Hello, and thank you for your interest in OHSU’s Anesthesiology Residency Program. We have so much to offer, and we are excited to share what makes OHSU Anesthesiology a truly exceptional place to train. Choosing OHSU for residency has been one of the best decisions we have ever made. The superb clinical training, supportive community, and diverse opportunities are among the many reasons we sought this program. Though each of us came from different backgrounds and parts of the country, we are united in our confidence that we will finish residency as highly competent, well-rounded anesthesiologists. Here are a few reasons why OHSU Anesthesiology shines as a training program and why making the move to Portland was well worth it:

Our Residents
A residency program can only be as strong as its residents. We are proud to get to work with brilliant, compassionate and hard-working co-residents here. Among our ranks you will find a wholesome community of people who take care of each other like family.

Many of us have families and children and the support we receive from the department is outstanding. Our interests truly run the gamut - many of us take advantage of all the Pacific Northwest's outdoor beauty, like paddle-boarding on the Willamette River or great skiing on Mount Hood. Others like to go out to eat, dance at night, or attend concerts and shows. Most importantly, we love doing it together. We create our community through organized events that the department regularly plans for us and through our will to bond with one another. You will meet colleagues at OHSU and make lifelong friendships with other residents, faculty, anesthesia techs and many more people inside and outside the hospital.

Clinical Experience
The training at OHSU will prepare you for just about anything anesthesia-related you can imagine. We are a well-respected department in the hospital with excellent relationships with our surgical colleagues. We do cases in a wide range of locations, including our main hospital operating rooms, the ambulatory surgery center at the South Waterfront, the Portland VA, Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, out-of-OR locations such as cath lab and interventional radiology suites, and labor and delivery. Our hospital has a notably high case-mix index - in other words, we take care of the sickest of the sick. We get patients from all over Oregon and frequently from neighboring states in the Mountain West and Northwest. You will take care of heart and liver transplants, blunt and penetrating traumas, complex neuroendocrine tumor resections, bedside exploratory laparotomies and much more - all with the support of fantastic faculty. We are fortunate to learn from internationally renowned clinical experts on both the surgical and anesthetic sides of the drapes. You can select to rotate through subspecialties early during your CA-1 year to help you decide on future training. The breadth and depth of clinical experience at OHSU will make you a versatile clinician able to provide the best care for your patients and support your peers, no matter the setting. We are well prepared for independent practice by the end of residency. Unsurprisingly, our graduates consistently end up at top fellowship programs and land desirable jobs.

The Education
Education is a top priority for our residents and the department. Teaching happens at the bedside, in the operating room, simulation center and classroom to foster more discussion and learning from one another. In the past few years, we have had a half-day of protected didactic learning time every Wednesday afternoon. The program invests in a more robust educational experience to further develop our strong didactics.

Starting in the 2025-2026 academic year, residents will have a full day of protected didactic learning time called Resident Academic Day (RAD), which will occur every other Wednesday. This will start during CA-1 year and continue until graduation. Each RAD will feature small-group sessions in the morning, focusing on a particular topic organized and tailored to each CA year. Large-group mock oral board exam sessions, simulation sessions, and point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) with standardized patients will occur in the afternoon. RAD will also be a great time to check in with leadership, present journal clubs and keyword presentations to each other, enjoy snacks, study for board exams and find camaraderie during training. We have a state-of-the-art simulation center that our residents get to use several times a year to experience high-fidelity clinical emergencies and develop excellent crisis-management skills. During the intern year, there are Monday morning didactics during which residents will receive education alongside surgical colleagues for a portion of the year. Following that, interns will receive lectures from senior residents and faculty and have sessions in our simulation center. Our program is proud to have created the Anesthesia Toolbox (now acquired by the ASA), a widely used resource for anesthesia residencies containing great review lectures, board review questions, interactive videos, case management guides and more. A faculty member in our department also helped to optimize an iOS/Android feedback app (MyTIPreport) that we use to give and receive feedback about procedural skills and clinical management, which helps to track progress over time. Most importantly, we constantly incorporate resident feedback into finding new, more effective learning methods.

Perks, Highlights, and More Opportunities
For those interested, we offer two combined Anesthesiology residency and fellowship programs via our Oregon Scholars Program (OSP) in Critical Care and Research. 

A wide range of electives, from POCUS and transesophageal echocardiography to pediatric cardiac and private practice cardiac anesthesia, are available to our residents. We also take on big roles in advocacy - we have a strong representation at the ASA conference, not only scientifically, but also legislatively. Each year, we send residents to participate in the ASA Legislative Conference and the ASA House of Delegates meeting with voting privileges there to effect national change. Our residents are also closely involved with the Oregon Society of Anesthesiologists to represent our specialty at the state and local government levels.

We have a strong global health program that allows residents to practice anesthesia overseas in a Less Developed Nation (LDN) under the supervision and mentorship of qualified faculty members. Selected residents receive funding for airfare and lodging during their trip. Residents can also obtain credit towards training from the American Board of Anesthesiology for these experiences. Examples of sites visited include Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Ethiopia and India.

As an OHSU Anesthesiology resident, you will also be a member of the House Officers Union (HOU), which constantly advocates for improvements to our contract. The HOU recently negotiated several changes to our compensation, including a salary raise and an increased moving stipend. Other OHSU employee benefits include exclusive access to the Nike, Columbia and Adidas Employee stores.

Our academic support staff is delightful and immensely helpful. They will happily befriend you, help you plan residency around life events and support you through hard times.

All residents get access to OHSU’s Resident and Faculty Wellness Center, a free, confidential service that provides counseling and other support from a psychiatrist or other licensed mental health practitioner. This program is so successful that it has served as a model for other academic medical centers. Appointments made for mental health are blocked off as essential time for our residents so that they can take care of themselves as needed.