Anesthesiology Critical Care Medicine Fellowship
The Anesthesiology Critical Care Fellowship is a one-year, ACGME-approved training program. The fellowship offers four positions each year for physicians who have completed a four-year residency in anesthesiology and are board-eligible or board-certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology.
Fellows will gain in-depth medical knowledge and technical skills necessary to care for critically ill patients with a diverse array medical and surgical conditions. Areas of focus include extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation, perioperative echocardiography, cardiothoracic diseases; central nervous system disorders; trauma and neurotrauma; transplantation and surgery; as well as general care of patients with sepsis, acute respiratory failure, and other forms of critical illness.
The overall goal of the Anesthesiology Critical Care Fellowship is to train the next generation of anesthesiology critical care experts in peri-operative clinical care, education, and research; a legacy started by Dr. Peter Safar. Fellows with a particular interest in academic research can obtain focused research training through NIH T32 programs offered in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine and the Department of Critical Care Medicine.
Application
Our program participates the American Board of Anesthesiology Fellowship Match via SF Match. Please visit SF Match Common Application Service for application requirements, deadlines, and the submission.
Interviews
In-person interviews typically occur from early January through April. Highly qualified applicants will be contacted by our Office of Education to schedule an interview date.
After Acceptance
All trainees must obtain a graduate medical training license. We will contact successful candidates shortly after the match to begin this process.
CCM/CTA Dual Training
Trainees interested in a dual/sequential fellowship in Critical Care Medicine and Adult Cardiothoracic Anesthesia, please refer to guidance from the Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists (SOCCA) to help clarify the application and planning process.
Multidisciplinary Training in Critical Care
Trainees will be part of our pioneering Multidisciplinary Critical Care Training Program, in which physicians from the specialties of Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Anesthesia, Surgery, and Neurology receive advanced clinical training in an integrated environment. This innovative approach enables an expansive clinical experience supported by a collaborative learning environment. Our multidisciplinary training program employs a mix of hands-on clinical experience, interactive workshops, medical simulation, and didactic education.
Learning Objectives
Trainees obtain hands-on clinical experience and advanced instruction in:
- Management of acute cerebrovascular disease, shock, sepsis, acute respiratory failure, acute kidney injury, and other critical illness syndromes
- Pathophysiology of critical illness, including advanced neurological monitoring, cardiopulmonary physiology, hemodynamic monitoring, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation
- Care of patients with acute neurological conditions, multisystem organ failure, acute infection, traumatic injury, and post-surgical critical illness
- Communication skills, including patient and family interaction, end-of-life care, and care of the geriatric patient
- Mechanical ventilation, extra-corporeal life support, intracranial neurological monitoring, and point-of-care ultrasound
- ICU procedures including endotracheal intubation, central venous catheterization, and chest-tube placement
Special Activities
Unique educational activities include:
- Hands-on simulation workshops including difficult airway management, central venous catheterization, chest tube placement, neurological devices, and point-of-care ultrasound
- Critical Care Leadership and Professionalism Course to develop knowledge and skills necessary to conduct teaching rounds, deliver feedback, direct an ICU, understand healthcare economics, negotiate for jobs, and succeed as an academic or clinical leader
- A three-day Critical Care Communication Course providing state-of-the-art training in end-of-life discussions with family members using trained actors
- Weekly interactive lectures in which trainees learn from international experts in the field
- Weekly department-wide educational conferences including Journal Club, Grand Rounds, and Morbidity & Mortality conference
Anesthesiology critical care trainees receive training in all UPMC specialty ICUs as well as in the VA Surgical and Coronary Care ICUs. The year is divided into 13 four-week blocks:
- Cardiothoracic ICU - 1 block
- Neurotrauma ICU - 1 block
- Neurovascular ICU - 2 blocks
- Transplant ICU - 2 blocks
- Trauma ICU - 2 blocks
- VA Surgical ICU/Coronary Care ICU – 1 block
- Electives - 4 blocks
Electives
- Intra-operative TEE
- Medical ICU
- Surgical ICU
- Trauma/Burn ICU
- Poster-Cardiac Arrest service
- Speciality medical services (e.g. ID, Renal, and Pulmonary)
- Simulation Education
- Research
Training Hospitals
- UPMC Presbyterian: Cardiothoracic/Surgical ICU, Neurovascular ICU, Neurotrauma ICU, Surgical Trauma ICU
- UPMC Montefiore: Transplant ICU
- UPMC Mercy: Mercy Medical Surgical ICU, Mercy Medical-Neuro ICU
For inquiries about the Anesthesiology Critical Care Fellowship program, please contact bieryak [at] upmc.edu (Abigail Biery), GME Department Manager.
Program Director
A. Murat Kaynar, MD, MPH
Professor, Departments of Critical Care Medicine and Anesthesiology