Simulator
We have a Human Patient Simulator for medical student and resident education and for research. The Human Patient Simulator is a full-size mannequin, which through its computer interfaces and realistic bioengineering calculations, provides a large number of scenarios typical of the operating room environment, intensive care unit, or emergency room. The scenarios range from the basic induction of anesthesia in a healthy patient to cross-clamping and unclamping the aorta of an elderly patient with severe cardiopulmonary disease. There are scenarios for emergencies such as malignant hyperthermia, anaphylaxis, pneumothorax, and the various types of shock. Anesthesia machine faults can also be simulated.
Journal Clubs
Every two months an evening journal club and case discussion will be held for the residents and the fellow for the Pediatric fellows. There is an evening journal club meeting once each month, which will be held at one of the faculty members' houses and an annual departmental pain management lecture block during the month of February. Trainees actively participate in these programs and in quarterly staff/CQI meetings.
Conferences
Morning conferences are held four days a week.
Monday: Pediatric Anesthesia Conference, 6:45 to 7:15 a.m. & Pain Conference 8:00 to 9:00 a.m.
Tuesday: Department Case Conference, 6:45 to 7:15 a.m.
Wednesday: Departmental Grand Rounds, 7:00 to 8:00 a.m.
Thursday: Resident Conference, 6:45 to 7:15 a.m. (optional)
The fellow is expected to attend these conferences on a regular basis except for the Thursday resident conference which is optional. The fellow will be expected to present a selected topic of relevance on a monthly basis at the Friday Pediatric Anesthesia Conference. An agenda of all conference topics will be distributed monthly.
In addition to these conferences, the fellow should attend the Friday afternoon Pediatric Surgery/Pediatric Anesthesia Preoperative Rounds when possible.
For the pain fellow, the bulk of the educational program will involve participation in daily clinical activities, with interactions among patients, trainees, and faculty at the Pain Management Center, the Spine Center and on the Acute Pain Service, as well as independent study by the trainee. Each fellow will be responsible for one presentation each month. The faculty as well as the residents rotating through the clinic will also participate in organizing these conferences.
Computer Resources
All fellows have ready access to intradepartmental, campus-wide and Internet computer facilities to assist with literature searches, research activities, lecture presentations, and self-paced programmed education. Our library maintains an up-to-date collection of computer assisted interactive educational software programs. Computer facilities are available 24 hours a day to allow fellows free access to the latest methods of education in anesthesia. The department has a staff of computer specialists with expertise in educational software, word processing, data storage and retrieval, statistical analysis, and multimedia presentation techniques. Fellows are encouraged to utilize these facilities to assist in research endeavors and to supplement the more traditional didactic and clinically based educational experiences. The department provides support for handheld PDAs and maintains educational site for handhelds (http://pda.aims.unc.edu/).
Library
The library of the Department of Anesthesiology provides excellent educational resources for residents, fellows, faculty, and staff. The Department subscribes to many anesthesiology publications, which are reserved exclusively for members of the department. The library also includes computer workstations with online training software. The library is available for the department use only and is always open for study and research. The Health Sciences Library is located in close proximity to the UNC hospitals complex. The library contains 333,493 total volumes and receives 4,116 serial titles. Electronic journals and books and databases such as PubMed, CINAHL, ISI Citation Databases, BIOSIS, PsychINFO, eFacts, and Lexi-Comp are available anywhere on campus. Faculty, staff, and students can access almost all electronic resources from home. A total renovation of the library building was completed in early 2005, adding high end technology options, group study spaces, and a coffee shop.