Goals and Rotations
Program Goal:
The goal of our ACGME-accredited, 12-month Pediatric Anesthesiology Fellowship is to provide a comprehensive, high-quality training experience that equips fellows with the knowledge, judgment, and technical skills required to deliver safe, effective perioperative care for infants, children, and adolescents across the full spectrum of complexity.
| Rotation | Duration | Calls |
|---|---|---|
| Pediatric Operating Rooms | 6 months | 2/month (No weekends) |
| Pediatric Cardiovascular Anesthesiology | 2 months | No overnight call |
| Pediatric Regional and Pain Management | 1 month | No overnight call |
| Non-Operating Room Anesthesia | 1 month | No overnight call |
| Elective | 1 month | No overnight call |
| Pediatric Intensive Critical Care (PICU) | 0.5 month | No overnight call |
| Neonatal Intensive Critical Care (NICU) | 0.5 month | No overnight call |
Elective Options:
- Mission Trips
- Maternal-Fetal anesthesia
- Pediatric Regional and Pain Management
- Pediatric Cardiovascular Anesthesiology
- Non-Operating Room Anesthesia
Clinical Experience
Pediatric Operating Rooms
Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center, offers an exceptional environment for developing expertise in pediatric anesthesiology. Fellows gain extensive hands-on experience caring for fetus, neonates, infants, and children undergoing a wide range of surgical and procedural interventions, including:
- Fetal and neonatal surgery
- Congenital anomalies
- Neurosurgery
- Major orthopedic surgery
- Cardiac surgery
- Organ transplantation
- ENT surgery
- Craniofacial and oromaxillofacial surgery
- Urology
- Trauma
- Burns
- Routine pediatric surgical cases
Pediatric Cardiovascular Anesthesiology:
Our pediatric cardiac anesthesia Team utilizes the most advanced and evidence-based anesthesia techniques and fellows are exposed to the most complex problems ranging from congenital heart disease to pediatric heart transplantation.
Pediatric Regional and Pain Management:
Exposes fellows to basic and advanced regional and neuraxial anesthesia techniques, acute postoperative pain management, and acute-on-chronic inpatient pain management. The fellows perform peripheral nerve blocks, peripheral nerve catheters, caudal and epidural catheters, and spinal anesthetics with the supervision of a member of our Advanced Pediatric Regional Anesthesiology Team during the rotation. In addition, fellows develop skills in non-operating room anesthesia (NORA), providing sedation and anesthesia for children undergoing procedures outside the operating room.
Critical Care Rotations (1 month) where fellows may elect to spend 2-week blocks in either the 28-bed Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) or the 12-bed Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (PCICU)
Pre-tending Role
During the final month of fellowship, trainees participate in the Pre-tending Role, an advanced rotation designed to ease the transition from fellow to independent pediatric anesthesiologist. In this rotation, fellows take supervised responsibility for managing an operating room in a junior attending–style role, overseeing clinical flow and making perioperative decisions with growing autonomy.
Although fellows function with increased independence, they always have an attending anesthesiologist readily available for consultation and real-time mentorship. This balance allows fellows to refine clinical judgment, sharpen leadership skills, and gain confidence in perioperative decision-making within a safe and supportive learning environment.
The Pre-tending Role is consistently one of the most valued experiences in our fellowship. Fellows report it as highly impactful, rewarding, and essential in preparing them for their future roles in pediatric anesthesiology.
Call Responsibilities:
All call assignments are structured to ensure full compliance with ACGME duty hour requirements.
Pediatric Operating Rooms:
Fellows complete two in-house overnight calls per month
- Standard call:3:00 PM – 7:00 AM
- Thursday call:3:00 PM – 8:00 AM
Call-Free Rotations:
There are no call responsibilities during the following rotations:
- Cardiovascular Anesthesia (CV)
- Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)
- Regional Anesthesia
- Elective Month
We recognize the importance of work–life balance. Fellows are encouraged to proactively submit call schedule requests throughout the year, allowing for flexibility in personal and professional planning.