Anesthesiology Residency

Research and scholarly development are woven throughout the residency program, forming a central component of our mission to cultivate anesthesiologists who practice with intellectual curiosity, evidence-based rigor, and a commitment to advancing patient care. From the outset, residents are expected not only to learn clinical anesthesiology but also to engage meaningfully in scholarship, quality improvement, and critical appraisal of emerging evidence. These expectations begin early in training and evolve as residents progress through each year.

The foundation of the scholarly curriculum is introduced during the Clinical Base Year (PGY‑1), where residents complete a dedicated four‑week research training block. This structured rotation designed by research faculty prepares trainees to navigate the fundamentals of academic inquiry, including study design, literature review, and the use of clinical data for analysis. Residents are introduced to data systems such as TriNetX and REDCap, which later support their quality improvement (QI) projects and scholarly endeavors. This early exposure sets the stage for the deeper investigative and scholarly responsibilities that follow in the clinical anesthesia years.

Once residents enter their CA‑1 through CA‑3 years, they are required to complete at least one formal quality improvement or quality assessment project. This project is an opportunity to develop the ability to analyze clinical processes, identify system-level gaps, review relevant literature, and formulate data‑driven solutions. Residents will work closely with a faculty mentor, and the program’s Health Analytic Research Team (HART) provides additional support for data extraction and interpretation. Whether the project is retrospective or prospective, residents are expected to transform their findings into a structured presentation—a 20–25 minute scholarly talk delivered locally—demonstrating not only what they studied but how the findings will improve future practice. Ideally, these projects also lead to dissemination through abstracts, posters, or even peer‑reviewed publications, though the minimum requirement is the formal presentation.

In addition to these formal activities, the program integrates opportunities for scholarly growth into everyday clinical education. Simulation-based instruction, for example, doubles as an experiential research platform. Residents participate in scenarios designed not only to teach crisis management—such as intraoperative fires, malignant hyperthermia, or complex airway failures—but also to illustrate system errors and possible systems-level solutions. This form of practical scholarship teaches residents how to recognize failures in communication, workflow, or equipment readiness and then propose targeted improvements.