Undergraduate


 

The Department participates fully in the undergraduate medical program (leading to an MD) of the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry.

In 2019, Schulich implemented a competency based curriculum. Assessment during Clerkship blocks and Electives has been adapted as a result, with a focus on Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs).

Anesthesia is a mandatory two-week core rotation that all third-year medical students complete as part of their Acute care rotation at Western. Up to six clerks are on Anesthesia at any one time throughout the city. Typically, two students are assigned to one of the three teaching hospitals in London.

Clerks spend each day of their rotation assigned to a staff supervisor, providing for exceptional one-on-one teaching. The clerks also spend one day of their rotation in the cataract suite where they are paired with a staff anesthesiologist for the day to develop IV insertion skills. This day is reported as extremely valuable by most clerks due to quantity of practice available.

The medical students are all loaned an updated medical student handbook (The Ottawa Anesthesia Primer) to read during the rotation, and a list of learning topics to read about and discuss with their supervising anesthesiologists during their rotation. We have also added useful learning tools and links to the Elentra platform and students should reference these during the block.

The Anesthesia Bootcamp in the CSTAR Simulation Centre continues to be very well received by the clerks. Each group of students spends one day of their rotation in the simulator with a simulation fellow. They are introduced to some basic skills and aspects of our specialty, so that when they come to the operating room, they feel more at home with the basics of anesthesia. Stations include preoperative assessment, the anesthesia machine and monitoring, airway management, and drug administration. They then have the opportunity to run through some case-based scenarios.

We also have a significant number of Western and visiting elective students from Canada and abroad that rotate through the Anesthesia program. Elective students are given more flexibility to see different aspects of anesthesia such as acute and chronic pain, cardiac, neuro and obstetrical anesthesia to name just a few.

The department takes part in the Canadian Anesthesiologist’s Society medical student essay contest annually. We encourage the medical students to submit essays to this contest, and had a top three result in 2020.

Another highlight is the annual orientation to airway management lecture and workshop that our department runs for the incoming year of clerks. Each year a group of dedicated residents to help run this event.Our department continues to have a strong presence in undergraduate teaching at the first and second year level, and we encourage as many faculty members as possible to get involved in this teaching.

To learn more about your Undergraduate experience and explore our website, please use the links to your left. 

Undergraduate Education Committee

Anti-harassment & Discrimination

The Department of Anesthesia & Perioperative Medicine is deeply committed to providing a safe and healthy learning environment for all of our staff and students.

We all share in the responsibility to protect the integrity of the respectful, collegial and professional environment we promote. As individuals within this community we have a right to equitable treatment and appropriate response when that environment is jeopardized by the actions or inaction of others.

Click here to learn more about Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry Policies and Standards.