The University of Toronto offers a comprehensive program in Anesthesia, which is fully accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Over 350 staff anesthesiologists at multiple sites are involved in resident education. These sites include: The Hospital for Sick Children; Mount Sinai Hospital; St. Michael’s Hospital; Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, at both the Sunnybrook and Holland Centre campuses; Michael Garron Hospital; St. Joseph’s Health Science Centre; The University Health Network at both the Toronto General and Toronto Western Hospitals and Women’s College Hospital. Each of these hospitals has particular clinical focus and specific training opportunities which allows the program as a whole to offer residents an exceptional experience in all areas of Anesthetic practice.

The experience that residents obtain with respect to volume and variety of clinical opportunities, both patients and procedures, is unparalleled. All subspecialties of anesthesia are offered in Toronto and this means that our residents have opportunities for training in ALL areas of anesthesia practice during their residency — all within their own program. For example, residents experience Obstetrical Anesthesia longitudinally throughout their training and, in addition, have a full protected block rotation in high risk quaternary-care Ob-Anesthesia.

Other unique opportunities and strengths of our program include:

Simulation: There are multiple high fidelity Anesthesia Simulation Centers in the Department, and a Surgical Skills Center . These centres are used for the clinical training and education of anesthesia residents and multidisciplinary teams particularly in the areas of technical skills, critical event training and crisis resource management. Residents participate in simulator sessions throughout residency. In addition, senior residents are involved in the supervision and teaching of medical students in the simulator at our Sunnybrook site. We have also expanded the use of simulation in other areas including advanced airway management, vascular access and regional anesthesia.  In addition, each hospital has simulation opportunities for residents during rotations resulting in a robust longitudinal simulation curriculum.  For example, Toronto General Hospital has weekly simulation sessions during morning teaching. Virtual reality simulation is currently being pioneered at Sunnybrook Health Sciences, where residents wear a VR headset and run through simulation scenarios in the OR during morning teaching.

Regional anesthesia: This has become a major focus at a number of sites in the Department of Anesthesia at the University of Toronto. All residents have the opportunity to train in regional anesthesia longitudinally and also complete block rotations specific to regional anesthesia education and experience.  This includes e-learning, simulation training and academic sessions all devoted to the acquisition of regional anesthesia skills. Many opportunities also exist for research in this field – particularly in the area of ultrasound-guided blocks – many commonly performed blocks have been pioneered by Anesthesiologists at UofT.

POCUS: All residents participate in a longitudinal Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) training curriculum. This includes full-day boot camps, and a dedicated POCUS block rotation focused on the acquisition of competencies in cardiac, lung, FAST, airway, and gastric imaging.  There are also academic sessions throughout the year devoted to POCUS.  Residents have access to a spectrum of POCUS resources including trained faculty, US machines, TEE simulators and on-line materials.

Academic Curriculum: Our program boasts a very robust Academic Curriculum including morning teaching at all sites and protected academic half-days.  Protected academic time includes teaching sessions as well as protected time for wellness, mentorship, and individual or group study dedicated to developing CanMEDS competencies. In addition, we have a Resident Education Day in November organized by the Departmental Chief Residents focusing on a specific theme. An important aspect of our academic curriculum is that it is heavily resident driven and there is strong resident input in refining the curriculum each year.

The final year academic curriculum is devoted to the “Senior Revision Tutorial”. The focus of these tutorials is a detailed academic review and the development of consultancy level judgement and critical thinking skills.  Through this rigorous program, our residents are very well prepared for the Royal College Examinations and independent practice.  Overall, our residents receive one half-day to one full day per week of protected academic time, including independent study time starting 6-months prior to the Royal College Written Examination.

Research and Scholarship: The Department of Anesthesia at the University of Toronto is the largest and most productive academic anesthesia department in Canada. There is a very large, productive research community involved in both laboratory and clinical research. A number of internationally recognized researchers work with our department. All residents are have the opportunity to participate in research during their residency.  Residents are actively involved in our annual Shield’s Day which showcases trainee research.

As well, we support a Clinician Investigator Program which provides a unique opportunity to applicants who are interested in pursuing a career as a clinician scientist. This is a two-year program which incorporates a centralized curriculum geared toward preparing candidates to become independent clinician scientists and the opportunity to become involved in research as part of a Masters or PhD program. Salary and tuition support is available for successful candidates.

In addition to research opportunities, our residents have a plethora of opportunities for scholarship. This includes QI/QA projects, development of patient safety initiatives, involvement in medical education (including simulation, creation of educational curriculum and e-modules), and teaching development.  Some residents have even completed graduate degrees and certificates during residency.

Please visit our website for further information.

In addition to the robust and exciting clinical and academic opportunities, our residents are supported in many additional ways:

Resident Leadership:  As a resident-driven program, residents are encouraged to be involved in the development and governance of the program.  Residents from each year are active members of the program committees (Residency Program Committee, Applicant Selection Committee, etc.). Selected residents are also involved in Postgraduate Medical Education and Professional Association of Residents of Ontario.  There are Chief Residents at each training site as well as Departmental Chief Resident(s) who serve as resident program leaders. They facilitate two-way flow of information and ideas, especially in the context of program reorganization and change. Our residents are represented as true stakeholders in the program. The opinions and feedback of our residents is essential and ensures trainee involvement in the design and implementation of any changes.

Mentorship:  Our residency program endeavours to provide mentorship in residency training by structuring a mentorship program that is aimed to enhance personal and professional development, and to provide guidance to all residents .  Our program has always had an open door policy for the residents to informally seek advice and support from faculty including Site Coordinators and the Program Director.  In addition, residents entering into the program are assigned to a formal Mentorship Group and are paired with a Near-Peer mentor for additional support.

Academic Support: In addition to the academic support of the individual Site-Coordinators and the Program Director, every resident entering our program will be paired with an Academic Coach.  This faculty member helps residents in defining their learning objectives, following their learning plans to completion, all while providing encouragement, motivation, and one-to-one dialogue.

Resident Wellness:  Our program has a Wellness Committee with a Faculty Lead and Resident Leads.  The Resident Wellness Committee is responsible for providing vision and leadership in relation to resident wellness initiatives.  The program also works closely with the University’s PGME Resident Wellness Office to support our residents’ individual needs.

Social Committee: Part of resident life includes socialization and social events. Incoming PGY1 residents attend a BBQ to socialize with their peers and the program leads. After the annual resident orientation session, all residents attend a social gathering at a pub in order for all cohort years to interact with each other. Our resident Social Committee helps to organize events to maintain collegiality and help foster socialization amongst residents and faculty.  An excellent example is our annual Sports Day and BBQ where residents and staff team up for a fun-filled day of games – all competing for the coveted “Laryngoscope Award” along with bragging rights and fund-raising for charity. Last year, the social committee organized a formal trainees dinner for all residents and fellows rotating in anesthesia. This was well attended and will likely continue for the upcoming academic year.