The overall goal of the Critical Care Medicine training program is to develop competent anesthesiology intensivists in the theory, diagnosis and treatment of critical care related disorders across a broad spectrum of patients, treatment settings and levels of care.
Fellows will focus on several broad areas of clinical, administrative, educational and research areas to develop the needed skills to practice state-of-the-art critical care in the broadest settings as well as the needed administrative skills to manage a critical care delivery system.
Throughout the training period and upon completion of the program, anesthesia critical care fellows will gain clinical experience in all the components delineated in the ABA Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Training Requirements and will also:
- Develop the cognitive and procedural skills necessary to provide optimal care to patients admitted to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) or patients with severe physiologic derangements in the perioperative setting
- Achieve proficiency in the recognition and management of problems commonly encountered in the ICU
- Gain experience with longitudinal care for patients with complex medical conditions
- Develop proficiency with advanced life support techniques such as different modes of mechanical ventilation, continuous renal replacement therapies and hemodynamic support with all pharmacologic agents; intra-aortic balloon pumps, ventricular assist devices and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)
- Gain experience with the supervision of a team of healthcare providers including medical students, fellows, nurses, respiratory therapists and more
- Develop more sophisticated knowledge of critical care principles, monitoring and therapeutic technologies, as well as current guidelines and standards of care developed by relevant medical organizations such as the SCCM and/or the ABA
- Receive opportunities to develop teaching and research skills
- Provide expert consultation and training to other physicians and professionals involved in managing critically ill or unstable patients in a variety of clinical settings
- Gain experience in the administrative processes required to manage an ICU and critical care service
- Evaluate and incorporate new treatment techniques in a rapidly growing, empirically-based field
Our curriculum is organized into 13, 4-week rotations (blocks). Evaluation of a fellow will be performed in accordance with the goals and objectives stated above, as well as those competencies specific to ICU and/or elective rotations. Rotation-specific goals and objectives can be found on our Rotations page.
One of the many reasons I came here was the exposure to a wide array of cardiac surgical patients, ranging from complex aortic pathologies to various mechanical circulatory support devices.
Our fellows engage in a variety of scholarly and quality projects during their time here, including:
Quality Improvement & Patient Safety
During the course of the fellowship, fellows will be expected to complete one quality improvement project and one patient safety project for each year that they are in fellowship. Fellows have flexibility to choose their area of interest in order to focus on initiatives that align with their interests and professional goals. Fellows will also choose a faculty mentor to assist them in the design and implementation of these projects.
Scholarly Activity
During the course of the fellowship, fellows will be expected to complete one scholarly project related to critical care medicine for each year that they are in fellowship that is suitable for publication or presentation. These projects are designed to be presented at local, regional, national, or international meetings and/or published in a peer-reviewed journal or book. Fellows will choose a faculty mentor to assist them in this project.
Other Research Interests
Fellows have the additional option to engage in various research interests of their own pursuit. Numerous faculty members are interested to assist with these projects. Fellows may utilize elective time on a research elective or use their administrative weeks to ensure that they have adequate time to engage in and complete these projects.
Fellows are required to attend a variety of programs and subspecialty conferences in order to supplement knowledge gained during clinical rotations. These educational activities include:
These presentations are given by faculty with expertise in a particular area of critical care medicine. Lunch is provided for the fellows. Topics are chosen so that fellows are exposed to the many different aspects of critical care medicine throughout the year.
This weekly meeting is led by the fellows and supervised by the faculty. In addition to providing an opportunity to review the latest developments in critical care medicine, this serves to teach trainees how to appropriately locate, appraise and assimilate evidence in order to enhance the quality of their care. In addition, this provides a forum to learn about the basics of statistical analysis and research design.
These conferences are held monthly for the various ICUs. Cases are selected for fellows to review and present. This process allows them an opportunity to reflect on the care provided to patients and attempt to devise strategies that could be implemented in order to improve the outcomes of patients.
The Department of Anesthesiology holds this weekly meeting on Thursday mornings. Fellows are encouraged to attend these events, especially when the topic is relevant to critical care medicine.
Medical students in the SICU are all required to give a presentation during their rotation. These lectures provide an opportunity both for the fellow to learn, educate and provide feedback.
These unit-specific meetings focus on the challenging task of successfully implementing changes in practice patterns in order to improve the quality of care provided in our ICUs.
This committee is responsible for general adult ICU policies from an institutional level.
The faculty attending in the CVICU provide a Monday and Friday lecture to trainees. These cover a variety of critical care topics and complement the material presented at the Core Lecture Series.
Once per week, a fellow assigned to the CVICU delivers a lecture to the residents and interns on a critical care medicine topic. This not only provides an opportunity for the fellow to develop their knowledge of critical care medicine, but also allows them to improve their presentation and teaching skills.
In order to ensure that trainees are meeting all of the objectives of our program, every spring, the fellows take this four-hour, multiple-choice, proctored examination. Results of this test are used by the program director and faculty to guide teaching during the final months of the fellowship. It is also a valuable resource for the fellows as they prepare for the American Board of Anesthesiology Critical Care Medicine Certification exam.
Discover the spaces where you'll train, learn and practice at the University of Michigan Medical School Department of Anesthesiology. As one of the largest training programs in the country, we provide unparalleled opportunities for our learners.
