Welcome

Welcome to the Department of Anesthesia at Duke University Medical Center! Residency training at Duke has much to offer! The topics below will give you a glance at what it is like to be part of Duke Anesthesia!

CLINICAL EXPERIENCE: The clinical experiences at Duke are outstanding. As our program grows, we continue to offer excellent clinical experiences for our residents. During residency training you will be exposed to a wide variety of cases from cardiothoracic surgeries with circulatory arrest to providing peripheral nerve blocks for ambulatory surgery. Duke also has a very active transplant service including heart, lung, kidney, pancreas, and liver transplants. Overall, the cases you will be exposed to during your training will be challenging and stimulating, but most importantly will prepare you to practice competently as an anesthesiologist in any setting.

FACULTY: At Duke you will be learning the practice of anesthesia from world leaders in the field of anesthesia and subspecialty fields of anesthesia. Many faculty members are fellowship trained and active within their specialty field. This provides you with teachers that are up-to-date on the newest techniques and debates within their specialty field. It is not uncommon to go to national meetings and find the presenters, workshop teachers, and debate moderators are your own Duke faculty! We are not only fortunate to have extremely talented faculty, but also that they hail from many nations, bringing a diverse experience to your residency training. You will find a collegial and supportive learning experience during your residency training at Duke.

DIDACTICS: At Duke, you will be provided with quality didactics during protected time, ensuring you will be able to attend. Each week residents attend resident conference and grand rounds on Wednesday morning. The topics for resident conferences are grouped into one-month blocks pertaining to a specific area of anesthesia, such as cardiac anesthesia or pharmacology. In addition, every other Thursday afternoon is a resident lecture on various topics. It is during this time that residents participate in lively journal club discussions and moderated morbidity and mortality cases. Residents also have weekly subspecialty conferences during certain rotation months such as pediatric and vascular anesthesia. In addition to ample opportunity for didactics, residents are provided Miller’s Anesthesia, Anesthesiology by Longnecker, and Anesthesia and Co-Existing Diseases texts to direct their own learning. Residents also are given a substantial book fund to purchase texts in their own areas of interest within anesthesia.

GROWTH: We are excited for the recent growth in our department. Our residency program has expanded to include two additional residents per year. This growth is paralleled by an increasing number of operating rooms as Duke University Medical Center expands. We will continue to accept residents into ACES, a new program designed to integrate clinical and research training, as part of our categorical anesthesia residency.

RESEARCH: During residency training at Duke, there is ample opportunity and support to conduct research. Whether it is a poster project or research supported by grants, our department is committed to developing physician-scientists. For those interested in integrating more time for research into their residency training please read more about our ACES-5 and ACES-6 programs on the ACES program website.

FELLOWSHIP: If fellowship training is in your future, Duke offers fellowship training in cardiothoracic anesthesia, critical care medicine, pain, pediatric anesthesia, women’s anesthesia, ambulatory and regional anesthesia, and hyperbaric medicine. These fellows provide additional teaching opportunities to our residents without diminishing resident learning opportunities.

LOCALE/SOCIAL ACTIVITIES: Aside from academics, Durham and “The Triangle” is an excellent place to live. This area has seen exceptional growth in the past years with many new neighborhoods and shopping centers. It provides bountiful cultural activities including museums, live music, and live performances. In fact, Durham is home to the new Durham Performing Arts Center which is a venue for many popular concerts and Broadway shows. You will find it affordable to own your own home on a resident salary in the Triangle. In addition, the area is home to the Durham Bulls minor league baseball team and the Carolina Hurricanes hockey team. There are plenty of college athletic events in the area as well! You will find during your training at Duke a pleasant balance between your residency training and life outside of the hospital. Residents have time to explore the state, including the mountains to the west and the Outer Banks to the east.

In addition to all the area has to offer, the department plans many social events each year that the residents look forward to. Each summer we have a pool party to welcome the new residents and interns. We also attend a Durham Bull’s game and enjoy tailgate snacks in our own section. The holidays are heralded by both a departmental holiday party as well as a party hosted at the Chairman’s home. In the spring, we all gather to graduate our resident class and celebrate the year!

A DAY IN THE LIFE: A common question during the residency application process is “Tell me what a typical day is like,” so here we go! We have a collection of candid descriptions of resident life at Duke from our current residents. We hope this information provides you a sense of life at Duke as an Anesthesia resident. Superior academics & research, stimulating clinical experiences, and innovative care are mirrored by a supportive learning environment, resident camaraderie, and time to enjoy life! Please email us with any questions!

	The Categorical Internship The PGY-1 experience at Duke is basically a transitional year that combines medicine, surgery, pediatrics, emergency medicine, intensive care, and elective rotations. One of the benefits of choosing the categorical, rather than advanced track, is the opportunity to familiarize oneself with the Duke system and getting to work residents in other departments. MORE »
	Regional Block Rotation The Duke North Block rotation shares similarities with the ASC rotation; in so far as there is an emphasis on perfecting your regional anesthetic techniques. This rotation is exclusive to CA-3 residents; however, because of the mastery necessary to perform and teach the blocks. It is an anticipated rotation in the career of the Duke resident; as it puts you in a position of leadership not only with junior residents but also other attendings that are not so familiar with nuances of regional anesthesia. MORE »
	Pediatric Anesthesia The first day of the pediatric anesthesia rotation can be as overwhelming as the first day of your anesthesia residency. Some of the patients are incredibly small, their pathophysiology is complex and the surgical procedures are unfamiliar. The pulse oximetry tones that used to communicate “all is well” now race feverishly, almost certainly making your heart race with them. The simplest of interventions, administering a drug intravenously, gives reason to pause, to check the math and only then to proceed with caution. MORE »
	Night Call Overnight call in the main OR for Duke Anesthesiology residents is very reasonable in that we seldom do 24 hour shifts. This is because we employ a night float system, which we feel greatly improves the quality of life for Duke Anesthesiology residents. Call is taken in one-week blocks, with residents being assigned roughly three to five weeks per year. MORE »
	The Anesthesia Intern Year The anesthesia intern year, or PGY-1 year, at Duke is built much like a transitional year, with a combination of medicine, surgery, pediatrics, emergency medicine, intensive care, and electives. One of the benefits of choosing the categorical, rather than advanced track, is the opportunity to get to know the Duke system, and work with a wide variety of colleagues in different departments prior to starting your clinical anesthesia years. Some months are certainly more challenging than others, but ultimately you come out feeling well-prepared to begin your CA-1 year. MORE »
	Cardiothoracic Anesthesia My cardiothoracic anesthesia rotation marked a significant turning point in my education process. At the end of even a single month-long rotation I was profoundly more comfortable with both complicated procedures and difficult cases. The case selection at Duke is often high-level and complicated. Depending on the number of cases scheduled in the resident’s room that day, the day begins at approx 5 a.m. MORE »
	VA Rotation The VA rotation is typically one of the most rewarding and desired rotations for our residents. Your day typically starts at 6am where everyone draws up their drugs for the day together in the anesthesia stockroom. It is a good time to chat about everyone’s cases for the day and bond with the other residents who are on the rotation. Every morning there is a VA morning conference at 7am. Topics vary every day and each resident also gets the opportunity to give one conference during their month. The OR schedule then starts at 8am. MORE »
	Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Rotation The Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) rotation is one of the most anticipated rotations among Duke Anesthesiology residents. We spend several weeks at the ASC during the CA-2 and CA-3 years. A typical day begins at 6:00 AM when we arrive and set up the block carts. By 6:30 AM we begin seeing patients in the pre-op area, reviewing the history and physical, conducting a focused physical exam, completing the anesthesia consent, and discussing the plan for the patient’s anesthetic. MORE »
	OB Anesthesia Rotation A day in my life, as the OB anesthesia resident, starts around 7:00AM. When I first arrive, I check the ORs to make sure they are equipped for the day. Then I meet with the overnight attending and resident in the OB anesthesia workroom and get a report about what happened overnight. This usually includes information about patients that currently have epidurals running or active issues that I should know about. If there is a c-section still in progress at 7AM, I relieve the overnight resident and finish the case. MORE »
	Pain Management Anesthesia Rotation The pain rotations at Duke are great months, and it is not just because of the increase in time-off. I learned much about pharmacology, learned and improved many interventional techniques, and had many educational and enjoyable chats with knowledgeable and available attending physicians. One month is spent on the inpatient Acute Pain Service and another month at the Duke Pain Clinic. MORE »

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Chief Resident, Stephanie McGuire, MD

Chief Resident, Ron Rawlings, MD

Academic Chief Resident, Tom Van de Ven, MD

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