DIDACTIC CURRICULUM:
The fellowship actively supports, guides, and promotes the education of the fellow through a didactic and clinical curriculum, and the faculty is responsible for the oversight, management, and evaluation of that education. As with all postgraduate programs, the fellow is primarily responsible for his/her own education, by maintaining and inquisitive attitude, obtaining educational material, and applying new knowledge to clinical cases. The majority of the fellow's education occurs through direct interaction with the attending anesthesiologist in clinical management of patient care.
The didactic curriculum includes:
Morning conferences on topics in pediatric anesthesiology: while provided for the education of the resident as well as the fellow, it is expected that the fellow either demonstrates the knowledge presented in the lecture, or attends the lecture.
Tuesday morning conference: weekly two-hour combination of lecture and case conference presented in association with the Department of Anesthesiology
Reading groups: the fellows will review a pediatric anesthesiology textbook during the year. The material will be discussed and written exams will document completion and understanding. The current text is:
A Practice of Anesthesia for Infants and Children by Charles Cote, Jerrold Lerman, and I. David Todres (provided at the division’s expense)
Fellows' Conference: protected time for two hours each week dedicated strictly to fellows' education through lectures, simulation sessions, or exams.
Journal clubs: organized approximately every month, the fellows are responsible for selection and presentation of the articles to be discussed with the faculty and residents
PBLD: offered monthly for the residents and fellows
Mock oral examinations: approximately every other month
PALS certification: the fellow is required to receive training and certification in pediatric advanced life support
On-Line training: the fellow is required to complete the following online courses provided by UAMS:
Ethics
Medical Legal
Systems Based Practice
The fellow is expected to attend 75% of the offered didactic events, exclusive of the morning conferences and excused absences. Attendance will be maintained by the fellowship coordinator and reviewed by the program director. The fellow is referred to http://www.uams.edu/gme/core%20curriculum.htm for a more detailed outline of
educational opportunities offered by UAMS.
Teaching Responsibilities:
The fellow is expected to assist in the teaching and clinical training of medical students, residents in anesthesiology and other specialties, and other medical personnel in the operating room and classrooms as necessary. The fellow is specifically responsible for:
Preparation of monthly lecture to the residents (shared among the fellows)
Presentation of case conference material as necessary
Presentation of a grand rounds lecture during the year
Presentation at the annual Fellow’s day
RESEARCH REQUIREMENTS:
Purpose: To introduce a basic understanding of the fundamentals of clinical research in academic anesthesiology
Objectives:
Complete required training for UAMS/ACH for investigators
Demonstrate understanding of research methodology
Deliver finished research product (publication, poster, accepted abstract) at ACH Fellow’s Day, national meeting (ASA, SPA, IARS, etc.), or publish in a peer-reviewed journal.
Research training is not important in the curriculum of most anesthesiology programs or medical schools, but some productive research is required by the majority of academic promotion and tenure committees. Understanding the basics of research design is necessary for both evaluating and initiating research studies. Inherent in research is the understanding of the process by which the researcher goes from asking a question, to planning how to answer that question, to doing the research, to critically evaluating the results, and finally delivering the results of the study. This is different from writing a review article or creating a lecture – moving beyond the organization of current knowledge, the researcher creates new knowledge through answering the research question.
Research project types:
Becoming actively involved in established research protocols with faculty
Developing a research project – a clinical research question or a quality improvement question
Requirements and timetable: (due at the end of each respective month)
First month: introductory lectures to research, certification in human subject protection training
Research Lecture Topics:
Research & Quality Improvement Design & Methadologies
Conducting Research / QI Projects at ACH
How to Critically Appraise the Literature
Overview of Anesthesiology Quality Imrpovement Program Initiatives
September: design research question, literature review, apply for IRB approval if needed. Approval of the project design by the advisor and the fellowship steering committee must be done by the end of the second month.
October: write proposal
November - January: gather data, submit abstract to SPA Winter meeting
March: final manuscript writing, submission to journal if needed
May: present research project at ACH Annual Fellows' Day
These requirements and adherence to the timetable will be the responsibility of the fellow, and will be reviewed by the fellow’s advisor, the faculty lead researcher, and Dr. Apuya on a regular basis.
Completion of the research project is required for completion of the fellowship and the grant of the fellowship certification.
Early planning and adherence to the timeline are critical to the success of the research project. Completion of the project after the twelve months of allotted time for the fellowship will qualify for certification, but no stipend will be provided for time spent beyond the twelve months.
Non-clinical time: The fellow will be provided non-clinical time on an as-needed, as-requested basis to work on the research project, particularly for those time-intensive sections such as data gathering and analysis. This non-clinical time is dependent on clinical coverage as well, and is best obtained with planning as a request to the OR coordinator.
Contact Us:
Pediatric Anesthesiology Fellowship Program
Arkansas Children’s Hospital
1 Children’s Way, Slot 203
Little Rock, AR 72202
Telephone: 501-364-2933
Fax: 501-364-2939
