About our Program
Welcome to the Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care at the University of Chicago! Thank you for taking the time to learn more about our program. We strongly believe that UChicago offers the best combination of general anesthesia and top tier subspecialty training at one of the Midwest’s premier teaching hospitals. Our residents have an unparalleled residency experience and we are excited to show you why we proudly call UChicago home!
The Center for Care and Discovery, our state-of-the-art hospital, opened in 2013. Located in historic Hyde Park along the beautiful south shore of Lake Michigan, it is just 4 miles south of Chicago’s Loop. At our core, we take pride in the University’s mission to care for the underserved, underrepresented communities in and around Hyde Park and the South Side of Chicago. We take this responsibility seriously in our work on the frontlines providing anesthesia care in the busy level 1 trauma bays, challenging operating rooms, high-risk labor and delivery suites, and intensive care units. As a department, we are continually challenging ourselves to find meaningful and unique ways to support the community we have the great privilege of serving.
The exceptional faculty at UChicago go the extra mile to make the anesthesia program feel like home. While many of them are too humble to acknowledge their own success, as residents we benefit from training under some of the most renowned academic anesthesiologists in the nation. Many of our attendings have made UChicago home, having trained here and invested their time and talent in the department, the residency program, and Hyde Park – they truly love UChicago. Many others have trained elsewhere, knitting a vibrant tapestry of diversity and breadth of clinical training experiences that makes our program stronger. As a result, residents here benefit from the leadership of past presidents of the American Society of Anesthesiology, preparing for oral boards with numerous active oral board examiners, and going out to dinner with our attendings…simply just because. This is what makes the DACC family great.
At UChicago, everyone will know who you are, where you are from, and what you are passionate about – and they will help you get the most out of your educational experience. From the first day of tutorial in the operating rooms, you are paired with two attending tutors who get to know you deeply and are your support system as they provide intensive one-on-one intraoperative teaching and guidance. Residents every year highlight this as being one of their favorite parts of their training experience. The clinical curriculum is designed to shepherd you through rotations in your CA1 year such as pain, obstetrics, renal, ENT, ortho, cardiac, and ambulatory surgery that solidify your skills in the basics of anesthesia. As you move into CA2 year, the focus is on advanced subspecialty experiences in pediatrics, thoracic, vascular, surgical and cardiothoracic ICU, and neurosurgery, providing you with an incredible breadth and depth of exposure as you consider fellowship training. Finally, in the CA3 year, the emphasis is on flexibility as you tailor your rotation schedule through our CA3 lottery to obtain the experiences that suit your interests. The focus in your last year of training is on transitioning to independent practice. As a senior, you will learn valuable administrative triaging skills while you run the call team, help coordinate the board assignments, attend trauma activations, codes, emergency airways, and perform the most complex anesthetics in the hospital. We are additionally privileged to have an academic partnership with NorthShore University Health System in Evanston, where our residents are exposed to a community hospital feel, while learning high-efficiency anesthesia in a private practice setting. These varied experiences prepare our residents to be clinically strong, well-balanced consultant anesthesiologists.
Our didactic curriculum is tailored to meet the academic needs of the residents, and continues to evolve based on their feedback. We have lectures Monday through Friday from 6:30 – 7 AM in addition to the intensive lecture series during the tutorial months. Resident lectures are composed of Keywords review, generally taught by a CA1 or CA2, as well as an attending-run point of care ultrasound (PULSE) curriculum, board review series, and mock oral boards for all residents. In addition, the department hosts weekly Grand Rounds, which focus on quality improvement, morbidity and mortality conferences, and lectures from visiting professors at the forefront of anesthesia. We have a nurturing educational environment that focuses on preparing you for success on the Basic and Advanced Exams while also finding ways to provide innovative teaching that prepares residents for the future. We support residents in their academic pursuits which include writing papers, conducting research, authoring book chapters, and attending local and national conferences, including ASRA, Anesthesiology, Society of Pediatric Anesthesiology Conference and the ASA Legislative Conference in Washington D.C.
On top of that, the residents here simply enjoy hanging out with each other. The resident-run Wellness Committee plans monthly outings where we get to explore Chicago alongside our families, co-residents, fellows, CRNAs, and attendings. We’ve done everything from cooking classes to kayak trips down the Chicago River, rooftop Cubs games and escape rooms, to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Grant Park during #summertimeChi. Even during the height of the pandemic, residents remained connected through virtual happy hours and game nights. Regardless of the state of the pandemic, you will find a strong sense of belonging when you begin your training here.
And if all of that weren’t enough, you will be training in America’s greatest city, Chicago. Chicago is often described as a “city of neighborhoods,” from hip northside locales such as Lincoln Park to historic southside neighborhoods like Hyde Park. Chicago is legendary for its breadth of culinary options – you won’t go hungry here. If you love to get out and exercise, our 18-mile Lakefront Path is perfect for running or biking along beautiful Lake Michigan, and the 606 is an elevated trail that runs right in the middle of the city. No matter what you enjoy doing, Chicago truly has something for everyone.
We hope we’ve convinced you that training at the Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care at the University of Chicago is second to none. The continued success of our graduates in the Match and their pride in their institution is a testament to how special it is to train at UChicago. Training here will prepare you for practice anywhere you want to go. We encourage you to learn more about us and apply to our program. If you have any questions about our program or living in Chicago, please feel free to contact us! We are excited to meet you!
Sincerely,
Eric, David, and Katherine
2022-2023 Chief Residents
Katherine Barnes M.D.
David Lyubashevsky, M.D.
Eric Sweeney, M.D.