Educational Programs - Pediatric Anesthesiology

The Department of Anesthesiology provides a variety of
formal and informal educational opportunities for its
members. We believe strongly that diversity in the pursuit
of education allows our fellows to mature in both their
professional and personal lives.

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.

Conferences

Morning conferences are held four days a week.

Monday:  Pediatric Anesthesia Conference, 6:45 to 7:15 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 fellows are expected to attend these conferences on a regular basis except for the Thursday resident conference which is optional.  Each fellow will be expected to present a topic of interest for four of the Monday morning conferences and to participate in PBLD sessions held monthly on Mondays. 

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. On our internal website we have rotation goals and objectives, educational material, pertinent journal articles and clinical guidelines.  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/).