Simulator labs are an integral component of the first-year physiology course. We utilize the Human Patient Simulator for hands-on practical review of physiology. There are two sessions, one for pulmonary physiology and one for cardiovascular physiology. Each session is one-and-a-half hours long and accommodates five to seven students. The pulmonary lab includes discussions of shunting, dead space, compliance, blood gas interpretation, oxygen-hemoglobin dissociation curve, pulse oximetry, and capnography. The cardiovascular lab topics include rate, rhythm, EKG interpretation, preload, afterload, and contractility.

Medical students participate in a week-long clerkship in the third year of medical school, where you will be assigned to an attending preceptor. The majority of your time is spent in the operating rooms, where we emphasize clinical skills such as airway management and intravenous cannulation. Your time spent one-on-one with the attending preceptor concentrates on applied physiology and pharmacology. During the clerkship, you also spend time in didactic sessions, which include an overview of anesthesia and a practice session on airway management. There are also two human patient simulator sessions, the second of which is devoted to acting out a real case scenario. We stress case-based medicine, both in the operating rooms and in the simulator sessions.

Electives include:

Anesthesia in Cardiac Surgery
Our intensive four-week course in cardiothoracic anesthesia focuses on advanced cardiovascular and pulmonary physiology, as well as invasive monitoring techniques, including transthoracic echocardiography. We include weekly case presentations, seminars, and a review of videotapes.

Anesthesia for Labor and Delivery
This is an intensive four-week course in the management of anesthesia and analgesia for labor and delivery, as well as for cesarean section. We also provide instruction in the resuscitation and stabilization of the newborn.

Anesthetic Management of Acute Trauma
This four-week course is offered at Elmhurst Hospital Center. Elmhurst is the designated Level I Trauma Center for Queens. As a trainee in this course, you are involved in the perioperative management of patients presenting with trauma. We place emphasis on the preoperative assessment and resuscitation of patients with multiple trauma, their intraoperative management including invasive monitoring techniques, and postoperative follow-up.

Anesthesia for Neurosurgery
This intensive four-week course in the anesthesia care of patients undergoing neurosurgery emphasizes normal neurophysiology, how various disease states interfere with this, and how the anesthesiologist needs to manipulate various physiologic parameters in order to restore and maintain adequate cerebral function. The course exposes you to monitoring of sensory- and motor-evoked potentials, (electroencephalogram) EEG, and bispectral index. We also include a review of videotaped and printed materials and case presentations

Basic Course in Anesthesiology
This four-week course is designed for students considering a career in anesthesiology or desiring more in-depth exposure. Assigned to an attending anesthesiologist, you are involved in all aspects of anesthesia care from preoperative assessment to intraoperative management and postoperative care. In addition, you participate in a simulator curriculum which incorporates scenarios that illustrate perioperative hypoxia, hypotension, ischemia, and dysrhythmias. This elective can also be tailored to incorporate subspecialties of anesthesiology, such as cardiac, obstetrics, and pain management.

Human Simulation and Anesthesia
This integrated two- to four-week course of human simulation, patient care, and lectures will expose the student to the principles of simulation and perioperative physiology and pharmacology. By spending time in the operating room and the simulator lab, you create your own simulated patients based on actual cases. You can then experiment with various anesthetic agents, vasoactive drugs, and physiologic events. In addition, you participate in a simulator curriculum which incorporates scenarios that illustrate perioperative hypoxia, hypotension, ischemia, and dysrhythmias.

Intensive Care of the Critically Ill Patient
As a student in this four-week elective, you are involved in the continuing assessment and management of acutely ill postsurgical patients, usually with multisystem disease. We encourage you to actively participate in ward rounds, decision making, and therapeutic procedures.

Management of Acute and Chronic Pain
In this course we offer a four-week exposure to the rapidly growing field of acute and chronic pain management. As an enrolled student you learn about patient-controlled analgesia and the use of continuous epidural infusions of narcotics to control postoperative pain. You also spend time in the outpatient pain clinic where you are exposed to the diagnosis and management of chronic pain problems. Among the modalities we employ are analgesics, nerve blocks, and psychotherapy.

Shadowing an Attending Anesthesiologist
We offer this course for first- and second-year medical students to be taken during elective time, usually one afternoon a week. As a student, you are assigned to one attending anesthesiologist for the afternoon. This provides an excellent opportunity to review physiology and pharmacology, to learn airway management, to practice procedures such as intravenous access, and to gain clinical experience during preclinical year.