Hello, and welcome to Northwestern.

I believe that Northwestern is the perfect place to do an anesthesia residency for several reasons: the training you receive, the people with whom you work, and the location. The first is obviously the training that you receive at Northwestern.  The clinical experience at NMH is unparalleled. Northwestern excels in several areas, notably obstetric, regional, and pediatric anesthesia. There is a good balance between clinical experience with cases and didactic teaching. Our hospital is extremely busy, which is great for building experience while you are a resident. The volume of cases makes you not only a competent anesthesiologist, but a confident anesthesiologist. You will likely have hands-on experience with most types of cases during your training, not have just read about it in a book.

In addition to clinical experience, we have strong didactics at Northwestern, both in the form of formal lectures and informally in the OR. There are formal conferences three times a week, one of our conferences being set at our anesthesia simulator center. Simulated cases have covered a range of topics from airway emergencies to cardiac anesthesia to ICU care. The beauty of the simulator is that you can learn in a stress-free environment, and when confronted with your first real case, you have the clinical tools to know how to manage the situation.

The second reason that I believe that Northwestern is one of the best institutions in the country, is the people with whom you work: the attendings, residents, and staff. In my experience, I have always found that attendings are eager to teach, and many of our attendings are leaders in their field, so you are learning from the best. In addition to the attendings, my co-residents are a phenomenal group of people. The residents at Northwestern are a bright group of caring individuals that I know I can always count on either when I have a question at work or just am in the mood for a good time. Lastly, our staff is knowledgeable, helpful, and always willing to help you with your needs.

Lastly, life in Chicago. Being a Floridian myself, I can not say I came to Chicago for the weather. Weather aside, Chicago is one of the best cities in the country. It has world-class museums, a stellar symphony and opera, great sports teams, and more. I have never had a problem entertaining out of town guests here in Chicago. In case you are a runner, there are 18 miles of beautiful lakefront trails, perfect for marathon training. For all of these reasons, and many more, I welcome you to come and visit us here in Chicago. Please contact me if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Paloma Toledo, MD
Class of 2007