Medical Students

Anesthesiology Rotations for Medical Students

Medical students rotating in the UH Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine gain a wise array of experiences ranging from fundamental technical skills to attending conferences with anesthesiology residents. The medical student electives provide an excellent opportunity to get to know department faculty and strengthen your fundamental anesthesia clinical skills.

Recommend reading: Basics of Anesthesia 5th Edition by Robert K. Stoelting & Ronald D. Miller ("Baby Miller")

We ask that non-CWRU visiting students DO NOT contact departments directly. If you have any questions, please email the visiting student coordinator, Erin Zawolowycz, at Erin.Zawolowycz@uhhospitals.org.

Anesthesiology Electives

ACCM 4000A: Anesthesiology Acting Internship (University Hospitals): This four week elective rotation allows the medical student to care for both adult and pediatric surgical patients during the perioperative period. Objectives - 1. Provide an understanding of the Anesthesiologist's role in the perioperative care of surgical patients including preoperative evaluation, intraoperative administration of anesthesia, and postoperative management. 2. Provide both basic knowledge and technical skills of anesthesia for a variety of cases in the adult and pediatric patient population. 3. Understand the basics of resuscitation and airway management -- which will be useful to all medical students regardless of their selected specialty The student will work with the anesthesia team to provide care of patients including preoperative evaluation & care, IV catheter placement, anesthetic delivery, airway management, and post-operative management. The student is expected to attend all educational conferences including basic science lectures, keyword conference, journal club, and our Wednesday Anesthesia Conference given by the Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine. A formal orientation outlining the goals and expectations of the rotation is provided on the first day of the rotation. Prerequisites: Students must have successfully completed their core clerkships in Surgery and Internal Medicine.
ACCM 4001A: Oral/Maxillofacial Surgery - Anesthesia (University Hospitals): This rotation is only open to those students in the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Program at University Hospitals of Cleveland. Goals of the Rotation: Provide an undestanding of the anesthesiologist's role in the perioperative care of surgical patients including preoperative evaluation, intraoperative administration of anesthesia, and postoperative management. Provide both basic knowledge and technical skills of anesthesia for a variety of cases in the adult and pediatric patient population. Understand the basics of resuscitation and airway management.
ACCM 4001D: Clinical Anesthesiology (Cleveland VA Hospital): For most medical students (those not planning further anesthesiology training), this elective will emphasize skill refinement in emergency airway and ventilator management, lumbar puncture (therapeutic and diagnostic), peripheral and central intravenous access techniques, and arterial catheter placement. Further emphasis be placed on principles of fluid and blood product management, vasoactive agent use and drug pharmacokinetic/ pharmacodynamics as well as understanding of clinical monitoring equipment. Students will be encouraged although not required to present a topic of interest at a department conference. This elective will serve as an excellent introduction to anesthesiology for these students contemplating or planning a career in this specialty. Students may expect nearly full-time attention of faculty members. OBJECTIVE: Students will be instructed in perioperative care, especially airway management, fluid, blood product, and pressor therapies, and use of anesthetic and analgesic medications. Particular emphasis will be placed on understanding of airway and monitoring equipment and on quantitative aspects of pertinent pharmacology and physiology. Cost-effectiveness in anesthesia will be discussed. DUTIES: Students will be fully supervised in actual patient care with 1-on-1 faculty-to-student ratio. Students will be involved with intraoperative and recovery room care, preoperative and postoperative evaluations. Care of acute and chronic pain patients will be included. PREREQUISITE: Completion of clinical clerkships in medicine and surgery.
ACCM 4002D: Pain Management (Cleveland VA Hospital): The division of Pain Medicine at the Cleveland VA medical center offers a two-week or one-month elective rotation. Medical students will be exposed to the multi-disciplinary pain management approach. Our Pain Management specialists work hand-in-hand with our clinical psychologists, coordinating the plan of care. Students will spend time with attending physicians in clinic, as well as in the procedure suite. State of the art invasive procedures are performed daily. For interested students, scrubbing and assisting with spinal cord stimulators implants is an option. These are surgical procedures performed by the Pain Management physicians. OBJECTIVE: Advantages of the rotation include a 1-1 student to staff ratio, a wide variety of complex patients, in addition to a unique exposure to multiple different pain management modalities.
ACCM 4009A: Surgical Intensive Care (University Hospitals): Description of Course: The Surgical Intensive Care Unit at University Hospitals is a 20 bed facility serving all the adult surgical subspecialties. The critical care team consists of an intensivist, critical care fellow and several surgery and anesthesiology house staff. Teaching rounds are made daily on all patients in the Unit, and the conferences dealing with selected topics in critical care medicine are held on a regular basis. OBJECTIVE: The student will become familiar with the complex care of the critically ill patient. Prerequisites: This course is available to 4th year students only, for both the 2- and 4- week option. Prerequisites include successful completion of Core clerkships in Surgery and Internal Medicine OR an AI in Anesthesia.
ACCM 4010A: Surgical Intensive Care Acting Internship (University Hospitals): DESCRIPTION: The Surgical Intensive Care Unit at University Hospitals is a 20-bed facility serving all the adult surgical subspecialties. The critical care team consists of an intensivist, critical care fellow and several surgery and anesthesiology house staff. Teaching rounds are made daily on all patients in the Unit, and the conferences dealing with selected topics in critical care medicine are held on a regular basis. OBJECTIVE: The student will become familiar with the complex care of the critically ill patient. Prerequisites: This course is available to 4th year students only as a 4-week Acting Internship. PREREQUISITES: Successful completion of core clerkships in Surgery and Internal Medicine, OR an A.I. in Anesthesia.