This clerkship will help you take your learning to the next level and prepare you for a successful, impactful career as an anesthesiologist.

Welcome to the Department of Anesthesiology at the Valleywise Health Medical Center. We are pleased to offer an in-depth and hands-on experience in the field of anesthesiology. You will work closely with Physician Anesthesiologists and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists and will see a wide variety of anesthetic techniques and surgical procedures. We specialize in burn and trauma surgery, as well as ENT, GYN, thoracic and vascular, pediatrics, high-risk obstetrics and plastic surgery. We also provide sedation services throughout the hospital and are experts in the management of difficult airways.

We look forward to sharing our passion for the field of anesthesiology with you!

Rotation Goals

  • Understand the components of pre-anesthetic consultation and risk stratification of patients prior to surgery and anesthesia.
  • Discuss goals of pre-operative medical optimization.
  • Identify anatomical features that may contribute to a difficult airway.
  • Understand the American Society of Anesthesia’s difficult airway algorithm.
  • Understand common monitors used during anesthesia.
  • Be exposed to a variety of anesthetic techniques: Monitored Anesthesia Care, General anesthesia, Neuraxial anesthesia, Regional anesthesia.
  • Understand pharmacology of commonly used anesthetic agents, neuromuscular blockers, sedatives and narcotics.
  • Understand common physiologic changes that occur while patients are under anesthesia.
  • Understand common cardiovascular medications utilized during anesthesia.
  • Understand how and why the anesthetic plan is modified based on the patients medical conditions.
  • Understand the ways a surgical procedure can impact the anesthetic and vice versa.
  • Understand common complications in the preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative phases.

 

Hands-on skills

  • Mask ventilation
  • Oral and nasal airway placement
  • LMA placement
  • Direct laryngoscopy and endotracheal tube placement
  • Exposure to advanced airway equipment and techniques
  • Peripheral IV access
  • Arterial line placement and monitoring
  • Central venous access