GOALS AND OBJECTIVES: The fellowship in Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology is a 12-month period of specialized training that provides in-depth training in the perioperative and anesthetic management of patients undergoing thoracic, cardiac, and vascular surgical procedures.
The specific goals of this special program are:
1) To stimulate reading and understanding of pulmonary and cardiovascular pathophysiology;
2) To develop technical and intuitive skills necessary to successfully manage patients undergoing major thoracic, vascular, and cardiac surgery;
3) To gain sufficient training, skills, experience, and interpretive knowledge in transesophageal echocardiography so as to allow certification by the National Board of Echocardiography;
4) To provide a thorough understanding of cardiopulmonary bypass and techniques of extracorporeal circulation and heart assist devices.
The fellow will be affiliated with the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center with various rotations at Parkland Health and Hospital System, St. Paul University Hospital, VA North Texas Health Care System, and Zale Lipshy University Hospital. Arrangements can be made for a rotation at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth if additional pediatric cardiothoracic anesthesiology experience is desired. The caseload at these hospitals exceeds 1,200 cases and includes a wide variety of adult heart surgery, cardiac and lung transplantation, and congenital heart surgery.
SELECTION: This fellowship can accomodate two (2) fellows per year and provide optimal exposure to challenging and complex cases. Any individual who has completed Anesthesiology residency training in good standing is eligible to apply for the position.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: The fellow is expected to work five days per week in the operating room directly providing anesthetic care for cardiac, thoracic, and vascular surgical patients. Time each day will be devoted for reading and personal study as available. The fellow is expected to perform total perioperative patient management, which includes preoperative and postoperative patient visitation. The fellow will take night call from home for emergencies and transplants.
SUPERVISION: In all cases, attending faculty will directly supervise the fellow.
FORMAL EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES: The fellow is expected to attend all Wednesday morning conferences held by the Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology division at St. Paul University Hospital plus other departmental lectures and didactic sessions as appropriate. The fellow is required to present and discuss articles in the monthly journal club, and present two topics on cardiothoracic anesthesia during the year.
RESEARCH REQUIREMENTS: There are no required clinical research activities of the fellow except if they so desire to collaborate with interested faculty.
EVALUATIONS: The fellow will be evaluated monthly by the attending faculty and will also have the opportunity to evaluate the supervising faculty. Routine resident evaluations forms will be used and reviewed biannually by the Residency Clinical Competence Committee. The fellow will receive formal evaluations with their respective mentor at 6 and 12 months.
Dr. Linda K. Douning, Associate Professor, oversees the Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Fellowship Program.
