Residency Program Rotations

More about UofL Health - UofL Hospital 

UofL Health - UofL Hospital has been a presence in the Louisville area for nearly 200 years. As the first trauma hospital in the United States, UofL Health - UofL Hospital is a unique regional health care resource. UofL Health - UofL Hospital is the only Level I Trauma Center in the region and the only adult burn unit in the region. As the leading academic medical center in the area, UofL Health - UofL Hospital offers patients the benefits of the latest research, equipment and expertise. 

UofL Health - UofL Hospital has received national recognition as a leader in several areas of care, including:

• Trauma Center
• Stroke Center
• High Risk Obstetrics
• Radiology/Diagnostic Imaging
• Cancer Care

UofL Health - UofL Hospital is currently undergoing a $150 million expansion in the form of a seven-story tower. The new tower will add inpatient beds, a new admission unit, new operating rooms and a new preop/PACU area. The expansion aims to modernize the facility and improve patient care, while also enhancing visitor amenities with updates to the lobby, gift shop and coffee shop.

UofL Health - UofL Hospital Rotations

• General OR Anesthesia
  • During the general OR anesthesia rotation, residents gain experience across diverse surgical specialties, including neurosurgery, trauma, burn, orthopedics, ENT, oral surgery, gynecology, oncology, urology, plastics, vascular, thoracic and off site. This rotation helps residents to achieve a foundational level of anesthesia knowledge and performance by the end of their first clinical year.
• Critical Care
  • The core critical care rotations are performed in the Anesthesia Intensive Care Unit, supervised by anesthesia-intensive care faculty. Residents are provided with hands-on experience managing critically ill adult patients with surgical and medical conditions, involving didactic conferences, bedside case discussions and morbidity & mortality reviews.
  • Additional ICU experience is obtained as a PGY-1 in the cardiac ICU and medical ICU.  
  • An accredited Critical Care Fellowship is also available for those interested in further specialization.
• Regional & Acute Pain
  • Residents will complete up to 3 months from CA-1 to CA-3 years on the regional and acute pain service.
  • Residents develop skills in managing perioperative and postoperative pain using regional anesthesia techniques, including neuraxial, peripheral nerve blocks and pharmacologic methods.
  • Additional experience is gained at UofL Health - Jewish Hospital's hand center and the VA Medical Center.
• Obstetric Anesthesia
  • During obstetrical anesthesia rotations, residents work within a multidisciplinary team to manage pregnant patients throughout antepartum, labor, delivery and postpartum care. UofL has a wide patient population and a large referral base that results in a broad range of clinical diagnoses and obstetrical conditions. Residents gain hands-on experience with a range of labor analgesia techniques and anesthesia for cesarean deliveries, including for high-risk patients and cesarean hysterectomies. The rotation includes interdisciplinary simulation drills.
• Transition to Practice
  • The four-week Transition to Practice rotation for CA3s, residents learn important skills to make them effective leaders of the perioperative care team. Skills include PACU coverage, supervised anesthesia care and OR case management alongside the afternoon board runner. This rotation is customized to each resident’s needs, preparing them for independent practice with a focus on OR efficiency and staffing adjustments.
• Chronic Pain
  • The four-week pain medicine rotation offers comprehensive training in inpatient and outpatient chronic pain management, exposing residents to a variety of pain syndromes, including cancer-related and post-operative pain, with hands-on experience in interventional techniques.
  • Residents engage in a multidisciplinary approach, utilizing behavioral therapies, oral and IV analgesics and advanced procedures.
  • The rotation includes consultative interactions alongside core faculty, as residents gain proficiency in advanced interventional techniques, using both ultrasound and traditional radiographic guidance. Procedures are performed in a state-of-the-art interventional suite equipped with a C-arm fluoroscopy unit and a dedicated recovery area.
  • For CA-3 residents interested in specializing, elective rotations provide opportunities for advanced training in complex pain conditions and interventional techniques, preparing them for careers in pain medicine.

More About the VA Medical Center

The Robley Rex VA Medical Center in Louisville, KY is a 109-bed hospital with seven operating rooms. It serves more than 150,000 veterans living in a 35-county area of the Kentucky-Indiana area. Robley Rex VA Medical Center is a tertiary care facility classified as a Clinical Referral Level 2 Facility. It is a teaching hospital, providing a full range of patient care services, with state-of-the-art technology as well as education and research.

VA General OR Rotation

• During the CA-1through CA-3 years, residents spend between 2-5 months at the VAMC, working closely with dedicated faculty on a range of surgeries, including orthopedic, robotic thoracic, vascular, urology and ENT procedures.
• CA-3 experience OR management and function in a supervisory role with a great deal of autonomy managing the most complex procedures as well as  serving as teachers to junior anesthesia residents.
• The rotation includes a structured didactic curriculum with interactive sessions, case discussions and clinical examinations.

More about UofL Health - Jewish Heart Hospital

UofL Health - Jewish Hospital is a 462-bed tertiary care center known for cutting-edge medical innovations and comprehensive services. The hospital has achieved international recognition for pioneering procedures, including the nation's first hand transplants, heart transplants and successful artificial heart implants. It serves as a leader in cardiovascular and pulmonary care through its Heart Hospital and is the only program in the area performing solid organ transplants, including heart, lung, liver, kidney and pancreas transplants.

Residents also have time assigned to liver call. 

• Cardiac rotation

  • Residents will rotate in the cardiac ORs beginning in late CA-1 or CA-2 year with additional time during their CA-3 year. 

  • Residents will be supervised by cardiac anesthesia faculty and will perform anesthetics on a wide range of cases including CABGs, valve surgeries, heart/lung transplants, VADs and TAVRs. 

  • CA3 residents will return for one month of TEE training.

• Thoracic & Vascular Surgery rotation

  • This is a one-month rotation that will take place during CA-2 year.

  • The rotation provides exposure to major thoracic and vascular surgery. Residents will get experience managing patients with multiple complex medical comorbidities, invasive line placement, general and regional approaches to anesthesia and analgesia, lung isolation and one lung ventilation. 

• Cardiovascular ICU (CVICU)

  • Our residents are offered an elective rotation in the CVICU to be completed during CA-3 year. This rotation, led by cardiothoracic anesthesia intensivists, exposes residents to complex critically ill patients post cardiac and transplant surgeries.
• Preoperative Clinic
  • In the one-month preop clinic rotation, residents gain essential skills in patient assessment and surgical risk optimization for UofL Health - UofL Hospital and UofL Health - Jewish Hospital patients. They learn to evaluate medical histories, identify perioperative risks and determine when additional testing is needed, while collaborating with surgeons, primary care providers and patients. By rotation’s end, residents are well-prepared in risk assessment, patient education and preoperative planning for safe anesthesia care.

More about Norton Children's Hospital

Norton Children's Hospital is the only stand alone children's hospital in the state of Kentucky. Norton Children’s Hospital is a verified Level 1 Children’s Surgery Center by the ACS and boasts a 101 bed Level 4 NICU. It is ranked the number one children’s hospital in Kentucky for 2023-2024 by US News & World Report and is nationally ranked in six pediatric specialties. The Norton Children’s anesthesiologists complete >14,000 cases annually, including more than 225 cardiac surgeries and 300 neuro and spine surgeries.  

Pediatric Anesthesia Rotation

• The pediatric anesthesia rotation is a minimum two-month rotation at Norton Children’s Hospital under the supervision of fellowship trained pediatric anesthesiologists.

• Residents will become competent in providing safe anesthesia and postanesthesia care for infants and children undergoing surgical, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. 

• The clinical experience ranges from high turnover ENT cases on healthy patients to complex neurosurgical and cardiac cases on newborns and medically complex children. 

• ​The clinical experience is supplemented with morning didactic conferences covering high-yield pediatric anesthesia topics.

Our senior residents have the opportunity to participate in an ACGME accredited global health elective in Migori Kenya. We partner with the organization KenyaRelief.org, whose mission is to rekindle hope for a new generation in Kenya through partnership between communities, uniting for a common good. 

Our residents, along with attendings, CRNAs, surgeons and nurses, travel to Migori to provide surgical care for the Kenyan people. While on the ground, the team typically sees over 200 patients in addition to performing a multitude of surgeries/anesthetics. 

This is an incredible and life changing experience for all involved.