USC/LA General Medical Center Anesthesiology Residency Program

In addition to clinical skills, our four year program emphasizes interpersonal skills, effective communication, professionalism, leadership in health services delivery, prudent fiscal resource stewardship, and quality improvement initiatives.

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Preparing the anesthesiologists of tomorrow with a thorough, experiential curriculum

The Los Angeles General Medical Center Anesthesiology Residency program transitions medical students through an experiential curriculum to develop them into independent practitioners. Our training program focuses on the assessment of, consultation for and preparation of patients for anesthesia; relief and prevention of pain during and following surgical, therapeutic and diagnostic procedures.

We are fortunate to have two equally large in-patient clinical sites on our Health Sciences Campus as well as an outpatient surgical facility. Our residents see a broad variety of surgical services and a diverse patient population. Our county facility houses a burn unit and is the busiest level one trauma centers in Los Angeles.

Application

The Anesthesiology Residency Program is a Categorical Residency Program, annually accepting applications for 18 PGY-1 positions.

All prospective applicants wishing to apply to our program must apply through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). Our requirements for application include:

  • Common application form
  • Personal statement
  • Medical school transcript
  • MSPE/ Dean’s Letter
  • Letters of recommendation (minimum of 3)
  • Photograph
  • USMLE transcript
  • ECFMG status report – foreign graduates only

Director

Chelsia Jackson, MD

Need Help Applying?

Contact Caroline Caldwell
Residency Program Coordinator
caroline.caldwell@med.usc.edu

Resident Benefits and Salary

General work benefits are provided by the County of Los Angeles and are negotiated for residents by the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR).

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is available for review at:

Applicant Information – LA General Medical Center (lacountgov)

Rotation Facilities

Our Department provides education for its residents at three University-based hospitals and Los Angeles General Medical Center, all located on the medical campus of the University of Southern California. The Keck Hospital of USC is an ultra-modern, full service medical center at which several groups of world famous surgical teams perform operations not done anywhere else in the country. The USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital is a National Cancer Institute-designated facility providing comprehensive cancer care and is a major site of ICU training. These hospitals constitute the core training experience for our residents, allowing them to gain necessary confidence during their three-year training period.

Los Angeles General Medical Center

The Los Angeles General Medical Center is the primary teaching site providing residents a unique opportunity to spend 16 months of their 36-month curriculum caring for patients in a large, Level I Trauma center. The diversity of pathology provides the resident with an unparalleled, supervised clinical experience permitting progressive responsibility by gradually assigning residents to increasingly challenging cases to prepare the trainee for independent practice and/or further specialized training. The medical center is also the site for delivery of the core curriculum including daily lectures and weekly grand rounds.

The Los Angeles General Medical Center, which is the largest medical complex of its kind in the country, serves as the tertiary referral center for Los Angeles County as well as much of Southern California. Here, residents gain experience in a public hospital setting working on cases ranging from minor elective operations to complex innovative surgical procedures. The Los Angeles General Medical Center Anesthesiology and Surgical Trauma Team has the enviable record of having one of the best survival rates for trauma patients in the country.

LA General Medical Center exterior building and signage

Keck Medicine of USC

Keck Medicine of USC serves as a focused training site for four core rotations: cardiac, pain, thoracic and neurosurgical anesthesia. It also serves as the site for six months of CA3 advanced clinical rotations in thoracic, cardiac, vascular, regional, transplant and neurosurgery. Residents gain experience in this private tertiary care center by participating in direct patient care and weekly educational sessions.

Keck Hospital

USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center

USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center provides comprehensive care for patients in its affiliated hospitals and outpatient clinics, and conducts hundreds of clinical trials, offering the latest in innovative cancer treatments

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has designated the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center as one of the nation’s 41 comprehensive cancer centers, a select group of institutions providing leadership in cancer treatment, research, prevention, and education. USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center has held this designation since 1973, when it was named as one of the first eight comprehensive cancer centers.

Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

CHLA provides the resident an intense experience in the care of children in a major freestanding quaternary care children’s hospital complementing the experience with neonates and infants. Rotation provides the resident with substantial clinical exposure during the two month CA-2 rotation experience. The rotation provides core experience in pediatrics and prepares residents for a CA-3 advanced pediatric anesthesia rotation at the Los Angeles General Medical Center.

Children's Hospital Los Angeles

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

The Cedars-Sinai Medical Center rotation provides a focused experience in the care of women and their newborns. There are approximate 950 deliveries per month including 325 C-sections per month at Cedars Sinai. This private patient setting complements the delivery experience in a public setting of Los Angeles General Medical Center. The rotation includes daily educational sessions focused on obstetric services.

Keck Medicine Outpatient Surgery Center

Keck Medicine Outpatient Surgery Center

At the Keck Medicine of USC Outpatient Surgery Center, our board-certified surgeons and anesthesiologists, as well as our nurses and support staffs are committed to providing world-class care to patients. Types of outpatient surgeries performed include eye, gynecologic, orthopaedic surgery, otolaryngology – head and neck surgery, pain management, plastic and urologic surgery.

Fresh Tissue Dissection Lab (FTDL)

The Fresh Tissue Dissection Lab (FTDL) offers a unique opportunity for residents and medical students to practice hands-on airway management skills in a stress-free setting utilizing a fresh cadaver model. In addition to bag-valve-mask ventilation and direct laryngoscopy, other airway skills are taught including video laryngoscopy, intubating LMA, retrograde-wire intubation as well as emergency airway procedures, such as needle and open cricothyroidotomy. The trainee is able to perform each of these procedures directly on the cadaver. Beginning early on in their training the anesthesia interns also take part in clinical skills training in the FTDL during which they are taught how to perform procedures such as chest-tube thoracostomy and central line placement. As senior residents, they will have the opportunity to take part in teaching some of these skills to the junior residents in the lab. The FTDL is an exceptional training platform allowing residents to practice their procedural skills and develop the confidence needed to provide the best care to their patients.

The Fresh Tissue Dissection Lab (FTDL) offers a unique opportunity for residents and medical students to practice hands-on airway management skills in a stress-free setting utilizing a fresh cadaver model. In addition to bag-valve-mask ventilation and direct laryngoscopy, other airway skills are taught including video laryngoscopy, intubating LMA, retrograde-wire intubation as well as emergency airway procedures, such as needle and open cricothyroidotomy. The trainee is able to perform each of these procedures directly on the cadaver. Beginning early on in their training the anesthesia interns also take part in clinical skills training in the FTDL during which they are taught how to perform procedures such as chest-tube thoracostomy and central line placement. As senior residents, they will have the opportunity to take part in teaching some of these skills to the junior residents in the lab. The FTDL is an exceptional training platform allowing residents to practice their procedural skills and develop the confidence needed to provide the best care to their patients.

Simulation Center

The Simulation Center (at the Los Angeles General Medical Center) houses a METI state of the art Human Patient Simulator (HPS) fully automatic, high-fidelity patient simulator specifically designed for training in anesthesia as part of the curriculum for both Anesthesiology Residents and the Student Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs).

The HPS is the only patient simulator with the ability to provide respiratory gas exchange, anesthesia delivery, and patient monitoring with real physiological clinical monitors. Our anesthesiologists and CRNAs have been specifically trained to run high-fidelity simulation scenarios and debriefings.

Simulation in anesthesiology allows trainees to experience rare, but serious conditions or circumstances that may occur in the course of ones career but perhaps not during their training. These circumstances can be experienced realistically and without risk to patients in a controlled setting designed to promote learning. It additionally allows the teaching faculty to address a problem area in a safe, non-threatening setting to help in the professional growth and development of our trainees.

Our Simulation Center training provides:

  • Enhancement of student learning and knowledge through communication, leadership and critical thinking
  • Improvement of assessment and psychomotor skills through mastery learning
  • Provision of real life, relevant, and dynamic clinical scenarios
  • Translation of knowledge and skills for crisis care management of patients
  • Involvement in settings to exemplify systems-based strategies
  • Utilization of structured, facilitated and modified debriefing techniques
  • Performance of formative and summative feedback and evaluation

The faculty of the Simulation Center provide evidence based education and instruction founded in sound pedagogical techniques. The core faculty is dedicated to the enhancement of the professional practice of anesthesia and provides a supportive learning environment best suited to meet the high quality clinical and academic standards of the university.

Simulation Center Contacts:
Tara Humphrey, MD
Tara.Humphrey@med.usc.edu

Charlotte Garcia, CRNA, EdD, CHSE
charlotg@usc.edu

Rotation Schedule Overview

  • As of 2014, we became a categorical residency program and accepted our first four-year class. Each year, our residency program receives more than 500 applications for 18 Post Graduate Year 1 positions.

    Interns have rotations at both Los Angeles General Medical Center and Keck Hospital of USC. They move through surgical specialties, anesthesia, ICU rotations (2), emergency medicine, night float, heart failure or cardiology, research and vacation blocks. Surgical specialties may include orthopaedics, hepatobiliary, urology, vascular, plastics, transplant, ENT and colorectal surgery. During their anesthesia rotation, interns will become oriented to their future specialty.

    For the first few months of the program, interns will attend Surgical Skills Boot Camp learning basic surgical skills such as surgical airway, central line access, chest tube insertion, tying knots and laparoscopy skills. During the course of the year, they will attend anesthesia didactics every Friday. These lectures will introduce basic anesthesia concepts and provide opportunity for skills training in airway, sterile gown and gloving and ultrasound.

    Categorical interns have a unique opportunity to become acquainted with the hospital, surgical staff, anesthesia faculty and fellow peers. The department hosts outings in which interns have the opportunity to meet staff and current residents. They also have time together as a class every Friday at anesthesia lecture. All of these opportunities will help transition to their future residency.

  • Clinical Base Year Rotations Year # of Weeks
    General Surgery PGY-1 26
    Surgical Critical Care PGY-1 4
    Emergency Medicine PGY-1 4
    Anesthesia PGY-1 4
    Quality Improvement & Patient Safety PGY-1 2
    Medicine PGY-1 8
  • Core Residency Rotations Year # of Weeks
    Post-Anesthesia Care (PACU) CA-1 2
    Preoperative Screening Clinic CA-1 4
    Regional Anesthesia CA-1 4
    Cardiac Anesthesia CA-1/CA-2 4
    Critical Care CA-1/CA-2 8
    Neuroanesthesia CA-1/CA-2 4
    Obstetrical Anesthesia CA-1/CA-2 8
    Pain Management CA-1/CA-2 8
    Pediatric Anesthesia CA-2 8
    Advanced Clinical Rotations Year # of Weeks
    OFF Site Anesthesia CA-3 2 – 4
    Advanced Ambulatory Anesthesia CA-3 2 – 4
    Advanced Thoracic/Vascular Anesthesia CA-3 4 – 8
    Advanced Cardiac Anesthesia CA-3 4
    Advanced Neuroanesthesia CA-3 4
    Advanced Obstetrical Anesthesia CA-3 4
    Anesthesia for Advanced Surgical Oncology CA-3 4
    Transplant Anesthesia CA-3 4
    Advanced Pediatric Anesthesia CA-3 2 – 4
    Advanced Regional Anesthesia CA-3 2 – 4
    Transition to Practice CA-3 2
    Critical Care CA-3 4
    Burns CA-3 2
  • General Surgery
    PGY-1 rotation (26 weeks)
    Location: Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Director: Kenji Inaba, MD

    Surgical Critical Care
    PGY-1 rotation (8 weeks)
    Location: Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Director: Kenji Inaba, MD

    Emergency Medicine
    PGY-1 rotation (4 weeks)
    Location: Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Director: Jan Shoenberger, MD

    Anesthesia
    PGY-1 rotation (4 weeks)
    Location: Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Director: Jay Roby, MD

    Quality Improvement & Patient Safety
    PGY-1 rotation (4 weeks)
    Location: Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Director: Cathy Kuza, MD (Philip Lumb, MD, interim)

    Medicine
    PGY-1 rotation (8 weeks)
    Location: Keck Medical Center; Norris Cancer Hospital of USC
    Director: David Shavelle, MD

    General Surgery
    PGY-1 rotation (26 weeks)
    Location: Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Director: Kenji Inaba, MD

    Surgical Critical Care
    PGY-1 rotation (8 weeks)
    Location: Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Director: Kenji Inaba, MD

    Emergency Medicine
    PGY-1 rotation (4 weeks)
    Location: Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Director: Jan Shoenberger, MD

    Anesthesia
    PGY-1 rotation (4 weeks)
    Location: Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Director: Jay Roby, MD

    Quality Improvement & Patient Safety
    PGY-1 rotation (4 weeks)
    Location: Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Director: Cathy Kuza, MD (Philip Lumb, MD, interim)

    Medicine
    PGY-1 rotation (8 weeks)
    Location: Keck Medical Center; Norris Cancer Hospital of USC
    Director: David Shavelle, MD

CA-1 through CA-2 Rotations

  • CA-1 rotation (2 weeks)
    Location: Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Director: Aren Nercisian, MD

    The PACU rotation teaches assessment and management of patients in the postoperative period who have received general anesthesia, regional anesthesia, or monitored anesthesia care.


    By the end of this rotation, the resident will:

    • Interpret an EKG
    • Manage and assess arterial and intravenous catheters, including indwelling central and pulmonary lines.
    • Interpret basic chest radiographs related to pulmonary disease and complications, including the placement of central lines and endotracheal tube position.
    • Manage acute airway emergencies.
    • Formulate a postoperative care plan, upon admission, for both pediatric and adult patients.
    • Understand common post-anesthesia care problems, such as…
      • Hypothermia
      • Hypoxia
      • Hypercarbia
      • Airway compromise
      • Post-obstructive pulmonary edema
      • Congestive heart failure
      • Pulmonary restrictive disease
      • Aspiration pneumonitis
      • Pulmonary embolism
      • Bradycardia
      • Tachycardia
      • Tachyarrhythmias
      • Hypotension
      • Hypertension
      • Bleeding dyscrasias
      • Transfusion reactions
      • Allergic drug reactions and drug interactions
      • Renal compromise and failure
      • Diabetes
      • Hepatic failure
      • Alcohol withdrawal
      • Ischemic neurovascular disease
      • Intracranial hypertension
      • Medication errors
      • Atypical pseudocholinesterase deficiency
    • Discuss issues related to the selection and management of outpatients, including evolving concepts such as “accelerated discharge or fast tracking”. These discussions should include an understanding of the evolving concepts of discharge criteria.
    • Discuss the causes and management of postoperative nausea and vomiting.
    • Discuss the causes and management of postoperative pain. Residents should be able to measure, formulate, treat, and communicate a pain plan.
    • Discuss the treatment of complications related to the treatment of pain.
    • Understand the role of the anesthesiologist and the issues of communication and education of nurses.
    • Understand the role of effective communication with family members, including issues of confidentiality.
    • Understand the role of effective communication with the patient.
    • Understand the role of effective communication with the surgeon(s).
    • Understand the role of the postoperative visit and assessment.
    • Understand the role of ergonomics and economics and their impact upon post-operative care unit.
  • CA-1 rotation (4 weeks)
    Location: Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Director: Rajesh Patel, MD

    The Preoperative Screening Clinic rotation teaches the resident the skills to evaluate and manage a variety of medical conditions (adult and pediatric) in the preoperative clinic; request and interpret preoperative tests and evaluations; order and evaluate consultation services; and understand the fundamentals of clearing a patient for surgery.


    By the end of this rotation, the resident will:

    • Demonstrate an understanding of the objectives listed above and be able to clinically apply them.
    • Demonstrate the skill to diagnose, evaluate, and manage the preoperative patient with various medical conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiac disease, dysrhythmias, & COPD.
    • Demonstrate the skills to evaluate multiple diagnostic modalities, such as chest x-ray, electrocardiogram, stress echocardiography, and pulmonary functions tests.
    • Demonstrate the skill to appropriately request a consultation, and effectively evaluate their assessment of the preoperative patient.
    • Demonstrate the understanding and skill to diagnose, evaluate, and manage multiple Pediatric medical conditions such as upper respiratory illness, asthma, and repaired heard disease.
    • Demonstrate the skill to appropriately clear a patient for surgery, and appropriately postpone surgery pending further medical evaluation.

    Satisfactory completion of this rotation will be based on whether the resident has accomplished these objectives. Also, a satisfactory score on the written exam at the end of the rotation is required for completion of this rotation.

  • CA-1 rotation (4 weeks)
    Location: Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Director: TBD

    The Regional Anesthesia rotation is designed to give concise and formal training in regional blocks. During this rotation, residents learn about anatomy of peripheral nerves, local anesthetics pharmacology and complications of blocks and local anesthetics. The resident will become knowledgeable about anatomy of peripheral nerves, local anesthetics pharmacology and complications of blocks and local anesthetics.


    By the end of this rotation, the resident will:

    • Learn how to appropriately evaluate and select patients for regional anesthesia
    • Recognize the importance of proper informed consent for regional anesthesia
    • Learn relevant anatomy
    • Understand various approaches for performing the different blocks
    • Learn the pharmacology and toxicity profiles of the local anesthetics.
    • Recognize complications of regional anesthesia and manage those complications.

    …and master:

    • Spinal and epidural anesthesia, including thoracic epidural catheter placement
    • Brachial plexus blockade, including interscalene, subclavian perivascular, inter-sternocleidomastoid supraclavicular, infraclavicular, and axillary approaches.
    • Knowledge of anatomy of the brachial plexus in relation to surgical site for choice of blockade approach.
    • Various techniques such as nerve stimulation, paresthesia, or transarterial.
    • Lower extremity blockade. Femoral, Lateral Femoral Cutaneous, and Obturator nerve blockade will be taught as a three-in-one block.
    • Various approaches; posterior, lateral, and posterior popliteal for sciatic nerve blockade.
    • Ankle blocks
    • I.V. Regional anesthesia, and other peripheral blocks, such as suprascapular blocks.
  • CA-2 rotation (4 weeks)
    Location: Keck Medical Center; Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Director: Steven Haddy, MD and Peter Roffey, MD

    The cardiothoracic anesthesiology experience is divided between the Los Angeles General Medical Center and Keck Hospital. As a rule, the first or junior rotation takes place at Los Angeles General Medical Center and the second (or senior) advanced rotation is done at Keck. Generally, residents function as the primary provider supervised by fellows and faculty, gaining experience with invasive monitoring and basic transesophageal echocardiography. Combining experiences at both teaching sites gives the residents exposure to a wide variety of cases including adult congenital, ventricular assist devices, transplantation, and catheter-based aortic and valvular procedures, as well as more routine coronary artery and valvular surgeries.

    In addition to the basic residency didactic curriculum, residents are invited to participate in discussions and lectures with the fellows and faculty, covering more advanced topics within cardiothoracic anesthesiology. The faculty actively supports publications and presentations as part of the residents’ experience.

  • CA-1 – CA-3 rotation (4-8 weeks)
    Location: Keck Medical Center; Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Director: Ryan Mark Barnette, MD and Durai Thangathurai, MD

    The Critical Care Medicine rotation teaches residents the delivery of care from the operating room into a different setting, in which body’s physiology is carefully altered and optimized. These patients need supportive therapy (ventilation, hemodynamic support, oxygenation and end organ preservation). Residents typically do two four-week blocks, which may or may not be consecutive.

    The goal of this rotation is to expose the resident to the management of sedation and analgesia on the ICU with critical patients such as those who are in shock, hemodynamically unstable, in renal failure, or undergoing solid organ transplant. The resident will learn to recognize and manage acute hematological disturbances.


    By the end of this rotation, the resident will:

    • Manage the ventilated patient.
      • Know the different types of ventilators.
      • Distinguish the different ventilator modes, understand why they are different, and know the typical indications for each mode.
      • Understand the use of positive airway pressure – its indications and adverse effects.
      • Recognize the signs and symptoms of impending respiratory failure and when to intervene.
      • Know the different methods to wean from mechanical ventilation; when to start weaning and how to assess weaning failure/success.
      • Know the concept of different modes of ventilation.
      • Understand the basis for the “lung protective strategy” and the management of patients with acute lung injury.
      • Interpret the chest X-ray.
      • Interpret arterial blood gas results and acid-base disturbances.
      • Understand the concept, indications, contraindications and techniques of non-invasive ventilation.
    • Manage the hemodynamically unstable patient.
      • Recognize “shock states” and inadequate tissue perfusion.
      • Assess volume status clinically.
      • Differentiate between the various causes of poor tissue perfusion.
      • Understand the indications for invasive monitoring, how to initiate these techniques, and interpret their findings.
      • Understand use, benefits and adverse effects of the various vasoactive agents.
      • Recognize the goals of therapy.
    • Manage the patient with renal failure.
      • How to diagnose impending renal failure.
      • How to formulate a differential diagnosis of the cause of renal failure.
      • How to manage incipient renal failure and try to prevent overt failure.
      • Know the various forms of hemodialysis – their indications, benefits, and adverse effects.
    • Understand surgical nutrition.
      • Understand when to start nutritional support.
      • Understand the benefits and adverse effects of the different routes of nutritional support.
      • Understand the benefits of the enteral as opposed to the parenteral route for nutrition.
      • Recognize the different types of feeds.
      • Know how to calculate the nutritional needs of a patient.
      • Know how to manage adverse effects of nutrition.
    • Understand surgical infection.
      • Know how to work up the febrile “infected” patient.
      • Know what are the most common sources of infection in a surgical patient.
      • Know how to interpret microbiological findings.
      • Understand antibiotics – their indications and adverse effects.
      • Recognize the signs of impending sepsis.
    • Manage the septic patient and provide hemodynamic support.
    • Understand the management of sedation and analgesia on the ICU.
      • Recognize the goals of analgesia/sedation.
      • Understand the various techniques to provide pain relief to the ICU patient.
      • Know the sedative agents in common use — their indication, benefits and adverse effects.
    • Manage the patient receiving a solid organ transplant.
      • Know the different protocols for the management of the kidney, pancreas and liver transplant.
      • Recognize the complications of organ rejection/failure and how to manage these complications.
      • Know the various immunosuppressant medications.
    • Recognize the diagnosis of infection in the transplanted patient.
    • Understand the importance of the prophylaxis of deep venous thrombosis.
      • Be aware of the frequency of DVTs in the surgical population.
      • Understand the different approaches to DVT prophylaxis – their indication, benefits, and adverse effects.
    • Recognize acute hematological disturbances.
      • Understand the subject of transfusion thresholds and how these may differ in different patients.
      • Know how to work up the patient with a coagulopathy.
      • Understand the management of the coagulopathic patient.
      • Understand the differences between the various blood factors.
    • Insert invasive hemodynamic monitoring including central venous lines, arterial lines, and pulmonary artery catheters, hemodialysis catheters.
    • Initiate mechanical ventilation.
    • Insert of thoracotomy tubes.
    • Know intubation techniques.
    • Manage the ventilated patient.
      • Know the different types of ventilators.
      • Distinguish the different ventilator modes, understand why they are different, and know the typical indications for each mode.
      • Understand the use of positive airway pressure – its indications and adverse effects.
      • Recognize the signs and symptoms of impending respiratory failure and when to intervene.
      • Know the different methods to wean from mechanical ventilation; when to start weaning and how to assess weaning failure/success.
      • Know the concept of different modes of ventilation.
      • Understand the basis for the “lung protective strategy” and the management of patients with acute lung injury.
      • Interpret the chest X-ray.
      • Interpret arterial blood gas results and acid-base disturbances.
      • Understand the concept, indications, contraindications and techniques of non-invasive ventilation.
    • Manage the hemodynamically unstable patient.
      • Recognize “shock states” and inadequate tissue perfusion.
      • Assess volume status clinically.
      • Differentiate between the various causes of poor tissue perfusion.
      • Understand the indications for invasive monitoring, how to initiate these techniques, and interpret their findings.
      • Understand use, benefits and adverse effects of the various vasoactive agents.
      • Recognize the goals of therapy.
    • Manage the patient with renal failure.
      • How to diagnose impending renal failure.
      • How to formulate a differential diagnosis of the cause of renal failure.
      • How to manage incipient renal failure and try to prevent overt failure.
      • Know the various forms of hemodialysis – their indications, benefits, and adverse effects.
    • Understand surgical nutrition.
      • Understand when to start nutritional support.
      • Understand the benefits and adverse effects of the different routes of nutritional support.
      • Understand the benefits of the enteral as opposed to the parenteral route for nutrition.
      • Recognize the different types of feeds.
      • Know how to calculate the nutritional needs of a patient.
      • Know how to manage adverse effects of nutrition.
    • Understand surgical infection.
      • Know how to work up the febrile “infected” patient.
      • Know what are the most common sources of infection in a surgical patient.
      • Know how to interpret microbiological findings.
      • Understand antibiotics – their indications and adverse effects.
      • Recognize the signs of impending sepsis.
    • Manage the septic patient and provide hemodynamic support.
    • Understand the management of sedation and analgesia on the ICU.
      • Recognize the goals of analgesia/sedation.
      • Understand the various techniques to provide pain relief to the ICU patient.
      • Know the sedative agents in common use — their indication, benefits and adverse effects.
    • Manage the patient receiving a solid organ transplant.
      • Know the different protocols for the management of the kidney, pancreas and liver transplant.
      • Recognize the complications of organ rejection/failure and how to manage these complications.
      • Know the various immunosuppressant medications.
    • Recognize the diagnosis of infection in the transplanted patient.
    • Understand the importance of the prophylaxis of deep venous thrombosis.
      • Be aware of the frequency of DVTs in the surgical population.
      • Understand the different approaches to DVT prophylaxis – their indication, benefits, and adverse effects.
    • Recognize acute hematological disturbances.
      • Understand the subject of transfusion thresholds and how these may differ in different patients.
      • Know how to work up the patient with a coagulopathy.
      • Understand the management of the coagulopathic patient.
      • Understand the differences between the various blood factors.
    • Insert invasive hemodynamic monitoring including central venous lines, arterial lines, and pulmonary artery catheters, hemodialysis catheters.
    • Initiate mechanical ventilation.
    • Insert of thoracotomy tubes.
    • Know intubation techniques.
  • CA-1 and CA-3 rotations
    Location: Keck Medical Center; Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Directors: Vibha Mahendra, MD (Keck) and Linda Rever, MD (LAC)

  • CA-1 rotation and CA-2 rotation (4 weeks)
    Location: Keck Medical Center; Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Directors: Dimiter Arnaudov (Keck) and Adam Penman (LAC)

    The Basic Neuroanesthesiology rotation provides focused exposure to the perioperative management of patients undergoing neurological surgery, teaches the basic principles of neuroanesthesiology, and to the resident comfortable with the administration of anesthesia for common and relatively straightforward neurosurgical procedures.

    The Basic and Advanced Neuroanesthesiology rotations will fulfill the Accreditation Council for the Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) minimum requirements for providing care to patients with intracranial vascular and non-vascular lesions.  The ACGME requires a subspecialty rotation in Neuroanesthesiology for a minimum of two one-months rotations during the four-year continuum of education in anesthesiology.


    By the end of this rotation, the resident will:

    • Demonstrate competency in the pre-anesthetic assessment and formulation of the anesthetic plan.
    • Perform a focused assessment of the patient with neurologic pathology
    • Develop and justify the anesthesia plan for neurosurgical procedure
    • Identify and confirm with the surgeons the neuromonitoring techniques that will be utilized for a particular patient and neurosurgical procedure
    • Demonstrate basic understanding of intracranial pressure monitoring
    • Anticipate the steps necessary to place a patient in the prone, lateral, park bench or sitting position.
    • Assess and manage the airway in the following situations:
      • Intracranial hypertension
      • Head injury
      • Subarachnoid hemorrhage
      • Spinal cord pathology
      • Altered mental status due to stroke
      • Neuromuscular disorders
    • Monitor for, diagnose and be prepared to treat intraoperative complications such as: venous air embolism, intracranial hypertension, cerebral edema, intracerebral hemorrhage complicating an endovascular procedure, or loss of neuromonitoring signals
    • Outline and perform in practice, the anesthetic management for the following procedures:
      • Lumbar and cervical laminectomy
      • Superior fossa exploration for tumor resection
      • Transsphenoidal Craniotomy
      • Ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement or revision, and placement of stereotactic frames,
      • Posterior fossa exploration
      • Cerebral aneurysm clipping
      • Resection of arteriovenous malformation
      • Carotid endarterectomy, neuroradiologic procedures (including embolization)
      • Stereotactic biopsy
      • Cervical spine injury and spinal cord injury (acute and chronic)
      • Subdural and epidural hematoma
    • Safely transition the patient from OR to PACU or NICU, and give proper hand-off report
    • Follow-up on patients after the surgery and assess if anesthetic management was optimal, or if not, which aspects need improvement
  • CA-1 and CA-2 rotations (8 weeks)
    Locations: Cedars Sinai and Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Directors: Roya Yumul, MD (Cedars) and Susana Alvarez, MD (LAC)

    The Obstetrical Anesthesia rotation covers management of both routine and complicated obstetric patients for vaginal, operative and assisted delivery, both emergent and non-emergent, peri, intra and post-operatively in a safe and logical manner. During this rotation, residents will gain confidence with labor analgesia and managing the altered physiology of pregnant patients.

    The resident will obtain a thorough understanding of related issues such as local anesthetic pharmacology and obstetric complications. As high-risk obstetrical patients present with significant medical diseases, the scope of knowledge should include the peri-operative management of such disorders with a view to their potentially complex interactions with the altered physiology of pregnancy. The degree of difficulty of the cases is graded to provide increasingly challenging cases as the level of training and skill progress.


    By the end of this rotation, the resident will:

    • Function effectively as part of a team with obstetricians, nursing staff, neonatologists and pediatricians to provide optimal medical, obstetric, and anesthetic care for patients and their fetuses/neonates.
    • Know the ASA guidelines pertaining to obstetric anesthesia.
    • Set up equipment expeditiously for elective and emergent cesarean section.
    • Perform spinal, epidural and combined spinal-epidurals without difficulty.
    • Execute simple vascular cannulations such as IV’s and arterial lines without difficulty and perform central venous and pulmonary artery catheter insertions with guidance.
    • Manage anesthesia for routine obstetric cases fairly independently including placement of regional blocks for labor and elective cesarean section.
    • Recognize and treat regional anesthetic complications.
    • Manage anesthesia for complicated obstetric patients with guidance.
    • Describe the maternal physiological changes of pregnancy as well as MAC and local anesthetic adjustments and their implications for the management of CPR in the parturient.
    • Describe fetal and placental physiology as well as fetal and neonatal effects of maternally administered anesthetic drugs, fetal adaptations to hypoxia and fetal heart rate patterns during labor.
    • Describe neonatal physiological adaptations to extra-uterine life and newborn resuscitation protocols.
    • Describe the physiology of labor, including the stages, effects of uterine contractions on placental exchange and fetal oxygenation and the indications for and effects of labor analgesia.
    • Discuss the obstetric indications for and management of urgent abdominal deliveries.
    • Discuss the general principles of local anesthetic pharmacology including the treatment of systemic local anesthetic toxicity and total spinal as well as fetal and uterine effects of local anesthetics.
    • Discuss the general principles of neuroaxial opioid pharmacology, including fetal and uterine effects, interactions with local anesthetics and treatment of opioid side effects.
    • Describe the pain pathways involved in labor and delivery.
    • Discuss the options available for maternal analgesia during labor and delivery.
    • Discuss the different types of regional anesthesia and analgesia available to the parturient as well as the contraindications to and diagnosis and management of complications of regional anesthesia.
    • Discuss the indications for general endotracheal anesthesia in obstetrics including ventilatory requirements, medication choices for induction and maintenance and fetal effects.
    • Discuss obstetrical complications and their management including postpartum hemorrhage and maternal embolic events.
    • Discuss medical diseases during pregnancy and their peri-operative management with a view towards:
      • Disease impact on pregnancy
      • How pregnancy impacts on the disease
      • Obstetric implications and management of the disease
      • Assessment of the severity of the disease and need for transfer to high risk facility
      • Anesthetic management of the patient for vaginal or cesarean delivery. In particular, the resident should be able to discuss the obstetric and anesthetic management of major systemic disease in the parturient.
    • Discuss the anesthetic management of non-obstetric surgery during pregnancy including the issues of teratogenicity, preterm labor, requirements for fetal monitoring and tocolysis and choice of anesthetic technique.
    • Discuss the major ethical issues involved in obstetric anesthesia practice including issues such as autonomy and maternal-fetal conflicts of interest.
  • CA-1 and CA-2 rotations
    Location: Keck Medical Center; Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Director: Talin Evazyan, MD

  • CA-1 and CA-2 rotations
    Location: Keck Medical Center; Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Director: Kevin Guthmiller

  • CA-1 rotation
    Location: Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Director: Rodney McKeever, MD

  • CA-1 rotation
    Location: Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Director: Rodney McKeever, MD

  • CA-1 rotation
    Location: Keck Medical Center; Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Director: Linda Rever, MD

  • CA-1 rotation
    Location: Keck Medical Center; Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Director: Roshanak Mofidi, MD

  • CA-1 rotation
    Location: Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Director: Rodney McKeever, MD

  • CA-2 rotation (8 weeks)
    Location: Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
    Directors: Rebecca Marglis, MD and Marissa Bell, MD

    The Pediatric Anesthesia rotation occurs in two four-week non-consecutive blocks over two years. The first four-week period occurs at Los Angeles General Medical Center. The next four-week period rotation occurs at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles which is our integrated facility.

    Residents should be familiar with, and capable of demonstrating the basic principles of pediatric anesthesia. Basic anatomy, physiology and anesthesiology principles are stressed for children of all age groups including the premature infant and neonates.


    By the end of this rotation, the resident will:

    • Manage mask, LMA, and intubation of children with class I and II airways
    • Preoperatively assess and formulate an anesthetic plan for children of ASA 1 and 2 status.
    • Show proficiency in obtaining pediatric intravenous access, including the use of central lines in older children.
    • Recognize age-related equipment, especially the use of warming devices, endotracheal tubes, cuffed and uncuffed, blood pressure cuffs, oximetry and end-tidal CO2 monitoring.
    • Recognize the use of drugs commonly encountered in day-to-day pediatric practice.
    • Understand age-related differences in the measurement and management of acute pain.
    • Know and provide basic local anesthetic techniques, especially penile, ilioinguinal and femoral nerve block and caudal anesthesia/analgesia.
    • Manage common complications related to the induction, maintenance, and emergence of anesthesia in children.
    • Assess and manage ASA 1 and 2 children in the recovery room, including the assessment and management of pain
    • Understand of a variety of pediatric disease states including, but not limited to:
      • Prematurity
      • Apnea of prematurity
      • Bronchopulmonary dysplasia
      • Neonatal surgical emergencies including T-E fistula
      • Omphalocele
      • Gastroschisis
      • Pyloric stenosis
      • Diaphragmatic hernia and meconium ileus
      • Wilms tumor
      • Neuroblastoma
      • Lymph/hemangiomas
      • Stridor
      • Croup
      • Epiglottitis
      • Obstructive sleep apnea
      • Pediatric trauma, including open and closed head injuries
      • Anterior and posterior fossa tumors
      • Craniosynostosis
      • Leukemias
      • Anterior mediastinal masses
      • Malignant hyperthermia
      • Cerebral palsy
      • Myelomeningocele
      • Latex allergy
      • Tethered cord
        Scoliosis
      • Neurofibromatosis
      • Muscular dystrophies
      • Pierre Robin syndrome and hemifacial microsomias
      • Diabetes
      • Sickle cell trait and disease
      • Thermal injuries

CA-3 Resident Rotations

  • CA-3 rotation (2-4 weeks)
    Director: Earl Strum, MD

  • CA-3 rotation (4-8 weeks)
    Location: Keck Medical Center; Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Director: Allison Moriarty, MD

  • CA-3 rotation (4 weeks)
    Location: Keck Medical Center; Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Director: Steven Haddy, MD

    The second (or senior) rotation is done at Keck Hospital. Residents function as the primary provider supervised by fellows and faculty, gaining experience with invasive monitoring and basic transesophageal echocardiography. The residents have exposure to a wide variety of cases including adult congenital, ventricular assist devices, transplantation, and catheter-based aortic and valvular procedures, as well as more routine coronary artery and valvular surgeries.

    In addition to the basic residency didactic curriculum, residents are invited to participate in discussions and lectures with the fellows and faculty, covering more advanced topics within cardiothoracic anesthesiology. The faculty actively supports publications and presentations as part of the residents’ experience.

  • CA-3 rotation (4 weeks)
    Location: Keck Medical Center; Los Angeles General Medical Center
    Director: Dimiter Arnaudov, MD

    The Advanced Neuroanesthesiology rotation provides focused exposure to the perioperative management of patients undergoing neurological surgery.  The advanced rotation involves more complex cases, including higher risk vascular, revision neurosurgical procedures, and complex spine cases with special monitoring needs.

    Together, the Basic and Advanced Neuroanesthesiology rotations will fulfill the ACGME minimum requirements for providing care to patients with intracranial vascular and non-vascular lesions.


    By the end of this rotation, the resident will:

    • Show significant improvement in knowledge, in-depth understanding of physiology and pathophysiology, more advanced technical skills, and clinical experience in the care of patients undergoing complicated neurosurgical procedures
    • Demonstrate competency in the pre-anesthetic evaluation and formulation of the anesthetic plan that requires minimal input from attending neuroanesthesia and function as a team leader developing comprehensive management plans in communication with the anesthesia faculty and surgical and nursing teams.
    • Have the opportunity to provide supervision for junior residents, when appropriate, and participate in quality improvement and OR efficiency projects.
    • Perform a thorough and concise preoperative evaluation of complex or critically ill patients, to include a focused neurologic exam and to identify and prioritize medical and anesthetic concerns
    • Demonstrate good judgment in patient care applying neuroanesthesia principles to complex patient conditions and procedures
    • Show an appreciation for recent literature in the subspecialty giving evidence-based decisions for patient care and participate in academic activity relating to neuroanesthesia resulting in a peer-reviewed publication
    • Formulate an appropriate management plan for patients with acute elevations of intracranial pressure, intracranial hemorrhage, head trauma, and other complex neurosurgical conditions
    • Demonstrate leadership and teamwork to safely position the patient in the prone, lateral, park bench or sitting positions
    • Exhibit the ability to give a basic interpretation of x-rays, angiograms, CT, MRI and MRA scans
    • Demonstrate the competency in complex airway management
    • Demonstrate the ability to use and interpret complex monitoring such as EEG and evoked potential optimize hemodynamic and ventilatory parameters and provide optimal operating conditions
    • Show application of neuroanesthesiology principles in the perioperative management of patients with complex neurological conditions and procedures such as:
      • Acute elevations of intracranial pressure due to intracranial hemorrhage and head trauma
      • The patient with acute ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke
      • Intracranial vascular surgery, including: cerebral aneurysms and AVMs, ECIC bypass, Encephaloduroarteriosynangiosis (EDAS) for Moyamoya disease
      • Neuroradiological procedures for aneurysms, AVMs and stroke.
      • Procedures for intractable epilepsy for seizure focus resection, vagal nerve stimulator
      • Awake craniotomy for tumor or epileptic focus resection
      • Secreting and non-secreting pituitary tumors
      • Complex spinal surgery (major spine reconstruction, spinal tumor resection), including: an understanding of neurophysiologic monitoring; the potential use of an intraoperative “wake-up” test; and developing a multi-modal perioperative analgesic plan for an opioid-dependent spine patient
      • Surgery for myelomeningocele and Arnold-Chiari malformation
      • The anesthetic for patients with movement disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor and other indications for deep brain stimulation
      • The anesthetic of various surgical approaches for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia or other microvascular compression syndromes, including microvascular decompression, balloon rhizotomy, and radiofrequency ablation
      • The acoustic neuroma resection
    • Identify options for improving patient care, patient safety, efficiency and quality with other members of the healthcare team
    • Participate in all transitions of care giving standardized reports and ensuring safe transfer of patient care
    • Improve patient care; postoperative visits should be performed with documentation of anesthesiology outcomes
  • CA-3 rotation (4 weeks)
    Location: Los Angeles General Medical Center; Cedars-Sinai Hospital
    Director: Susan Alvarez, MD

    The Advanced OB anesthesia rotation is selected by the CA-3 resident with special interests in managing high risk OB patients. This advanced rotation takes place at Los Angeles General Medical Center and Cedars-Sinai Hospital. Residents will take part in managing high-risk OB patients. This rotation also gives them an opportunity to teach and supervise junior residents on rotation. Together with the attending on OB service, the senior residents plan and help teach daily discussion topics.


    By the end of this rotation, the resident will:

    • Demonstrate mastery of all cognitive objectives expected of a CA-1/2 resident
    • Evaluate the anesthetic implications of complex medical problems for the sickest patients.
    • Perform a risk/benefit assessment of a variety of anesthetic techniques.
    • Discuss the anesthetic implications of various obstetric techniques in labor and delivery.
    • Teach and assist junior residents in obstetric anesthesia.
    • Teach, explain and perform all relevant regional techniques.
    • Demonstrate a level of technical skill requiring little or no staff assistance.
    • Act as a consultant anesthesiologist for obstetric patients.
    • Formulate an optimal anesthetic plan with appropriate alternatives for both routine and complex obstetric cases.
    • Formulate anesthetic plans and describe techniques for all types of clinical cases, including for those with which he/she has no direct experience.
    • Assess techniques and protocols used at other institutions.
    • Demonstrate the ability to clearly communicate his/her knowledge to colleagues. CA-3 residents will be assigned to the more difficult cases involving patients with serious medical problems. They will be expected to teach and supervise junior residents, essentially acting in the role of junior staff anesthesiologist.
  • CA-3 rotation (4 weeks)
    Location: Keck Medical Center
    Director: Sedra Ashraf, MD

  • CA-3 rotation (2-4 weeks)
    Location: Los Angeles General Medical Center; Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
    Director: Linda Rever, MD

  • CA-3 rotation (2-4 weeks)
    Location: Keck Medical Center
    Director: Michael Tom, MD

  • CA-3 rotation (2 weeks)
    Location: Keck Medical Center
    Director: Ferne Braveman, MD

  • CA-3 rotation (4 weeks)
    Location: Keck Medical Center
    Director: Durai Thangathurai