Didactics

CA-1 DIDACTICS

CA-1 Didactic LecturesDidactics for CA-1 year consist of a monthly Academic Day which begins during fall and ends early in the summer with the ABA Basic Exam. Academic Day is a full day dedicated to didactics where residents are free of clinical duties to ensure attendance. The day is composed of different activities divided into two sessions: morning and afternoon.

The morning session usually encompasses a mix of the following types of talks:

  • The keyword lecture series which focuses on preparation for the ABA Basic Exam
  • Wellness and professionalism
  • Advocacy
  • High yield keyword review
  • M&M

The afternoon sessions are composed of a mix of these hands-on practical sessions:

  • Simulation lab
  • Pig trachea wet lab
  • Central-line and arterial-line workshops
  • Neuraxial anesthesia workshop
  • PoCUS (Point of Care Ultrasound) course
  • Journal Club

 

CA-2 AND CA-3 DIDACTICS

The CA-2/3 classes have their own separate academic day but their curriculum has been expanded over the course of 2 years. The flow of the academic day is similar, divided into morning and afternoon sessions, but the lecture series focuses on advanced topics and takes a more in-depth approach to both fundamental physiology and pharmacology, along with the subspecialties of anesthesia.

The morning session usually encompasses a mix of the following types of talks:

  • The keyword lecture series is designed to provide a foundation for the ABA advanced written board examination.
  • Wellness and Professionalism
  • Advocacy
  • In-training Exam (ITE) prep
  • Fellowship application sessions

The afternoon sessions are composed of a mix of these hands-on practical sessions:

  • Simulation Lab
  • Oral board preparation with our own faculty members who are active certified ABA Oral Board Examiners
  • OSCE
  • Introduction to TEE
  • PoCUS/ FATE course

 

SIMULATION

Sumulation LabSimulation sessions are held in our state-of-the-art simulation lab as a part of the afternoon sessions during Academic Day. The center has two highly configurable patient simulation labs with both METI and Laerdal simulators (adult, pediatric, and neonatal). Each lab has all the gases and equipment to simulate operating rooms. These are also well equipped with video monitors and two-way communication to the control booth.

The simulation experience is tailored to the clinical anesthesia year of the residents and designed to promote preparedness and education of all expected management and emergencies in the operating room. Naveen Vanga, MD, has been the director of Anesthesia Simulation since 2017 where he provides our residents with the real-world, hand-on training so crucial to success in clinical practice. In 2012, we received certification from the American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) to become Houston’s only certified MOCA Simulation Center.

 

PoCUS AND FATE COURSES

PoCUSOur regional and acute pain faculty led by Nadia Hernandez, MD, instruct an annual, free-of-cost POCUS and basic FATE course for our residents. The course itself is over 15 hours of interactive virtual coursework and over 10 hours of practice sessions with live models. The topics covered in the course include:

  • Airway ultrasound
  • Focused lung ultrasound
  • Gastric ultrasound
  • FAST (Focused Assessment with Sonography in Trauma) exam
  • Basic FATE (Focus Assessed Transthoracic Echocardiography)
  • Regional anesthesia