Didactics

Live Lecture Curriculum

Although much of adult, postgraduate education has adopted e-learning as a conventional platform, our department continues to hold value for live, interactive didactic lectures. At the commencement of residency, CA1 residents are relieved every day at noon to receive an hour-long lecture.

This month-long introductory curriculum aims to translate fundamental scientific concepts of anesthesiology into practical, daily applications. A different faculty member contributes their expertise to each of these lectures.

An intensive simulation workshop follows this to enhance critical thinking skills. Beyond the introductory period of training, CA1 residents continue with weekly live lectures for the remainder of their year. We convene over lunch and explore topics germane to the science of anesthesia in depth. This lecture series concludes with an in-training examination review.

CA2 residents participate in live lecture series tailored to their subspecialty rotations, many of which are conducted daily. Dedicated lecture content is scheduled for cardiothoracic, neurosurgical, obstetric, pediatric, regional, pain management and critical care rotations.

CA3 trainees enjoy a weekly didactic series, which explores salient concepts related to practice management that are often outside the scope of typical educational curricula. Examples include billing practice models, disability insurance, investment and personal finance for physicians and malpractice fundamentals. Additionally, this is the forum where CA3 residents contribute through their senior presentations to their peers. All residents receive guidance from their mentor on producing a quality, peer-reviewed and evidence-based presentation.

Lastly, all residents attend weekly grand rounds, which cover a broad scope of anesthetic practice. Additionally, residents from all three classes attend live weekly simulation sessions, where we profile challenging scenarios, highlight crisis management skills, or discuss clinically rare cases. All live lectures are protected educational sessions, and residents are relieved of clinical responsibility to attend and participate. 

Electronic Learning

In addition to the live learning sessions throughout our residency, the Department of Anesthesiology has developed an internal e-module platform for adjunctive learning. These include over 50 video lectures on various topics and more than 50 podcasts for quick, on-the-go learning.

To make electronic education comprehensive, Northwestern also contributes to and subscribes to Anesthesia Toolbox, a multi-institutional web-based learning platform for residents of all training years. In addition to video lectures, podcasts, and rotation-specific curricular materials, Toolbox houses an extensive question bank of over 3,000 peer-reviewed ABA board-style quiz questions for self-assessment.