredited medical school in the United States or Canada. Graduates from other medical schools must achieved an acceptable score both the English and medical portions of the FMGEMS examinations. All applicants must be fluent in written and spoken English. Applicants must provide a letter from the dean of the medical school they attended, as well as letters from the chair or program director of two clinical departments or divisions. Three recent photographs, official transcripts from the applicant's undergraduate college and medical school should be forwarded directly to the Department of Anesthesiology. Copies of the NBME, FLEX, USMLE, FMGEMS and/or ECFMG examination results are also required if they have been taken. Candidates must have the physical capacity to perform all the usual tasks required of an anesthesiologist. Click here to obtain a copy of the application.

CA-4 (Fellowships)

We accept applications for our specialized-year programs from qualified individuals who have completed three or more years of acceptable anesthesiology training. Additional requirements may be set by the directors of each special section. Candidates are accepted into the specialized-year programs on a flexible time schedule which is mutually agreeable to the candidate and the sub-specialty director. Following receipt of the application and all required documents, qualified applicants will be contacted to schedule interviews and tours of our facilities.

Cardiovascular Anesthesia

The Cardiovascular Anesthesia service at UTHSCH includes an extensive variety and volume of cases. PGY-3 and PGY-4 residents are exposed to an incredible educational experience in cardiac pharmacology, physiology, technical skills and pre, intra, post and perioperative management of cardiac patients. Rotations are based at Memorial Hermann Hospital, which has a designated five OR Cardiovascular Suite, including a pediatric cardiac OR; and the world renowned Texas Heart Institute (THI), an institution designed exclusively for cardiovascular care and surgeries.

Clinical Anesthesia

The following three years, CA-1, CA-2 and CA-3, include experience in basic, subspecialty and advanced anesthesia training. All residents must obtain at least two months of subspecialty training in critical care medicine during the CA-1 to CA-3 anesthesia years. At the UT Medical School, 24 months are spent in clinical anesthesia and an additional 12 months are provided with experience in advanced or subspecialty training, or a period in scientific research. Further, residents are rotated through all the subspecialty areas in anesthesia, including Regional Anesthesia and the University Center for Pain Medicine and Rehabilitation. Further, residents also rotate in the general operating room and obstetrics at the county hospital. Finally, rotations outside include our pediatric and cardiac affiliated hospitals.

Clinical Base Year

The first 12 postdoctoral months should be in basic clinical disciplines other than anesthesia. The American Board of Anesthesiology recognizes transitional training, internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery and any other surgical specialties, obstetrics and gynecology, neurology, family practice, or any combination of these, as approved for the individual resident by the director of their training program. The clinical base year must be spent in a program accredited by the Accreditation Council on General Medical Education, the American Osteopathic Association or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Clinical Continuum of Anesthesia

After the M.D., D.O. or equivalent degree is conferred, all residents must complete a clinical base year and three years of full-time anesthesia training to be recognized as board-eligible by the American Board of Anesthesiology. Further, fellowships in subspecialty areas are required if residents intend to acquire multiple board certifications.

The Didactic Program

Residents who have completed their clinical base year are introduced to the practice of anesthesia during a one-month, intensively monitored program in the operating room before embarking on their clinical rotations. During the three years of clinical rotations, a lecture series is provided which takes the form of tutorials, mock oral board exams and PBL based lectures. The series, which runs Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings, is arranged in "blocks" of material and is taught by all faculty members. Material is arranged so that the entire body of relevant knowledge is surveyed in three years; but the close relationship of the basic sciences to clinical practice is always emphasized. Each year the department funds each resident to sit for the National In-training Exam of the American Board of Anesthesiology.

Fellowships

For those residents who wish to pursue careers in subspecialty branches of anesthesia or who wish to follow academic careers in a subspecialty, CA-4 or CA-5 years of training are available as fellows in the following subspecialties: critical care medicine, pain medicine, pediatric anesthesia, obstetric anesthesia, neurosurgical anesthesia, transplant anesthesia and cardiothoracic anesthesia.

General Surgery

Hermann Hospital handles a large volume of trauma and burn cases and has a busy plastic and reconstructive surgery division. These cases add variety and additional challenge to the general surgery case schedule and prepare the resident for the procedures most often seen in general hospital practice

Memorial Hermann Center for Hyperbaric Medicine

The Hermann Center for Hyperbaric Medicine offers a multi-patient, triple-lock hyperbaric chamber that is 72 inches in diameter. This chamber can provide full critical care treatment with its six-atmosphere capability. Two main functions of the Hyperbaric center are providing comprehensive medical and surgical care of chronic wounds resistant to healing and providing hyperbaric oxygen for patients with carbon monoxide poisoning, cyanide toxicity and complications of diving.The Hermann Center for Hyperbaric Medicine is staffed by anesthesiologists, critical care, pulmonary and surgical specialists all trained in the safe application of hyperbaric oxygen. Indications for hyperbaric oxygen include decompression sickness, gas embolism, carbon monoxide poisoning, cyanide intoxication and chronic wounds resistant to healing as a result of metabolic, ischemic, infective or traumatic injury

Intensive Care Unit Rotations

During the ICU rotation, the resident gains experience in the management of critically ill adult surgical patients and applies monitoring and resuscitative skills learned in the operating room. Particular emphasis is placed on the diagnosis and management of cardiovascular, respiratory, renal and metabolic failure and on the management of the comatose patient. The Department of Anesthesiology also provides patient care and teaching to residents in the Neurosurgical and Transplant Critical Care Units during their critical care rotation.

M.D. Anderson Hospital ICU

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center is a world-renowned cancer research and treatment hospital and referral center. Patients come to M.D. Anderson from around the world seeking the most current and aggressive treatment possible for their malignancies. Many patients are enrolled in investigational/research protocols. The cancers and many of their treatments are associated with significant end-organ side effects that require intensive care management. Adverse sequelae related to treatment, combined with the morbidity associated with the tumors alone, provide for very complex patient management opportunities and a very exciting place to work.

Neurosurgical Anesthesia

Neuroanesthesia experience is gained during a block rotation through the Department of Neurosurgery operating room. Faculty members with advanced training and special competence in neuroanesthesia impart the principles and practices of anesthesia care for patients with head injuries, tumors and cerebrovascular disease. Techniques of controlled hypotension, hypothermia and circulatory arrest are applied to specific problems in neuroanesthesia.

Obstetric Anesthesia

Experience in obstetric anesthesia is gained first at Hermann Hospital. Emphasis is placed on a thorough understanding of maternal and fetal physiology. After this introductory experience, the resident may spend time with the Obstetric Anesthesia Service at LBJ, one of the busiest obstetric services in the Houston area.

Options for the CA-3 Year

The American Board of Anesthesiology provides three options for training in the CA-3 year. The Advanced Clinical Track exposes the resident to the most advanced and complex anesthesia assignments with rotations in several subspecialties. The Subspecialty Clinical Track allows the resident with a subspecialty interest to pursue six to twelve months of dedicated training in that subspecialty. Or, the Clinical Scientist Track allows the resident with research interests to pursue six to twelve months of research training during the residency. Subspecialty training can be pursued in any of the following areas: critical care, obstetric anesthesia, cardiothoracic anesthesia, neurosurgical anesthesia, and pain medicine.

Pediatric Anesthesia

While at Hermann Hospital, residents spend a month assigned to the operating rooms serving the division of pediatric surgery. The faculty pediatric anesthesiologists give a solid introduction to the principles and practices of pediatric anesthesia. This is supplemented by two months of clinical experience at Texas Children's Hospital.

Regional Anesthesia

The UTHSCH Department of Anesthesiology offers a regional rotation to all residents. Each month three residents are exclusively assigned to regional anesthesia; one PGY-2 and one PGY-4 at Memorial Hermann Hospital and one PGY-4 at LBJ Hospital. Additionally, we offer a PGY-5 or fellowship annually.

Transplant Anesthesia

Hermann Hospital, after pioneering early efforts in kidney transplantation, has also established an active liver transplant program. Approximately 100 transplant procedures per year are performed, including pediatric liver transplant and living-related liver transplant procedures. Specialized monitoring and anesthetic techniques allow the resident to become comfortable with the care of patients undergoing these complex procedures.