Anesthesiology Program

About Us

Anesthesiology is one of the most exciting and promising fields of medicine today. The practice of anesthesiology is diverse, with consultant anesthesiologists practicing in the operating room as generalists, cardiac anesthesiologists and pediatric anesthesiologists; in labor & delivery, managing labor pain and obstetric surgery; and in pain management clinics, both acute and chronic.

The Anesthesiology residency program at Cleveland Clinic South Pointe Hospital is designed to accelerate the growth of our resident physicians to become successful and compassionate anesthesiologists. At South Pointe Hospital, we are dedicated to providing residents with an outstanding clinical training experience in a friendly and supportive atmosphere. We have an outstanding faculty, and we pride ourselves on fostering a collegial environment throughout the institution.

South Pointe Hospital has been training osteopathic physicians for more than 60 years, and we are pleased to note that the Anesthesiology residency program has received both ACGME accreditation and Osteopathic Recognition.

Entry into the categorical four-year program is via ERAS and NRMP at the PGY-1 level. The residency program consists of 12 residents (three per year) that enables a high level of personal attention. The core faculty is diverse, with varying expertise in all aspects of clinical anesthesia care. The department size and close connections foster excellent working relationships. Residents are encouraged to work together, without competition, and many become teachers and leaders within the department.

Home base is considered South Pointe Hospital, a Cleveland Clinic hospital. South Pointe is a 173-bed acute care community teaching hospital featuring modern surgery suites and a 24-bed critical care unit.

The clinical training at South Pointe Hospital is superb, with exposure to a wide-variety of cases across most specialty domains, with residents performing hundreds of cases per year across varying subspecialties. Our residents gain cardiac anesthesia and critical care experience at Cleveland Clinic's main campus, nationally ranked and globally recognized as the world leader in cardiovascular care. The pediatric anesthesia rotation occurs at Akron Children’s Hospital, which is ranked among the best children’s hospitals in the country, and its unique approach to compassionate pediatric care creates an excellent atmosphere for trainees. Regional anesthesia training at Cleveland Clinic community hospitals provides exposure to high volume practice in peripheral nerve blockade and acute pain management. Multiple electives are available for additional training in the final year to focus on subspecialty anesthesia as well as trauma, teaching or global health endeavors. For those interested, research experience is readily available.

The clinical experience begins with a base clinical skills year, with rotations in the intensive care unit, pediatrics, obstetrics and three months of anesthesiology. In the CA-1 – C-3 years, at South Pointe and through affiliations with aforementioned hospitals across the Cleveland Clinic enterprise, our residents gain experience in all the subspecialties.

Because of the small size of our residency and access to an abundance of resources that only Cleveland Clinic can provide, we are able to customize the residency experience and tailor the senior rotations to the interests of the resident. At Cleveland Clinic South Pointe Hospital, residents are not only trained in the latest anesthesia techniques, but are also guided and encouraged to reach their full potential, both professionally and personally.

The Department of Anesthesiology is committed to providing a comprehensive clinical and educational experience. The hospital provides residents and medical students with access to a full-service medical library, on-site skills lab, and multiple conference rooms for education, meetings and individual study.

Educational opportunities include: simulator training, weekly didactic lectures, monthly journal clubs and quarterly skills labs. We encourage resident participation in scholarly activities and provide support for presentations at regional and national meetings. Residents have a 100% pass rate for the anesthesia board examinations, and graduates are in high demand for clinical, academic and fellowship positions upon completion of residency.

From the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, to world-renowned restaurants along with numerous professional sports teams including the Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Guardians, Cleveland offers a thriving cultural and entertainment scene. For those who prefer the great outdoors, the Cleveland Metroparks are an extensive system of nature preserves, which include more than 300 miles of hiking, and bicycle and horse trails. The city of Cleveland is enjoying renewed growth and popularity, and still it maintains a reasonable cost of living, allowing residents to have well-rounded and balanced lives.

We seek residents who are accomplished academically, possess a strong work ethic, are enthusiastic and work well in a team environment. Please follow the audition rotation tab for information regarding how to request a two-week audition rotation.

Diversity & Inclusion

Discover the role diversity and inclusion plays at Cleveland Clinic and at its Graduate Medical Education program, as well as our diversity and inclusion efforts.

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Residents at Spring 2022 picnic
SP residents at awake intubation exercise
Elliott Chiartas, DO. CA1 at ASA New Orleans 2022
Anesthesiology - After ITE Exam

Curriculum

Clinical Base Year

The clinical base year (PGY-1) provides a mixture of internal medicine and surgical rotations. Clinical rotations include:

Emergency Medicine.
General Surgery.
Medical ICU.
Surgical ICU.
Cardiology.
Internal Medicine.
Obstetrics.
Neurology.
Anesthesia.

CA-1

In the first clinical anesthesia year (CA-1, PGY-2), residents learn basic anesthesia skills under close faculty supervision. Residents begin to take night and weekend calls with faculty supervision as soon as their level of training permits. Most of the year is spent performing general anesthesia in the operating rooms at South Pointe Hospital. Subspecialty experiences include surgical ICU, chronic pain, obstetrics, and pre/post anesthesia at Cleveland Clinic's main campus and other hospitals that are a part of the Cleveland Clinic enterprise. A research/independent study rotation precedes BASIC exam and provides residents with the time and opportunity to study and prepare submissions for various national and international conferences including ASA, AOCA and IARS.

Clinical rotations include:

General Anesthesia – 32 weeks.
Preanesthesia Evaluation – 2 weeks.
Postoperative Care Unit – 2 weeks.
Surgical ICU – 4 weeks.
Chronic Pain – 4 weeks.
Obstetric Anesthesia – 4 weeks.
Research/Independent Study – 4 weeks.

CA-2

The CA-2 resident schedule provides subspecialty training. Subspecialties are spread throughout the year. The order is personalized to allow residents who are considering fellowship training in particular subspecialties to experience that subspecialty prior to applications being due in fall/winter.

Clinical rotations include:

General Anesthesia, including thoracic and vascular – 28 weeks.
Acute Pain and Regional Anesthesia – 4 weeks.
Surgical ICU – 4 weeks.
Obstetric Anesthesia – 4 weeks.
Cardiac Anesthesia – 4 weeks.
Pediatric Anesthesia – 4 weeks.
Neuroanesthesia – 4 weeks.

CA-3

The CA-3 year is designed to prepare a resident for fellowship or independent clinical practice, with a schedule designed to provide increasing levels of autonomy. CA-3 residents personalize most of their schedule with electives, and are urged to gain additional expertise in areas of interest.

Clinical rotations include:

General Anesthesia, including thoracic and vascular – 20 weeks.
Supervision in General Anesthesia – 4 weeks.
Acute Pain and Regional Anesthesia – 4 weeks.
Cardiac Anesthesia – 4 weeks.
Thoracic Anesthesia – 4 weeks.
Pediatric Anesthesia – 4 weeks.
Electives – 12 weeks:
- Advanced Surgical Subspecialties.
- Advanced Obstetric Anesthesia.
- Ambulatory Surgery.
- Pain Management & Acupuncture.
- Advanced Surgical ICU.

Didactics

The didactic program is very active throughout the academic year. Weekly Thursday morning conferences provide the backbone of the educational curriculum, with lectures provided by various attending physicians from the area and via zoom; resident:resident lectures for test preparation on common anesthesia topics; and Skills labs for both Osteopathic Manipulation and Anesthesia competencies, including airway management, intubation and invasive monitor placement.

View the didactic curriculum.

Other educational conferences include:

Journal Club, hosted after hours at local restaurant.
Morbidity & Mortality.
OSCE Preparation.

Educational materials provided include:

TRUELearn Question Bank, tailored for ITE, BASIC and Advanced.
Anesthesia Toolbox.
Simbionix^® Simulator:
- Basic Ultrasound curriculum.
- TEE curriculum.
- TTE curriculum.
Journal access to:
- Anesthesia & Analgesia.
- Anesthesiology.
- Anesthesiology Clinics of North America.
- BMC Anesthesiology.
- BJA.
- International Anesthesiology Clinics.