The Anesthesiology program at Western University is fully accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and has implemented Competence by Design, a hybrid, outcomes-based approach to training and assessment that is more flexible and adaptable to  societal change.  Below are some of our program highlights:

FLEXIBILITY:  Ours is the ideally sized residency with a large enough patient base to provide ample experience in all areas of Anesthesia and research but small enough so the 42 residents and 100 staff all know each other as individuals – no one gets lost in the crowd.  We take pride in being a flexible program that works hard to meet each individual’s educational goals.  The Residency Program Committee, led by the Program Director, Dr. Melissa Chin, is dedicated to upholding the high standard of excellence achieved by the program, balanced with a personal and friendly atmosphere.

As part of our flexible program, we consider any reasonable proposal for electives.  Our residents commonly pursue interprovincial electives as well as international elective and medical mission opportunities.  They have also proposed new and innovative rotations such as our now popular and well-established hepatobiliary/liver transplant and simulation electives.

NEW ACADEMIC PROGRAM: We are proud to say that we have recently redesigned curriculum delivery in our program, allowing for more targeted training experiences and educational planning.  Our goal is to inspire, encourage and  develop learners’ interests and aspirations, while providing a solid, foundational understanding of all aspects of anesthesia and perioperative medicine in a complex, team-based clinical environment.  First year residents will now take part in an intensive foundational anesthesia program covering the basics of anesthesia.  Second and third year residents will participate in an advanced, core academic program with a focus on subspecialty anesthesia and exploration of clinical application of the foundational knowledge gained in first year.  The intensive program in the PGY1-3 years is designed to equip our fourth and fifth year residents with the skills to then make the most use of full independent academic days to prepare for the Royal College exams.

BROAD CLINICAL EXPOSURE: Our residency program offers a wide variety of subspecialty training opportunities in anesthesia, with a large case volume which allows us to be among the top Canadian training programs in resident clinical exposure.  Because of the design of our hospital systems and our on-call schedules, our residents are privileged with longitudinal exposure to multiple subspecialties, most notably Obstetric Anesthesia and Pediatric Anesthesia.  One of the unique experiences that Western offers is the opportunity for highly structured, educationally rich experiences in the South-Western Ontario Region with Postgraduate Distributed Education.  This network of facilities is a joint project of the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University and the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care of Ontario.  Many residents pursue rotations in Windsor, Stratford and St. Thomas, generally after their first year.  The site of the rotation is selected by the trainee.  Financial support for these rotations is fully supported by the Distributed Education Program (i.e. meals, travel and accommodation).  We believe these opportunities provide our learners with the perspective of local societal needs in anesthesia.

REGIONAL ANESTHESIA TRAINING:  Among those subspecialty training opportunities is a robust regional anesthesia training program which boasts 3 dedicated rotations at each of our training sites designed to develop a broad set of regional anesthesia skills.  We have consistently received positive feedback from our residents on these experiences and are one of the most sought-after programs for regional anesthesia electives.

POINT-OF-CARE ULTRASOUND:  As a result of the dedicated efforts of our consultants and residents, in May 2015 we introduced one of the first Canadian Perioperative Ultrasound rotations.  This is now one of the most well-established rotations in Canada and has consistently been one of the most highly rated rotations in our program.

SIMULATION PROGRAM:  High fidelity simulation is now a well-established training modality of choice for high acuity specialties such as anesthesia, critical care and surgery.  At Western, our highly skilled simulation educators have developed unique, interdisciplinary simulation programs which provide our learners with a broad variety of simulation experiences, developing Crisis Resource Management skills while also building crucial relationships with our colleagues in other disciplines such as obstetrics & gynecology, otolaryngology, and general surgery/trauma.  From the initiative and dedication of previous residents in our program, we now also offer a popular simulation elective, which provides our learners an opportunity to do a deep dive into Crisis Resource Management principles and develop skills in medical education and simulation delivery.

You can find great information about our CBD program here.