Anesthesiology Residency Program

The department of Anesthesiology is mid to large sized program consisting of 16 residents per year, with a full complement of 64 residents. We are committed an intellectual environment that will facilitate the acquisition of comprehensive knowledge, technical skills, clinical judgment, and professional attitudes which are essential to the practice of anesthesiology. We have a long tradition of training excellent board-certified anesthesiologists and providing care to our patients in South Texas.

The clinical base year is designed to provide a basis of knowledge and experience in internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, surgical intensive care, and preoperative medicine. The clinical anesthesia years are graded in terms of severity of illness, complexity of surgery, and risk of morbidity/mortality. In the PGY-2 year, basic knowledge and anesthetic skills are learned on lower risk patients undergoing relatively simple procedures. Many of these patients are ambulatory. The PGY-3 year is designed to teach sub-specialty anesthesia. The PGY-4 year is designed to offer flexibility regarding the resident’s career goals. Residents in the PGY-4 year manage anesthesia for the most difficult surgical procedures, often with high-risk patients.

The didactic program and clinical teaching are based on a curriculum centered on the core competencies of patient care, medical knowledge, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, practice-based learning and improvement, and systems-based practice.

An important goal of the program is to ensure board certification for the residents. The final goal is to train a highly competent consultant anesthesiologist who interacts appropriately with colleagues and maintains a desire for life-long learning.