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Medical Student Education

Medical Student Education

The Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine interacts with medical 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 students. 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.

Working jointly with the School of Medicine & Dentistry, the Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine offers elective courses for medical students.  Anesthesiologists work at every medical institution nationally, and every specialty overlaps with the field of Anesthesiology.  Every year, the specialty becomes more competitive, and in 2022, 99.9% of the 1,509 open Anesthesiology Residency positions were filled. 

 

Questions or interested in shadowing? Please email our Medical Student Education Coordinator, Martha Dake: Martha_Dake@URMC.Rochester.edu.

Current Course Offerings

Anesthesiology Clerkship – Introduction to Anesthesiology (ANES 601)

Under the supervision of Clerkship Director, Dr. Marie Mayer, this two-week elective is designed for 4th year medical students interested in exploring a career in anesthesiology. Students are paired with residents and participate in sedation, general anesthesia cases, and experience a day on the nerve block team.  Students can expect to start learning procedural skills such as IV placement, bag mask ventilation, and intubation.  Topics to be covered include basic ventilator management, chronic disease sequelae, pain control options including post-op pain control, advanced airway management, and high level hemodynamic management.  In addition there will be an opportunity to participate in an airway workshop and simulations.  

Advanced Critical Care Anesthesiology Clerkship (ANES 400)Monteith and Moo

Offering a more in-depth look at the pathophysiology of critically ill, sedated, and anesthetized patients, this elective course is designed to provide a look at critically ill patients during their perioperative experience.  Students will learn about disease processes based in the surgical ICU, including management of advanced airways and ventilators, vasoactive medications, shock states, chronic disease sequelae, and post-op pain control.  Students can expect to help transport ICU patients to and from the ORs, and follow patients requiring higher level hemodynamic management for surgery.  In addition, an airway workshop is offered for all interested parties.  It is expected that students will write a brief two paragraph summary outlining one patient's presenting history at the time of surgery and what supplies/machinery were required to bring them to the OR.  

OB Anesthesia (ANES 603)

Under the supervision of Dr. Melissa Kreso, 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 (ANES 606)

Supervised by Dr. Sarah Kralovic, the pain management elective is a two week course. Students participate at the Pain Treatment Center at Sawgrass, interacting with patient populations managing post-operative, post-traumatic, chronic, and cancer pain.  Working alongside residents, fellows, and faculty, students will review patients’ history, observe a brief exam, and assess pain scores.

Hemodynamic Monitoring (ANES 610)

Hemodynamic Monitoring is a one week elective supervised by Dr. Heather Lander.  While involved with an extremely busy cardiac surgical service, students will participate in highly intensive learning about the monitors used to assess the dynamic cardiovascular pathophysiologic changes during cardiac anesthesia.