The department provides sponsorship for CA3 residents to pursue an elective rotation at an internationally renowned institution.
Residents who also win academic awards are sponsored for international conferences. Below is a snippet of our residents’ experiences.
CA2 Resident Dr. Hachem Abdul Kader and CA3 Resident Dr. Adeeb Oweidat, while attending the ESRA 2020 Winter Conference
Attending the 16th ESRA winter week conference in Längenfeld Austria was one of the most condensed and focused educational experiences we have had during my medical training.
Over a span of 5 days, our schedule was structured around 4 daily morning lectures given by world renowned experts, followed by afternoon demonstration sessions covering most of the domains in the growing field of regional anesthesia with a special focus on the geriatric population. The experience was an eye opener to the diversity of regional anesthetic practice worldwide as well as to the common challenges and limitations it faces and the latest advances in the field.
Furthermore, having around 120 Anesthesiologists - some experts and other enthusiasts - in one place exchanging knowledge and experience was a real opportunity to meet, learn, expand, exchange and connect.The Natural Sceneries in Längenfeld at the Heart of the Tyrolian Alps of Austria were breathtaking, the food was delicious, and weather not as cold as we expected in the middle of January.
Overall it was an extremely enriching experience that we would definitely repeat in the future.
CA3 Resident Dr. Bilal Safi during his Elective Rotation in USA
The Anesthesia Department of the AUBMC gave me the opportunity to complete a one month sponsored elective rotation during my CA3 year in August 2019. I chose Toledo city in Ohio state where I spent one month rotating in Saint Vincent Hospital.
This Hospital is a referral hospital in Toledo city. I shadowed with different anesthesiologists in different operating rooms and assisted in a variety of cases. It was a great opportunity to connect with different anesthesiologists in this hospital, to enrich my knowledge in all types of anesthesia, to improve my technical skills by watching procedures such as regional blocks (especially paravertebral blocks), as well as attend their educational events and conferences.
The anesthesia practice in this hospital is very similar to our practice in AUBMC. It was also an opportunity for me to visit close cities like Chicago and Detroit and enjoy the touristic sites with my wife and my relatives there. It was a wonderful experience!
CA3 Resident Dr. Layal Abou Daher during her Elective Rotation in USA
In my CA3 year, I visited 3 hospitals: Boston Children's Hospital, Children's Hospital of Michigan and Montefiore Medical Center. The purpose of my visit was to observe the practice in US hospitals in the field of Pediatric Anesthesia which would also strengthen my application to the pediatric anesthesiology fellowship program.
During my observership, I was allowed to observe all cases which I would find interesting in addition to minor interaction with the patients. I never thought observing ONLY would be so challenging as we are used to do everything with our own hands in the OR. However, I learned a lot including the approach, the way of thinking and perspective towards work and new techniques. I learned very nice tricks and novel management modalities. It is always refreshing to see how other doctors interact with patients and deal with specific situations whether medically or socially. The way they deal with their workload and patient care broadened my own perception and way of thinking.
Culturally, I had the opportunity to meet so many people of different nationalities and backgrounds. Everyone was very nice, easy going, friendly and accepting. What made me most happy during my observership is that as compared to US residents, we, AUB graduates from our anesthesiology department are seen as very knowledgeable and skilled. Our fellows received comments as "excellent skills", "best fellow we ever had", "very good management plan", "you did great, keep up the good work" and so on.
Overall, the experience was very pleasant, extremely beneficial and educational. I highly recommend all the residents to observe, learn and benefit from their interactions abroad
CA3 Resident Dr. Alain Harb during his Elective Rotation in USA
I had the privilege of spending a one-month international rotation, in June 2018, as a visiting resident at the University Hospitals-Cleveland Medical Center, in Cleveland, Ohio. University Hospitals has a long-standing tradition of being ranked as a top 1% hospital in the United States, and is one of the US leading health care systems. It is this tradition of excellence that drew my attention to this institution. Also, having visited the great city of Cleveland in the past made me feel at home.
At UH-CMC, I had the chance to meet and work with great anesthesiologists, surgeons and nurses in the operating rooms. I also, had the privilege to be introduced to novel and state of the art surgical and anesthetic management techniques, particularly the EXIT procedure. I felt very confident of my medical knowledge and my training in anesthesiology received at AUBMC. I was very at ease with formulating and applying the anesthetic plan, and also demonstrated competency in procedural skills, when compared to other US trained residents. I received excellent feedback from the staff and was eventually offered a pediatric anesthesia fellowship at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, from July 2019 till June 2020.
CA3 Resident Dr. Majed Al Hassanieh during his Elective Rotation in USA
During the month of April 2019, I got the chance to rotate as an observer in Pediatric Open Heart at one of the best Pediatric Hospitals in the US. It was during my last year as an anesthesia resident and the destination was Boston. Boston Children’s hospital carries a huge load of congenital heart disease cases with 5 to 6 surgeries a day, other than cardiac catheterizations; making it an ideal place to be. The exposure, techniques, and guidelines practiced definitely fulfilled the goals of my visit. Aside from this, being in Boston helped me reconnect with colleagues and friends working there.
A regular day at BCH starts with morning seminars at 6:30 am each day, after which each fellow prepares his assigned room and undergoes a brief discussion of the anesthetic plan with the attending in charge. Sometimes 2 or 3 cases are done in each room and trust me, no case is like the other, making the rotation extremly interesting and challenging. And no matter how complex a case can be, everything is done in a smooth, calm and professional way, showcasing wonderful teamwork.
Coming from a person who loves living a healthy lifestyle, where else to go after-hours if not the gym, or dine in Boston’s rich and diverse restaurant scene, which I fell in love with and had me gain few kgs. April 15 was Patriot’s
day in Boston, which is considered a national holiday. As a celebration, a big marathon
was held and everyone joined and lots activities were held and I was
able to experience that with some of the staff at the hospital who I must say
were very genuine, making my overall experience very rewarding.
I came back home saying I
gained more than what I expected, and that’s the purpose of every adventure you
live in your career life.
CA3 Resident Dr. Nancy Abou Nafeh during her Elective Rotation in France
In May 2018, I had the opportunity to spend two weeks at Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France. Gustave Roussy is the premier European Cancer Centre. It is a centre for patient care, research and teaching, and patients with all types of cancer are treated there.
I spent most of my days in the operation rooms, observing patients undergoing major surgeries. I learned multiple techniques in difficult intubation and regional anesthesia. Some other days, I shadowed anesthesiologists in the preoperative unit, assessing the patients' health status, as well as optimizing their condition prior to surgery.
I am really grateful to the Anesthesiology Department at AUBMC for giving me the opportunity to visit one of the most important cancer centers in Europe as part of my residency.