Mission

The Department of Anesthesiology has three major missions:

  1. We are dedicated to providing state-of-the art patient care in the areas of intraoperative anesthesia, post-operative critical care and pain management.
  2. We are committed to providing the highest quality of undergraduate and postgraduate medical education in the area of anesthesiology. Specifically, we provide a well-organized and comprehensive residency program for training both consultants in clinical anesthesiology and clinician/scientists in anesthesiology.
  3. We aim, through our basic science and clinical science programs, to make major contributions to the science of anesthesiology and to spearhead major advances in the clinical practice of anesthesiology. Our basic science research unit is also committed to the mission of providing doctoral and postdoctoral training in the sciences related to anesthesiology.

The first two years of the residency program (CA-1, CA-2) offer a highly structured clinical experience with rotations through a full range of subspecialty areas in the operating rooms, pain clinic and intensive care units. This is coupled with a lecture and conference schedule that is designed to present residents with an organized didactic approach to the basics of anesthesiology and to provide faculty and residents the opportunity to keep abreast of the most recent ideas and developments in the specialty. The third year is tailored to the specific needs and interests of the resident. We offer a clinical/scientist track for those interested in basic or clinical science as well as the more traditional advanced clinical and subspecialty tracks for more advanced clinical training.

Beyond the residency, the Department offers clinical fellowship training in cardiothoracic anesthesia, critical care, neuroanesthesia, pain management, pediatric anesthesia and obstetric anesthesia. Additionally, research fellowships are available for formal training in basic sciences related to anesthesiology including cellular physiology, pharmacology, biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology, and nociception.

Washington University's Department of Anesthesiology provides an unusually strong training environment with large case volume (55,000 anesthetic cases per year), depth of clinical material, and strong intellectual resources. More importantly, Washington University Medical Center offers a congenial and interactive environment in which residents and faculty can take full advantage of the myriad resources of the medical school and hospitals.

Alex S. Evers, M.D.
Professor and Chairman
Department of Anesthesiology