The cardiac anesthesia fellowship at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is a one year course of training designed to prepare the anesthesiologist for a career specializing in providing comprehensive anesthetic care of patients undergoing complicated cardiac and thoracic procedures.

Our cardiac fellowship program is developed as a cardiac anesthesia fellowship/clinical instructor track and is focused on the tutoring of a prospective fellow for the perioperative transesophageal echocardiography examination (PTE). A prospective fellow also will be provided with an opportunity to perform, under appropriate supervision, a number of transesophageal echocardiograms (TEE) sufficient to satisfy the certification criteria of the American Board of Echocardiography in perioperative transesophageal echocardiography. He/she will be given one TEE day per week during which he/she is expected

• To perform and read TEEs under supervision of experienced echocardiographers,
• Participate in the echocardiography conferences given by the departments of cardiology and anesthesiology,
• Teach anesthesia residents and medical students and/or participate in the on-going clinical research projects.

Prospective fellow will be assigned to provide cardiothoracic anesthesia under the supervision of the attending cardiac anesthesiologist two times per week. Assignments to the adult or pediatric cases, as well as rotations through thoracic and major vascular operating rooms, division of perfusion and postoperative critical care units may be individualized according to his/her desire. The prospective fellow will be expected to practice general anesthesia independently as clinical faculty by providing patient care and supervising anesthesia residents/CRNAs two times a week. This part of the fellowship will help a prospective fellow to master anesthesia skills, and provide him/her with a competitive income.

The division provides anesthesia for approximately 800 cases per year.  Case type includes heart transplant, coronary artery bypass procedures, valve replacement, ventricular assist devices, Off-Pump CABG and thoracic aneurysm repairs.  We also provide anesthesia for about 300 complex pediatric cardiac procedures per year.

A unique element of our fellowship is the opportunity for exposure to pediatric cardiac anesthesia in the developing world.  The fellow will be offered the opportunity to participate in our annual mission to Ecuador, South America.  A team of anesthesiologists, surgeons and nurses travel to Ecuador each year to perform corrective surgical procedures in pediatric patients with congenital heart disease.

By offering this high quality fellowship program in cardiac anesthesia, it is the goal of the department and the division to train strong future leaders in clinical practice, scientific study and anesthetic education.

Application Process - please click "How To Apply" on the left side of the screen

Contact:

Bonnie Smith
Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Department of Anesthesiology, H187
500 University Drive
Hershey, PA  17033
Phone:  717-531-8434
Fax:  717-531-0176
Email:  bsmith1@hmc.psu.edu
 

*  Our cardiothoracic anesthesiology fellowship program only accepts permanent residents and U.S. citizens.