A Day in the Life of a Duke Anesthesiology Resident

Grace McCarthy, MD, CA-1 Resident

The Anesthesia Intern Year

Grace McCarthy, MD 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.

There are two ICU months built into the year, one surgical ICU month, and one pediatric ICU month. In terms of electives (12 weeks total), most people choose anesthesia (4 weeks), hyperbaric medicine (6 weeks), and one other elective (2 weeks) that can run the gamut from anesthesia simulation, to cardiothoracic ICU, to a pediatric subspecialty. Most months are spent at Duke’s Main Hospital, but you also get to do rotations at Durham Regional Hospital (10 min. drive from Duke), and at the Durham VA Hospital (right across the street from Duke).

Here is a breakdown of the core components of the intern year as well as popular electives with brief descriptions to give you an idea of what to expect.

General Medicine: A plus because it’s at Durham Regional where volume is lower than at Duke and there are more bread and butter cases. Daily morning conferences. Q4 call with team. 6-8 weeks.
Cardiology: Jokingly referred to as the “machine,” because of the high turnover and high census counts, this is a busy month where you learn evidence-based practice and take q4 call with 1 week of night float. 4 weeks.
Pulmonary: Another busy month split between general pulmonary and pulmonary transplant services. Work closely with fellows on both services, with the benefit of PAs on the transplant service to share the workload. Q4 call. 4 weeks.
General Surgery: Over at Durham Regional, a great month to practice basic surgical skills and learn to manage post-op patients. Was q3 but may be going to alternating weeks of days and nights. 4 weeks.
Surgical ICU: Over at the Durham VA, a great intern ICU month with somewhat lower acuity patients than at Duke. Lots of independence with great nurses to help you out. Daily lectures. Q3 call. 4 weeks.
Emergency Medicine: Primarily on the adult side. Great variety of cases and acuity. Some opportunities for minor procedures. 14 shifts per month (10-12 hours each). 4 weeks.
General Pediatrics: Teams consist of an upper level peds resident and two interns. Each team covers some general peds and usually one to two subspecialty’s inpatients. Lots of teaching in lectures and rounds. Q4 call. 4 weeks.
Pediatric ICU: Welcome to the world of congenital hearts and other rare diseases. Lots to learn if you can take it all in. Q4 call with close fellow supervision and an NP. 4 weeks.
Anesthesiology: A great month to get to know the department. Lots of hands on teaching from upper level residents. No call, no weekends. 4 weeks.
Hyperbaric: Definitely a unique experience that few places but Duke can offer. The crew over at “the chamber” are fantastic and easy to work with. Learn all about hyperbaric medicine from experts in the field. A relatively low-key rotation with home pager call on alternating weeks. 6 weeks.