The University of Toronto University’s Anesthesia Residency Training Program is the largest in Canada, and one of the largest in North America. It a complete competency based curriculum since July 2017, and is in full alignment with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada’s Competency By Design, https://www.royalcollege.ca/ca/en/cbd.html . Resident assessment follows the CanMEDS framework using Clinical Encounter Assessments and Entrustable Professional Activities.
Each site supports resident morning teaching curriculum rounds including, didactic sessions, case discussion rounds, high fidelity and part task simulation, as well as Departmental Grand Rounds.
The hospitals provide a cornerstone of residency education across the various anesthesia subspecialties and pain management. Our training programs integrates the roles of anesthesiologists as perioperative physicians as a core principle.
Toronto General Hospital
Toronto General Hospital (TGH) offers a comprehensive clinical subspecialty experience spanning various surgical domains, including cardiovascular, thoracic, general, hepatobiliary, head and neck, plastic, urologic, and gynecologic surgery. TGH is unique in providing extensive exposure to major transplant procedures, encompassing heart, lung, liver, pancreas, and kidney transplantation. Additionally, residents have the opportunity to spend time in our hyperbaric unit, acute pain service, and Malignant Hyperthermia Investigation Unit. Residents also have the opportunity to complete a Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) rotation at TGH after a series of interactive lectures and a POCUS bootcamp. Many residents have successfully completed the Diagnostic POCUS Certificate Program through the American Society of Anesthesiologists, with generous funding provided by the department upon successful certification.
Toronto Western Hospital
Toronto Western Hospital (TWH) provides rich learning in general anesthesia practice, anesthetic management of complex neurosurgery and spine surgery, orthopedics and joint replacement surgery, ophthalmology, ambulatory anesthesia, bariatrics, pain management, regional anesthesia, perioperative medicine, and other clinical anesthesia subspecialties. The range of case complexity at TWH makes for an excellent learning environment. The focus on outpatient surgery allows residents to gain valuable skills in optimizing patient recovery and outcomes. The large volume of ambulatory surgery provides an exceptional environment for developing these skills. Similarly, there is a long history of scholarly excellence around perioperative care, supporting learning in pre-surgical optimization, postoperative pain control, and resource stewardship.
Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Hospital (MSH) provides training in subspecialty anesthesia such as orthopedics (arthroplasty or oncology), major oncology including retroperitoneal sarcomas and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy cases, oral maxillofacial surgery, ENT, and dentistry. MSH offers a highly concentrated and focused exposure to obstetric anesthesia with over 7000 deliveries annually, including high-risk obstetric anesthesia.
MSH is also a training site for the Family Practice Anesthesia program, providing each resident with a 2-block rotation annually, training over 20 FPAs in the past 5 years who are currently serving in rural areas throughout Canada.
Women’s College Hospital
Woman’s College Hospital (WCH) provides a foundational training experience with its focus on ambulatory surgery, allowing residents to develop their core knowledge and skills in their approach to ambulatory surgery, regional anesthesia, chronic pain, and perioperative care. Advances in ambulatory care such as day surgery joints has been a good opportunity for the residents to understand the role perioperative optimization and working with a multidisciplinary team for the benefit of the patient. Residents also have a valuable opportunity to engage in the health care of transgendered, non-binary, and gender-diverse communities through their involvement in Transition-Related Surgeries at WCH.