General Description and Mission Statement

The mission of the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management residency education program at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center is to educate clinical scholars in anesthesiology and pain management committed to academic and clinical excellence. The ideal resident completing the education curriculum should possess broad-based and anesthesiology specific medical knowledge and a level of scholarship and critical thought necessary to allow for the highest quality of anesthetic and perioperative patient care for the present and the future. These attributes empower our skilled graduates to become perioperative physician consultants and Diplomates of the American Board of Anesthesiology.

To this end the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management education program empowers its trainees to create and disseminate medical knowledge, clinical skills, as well as amplify professionalism, communication and interpersonal talents that will enhance the health of our patients. The promotion of these professional and educational values, blended with fiscal and social responsibilities, places these trainees in a unique position to integrate seamlessly into the best practices, fellowship and academic programs in the country.

Mission Statement:

The major goal of the education program is to establish the fundamental skills necessary to provide sound medical care for the patient and a foundation for the development of perioperative and anesthetic management skills. These skills are acquired by repetition of both clinical and educational tasks. These educational tasks include departmental lectures, web-based departmental didactic teaching, anesthesia simulation, interactive teaching conferences and subspecialty didactic learning exercises. These educational offerings produce a rich and stimulating environment structured to engage all trainees, regardless of their unique and specific knowledge procurement styles and requirements.

Goals and Objectives

The Education Committee's basic function is to coordinate scholarly activities in order to accomplish the didactic and clinical training components of the department's education mission statement. The overall general objectives of resident education and training in Anesthesiology and Pain Management are to develop consultant-level knowledge required to provide state-of-the-art anesthesia care in most situations likely to be encountered in future practice. This knowledge must include all areas of the specialty and include skills acquired especially by hands-on clinical experience.