Critical Care Anesthesiology Fellowship

The Critical Care Anesthesiology Fellowship program at UCSF provides training to physicians who have completed residency training in anesthesiology and other eligible specialties per the ACGME. The UCSF Division of Critical Care Medicine is home to faculty from numerous disciplines including anesthesiology, pulmonology, nephrology, neurology, cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, and trauma and acute care surgery. The diversity of the faculty provides fellows with exposure to broad-based approaches to the management of critically ill patients in medical, surgical, neurological, cardiothoracic, and trauma ICU settings. The fellowship is fully accredited by the ACGME for special qualifications certification by the American Board of Anesthesiology and a two-year track for those seeking certification through the American Board of Emergency Medicine. Our program has a long history of training leaders in the field of anesthesiology and critical care medicine.

Fellows rotate through the Intensive Care Units at UCSF hospitals including UCSF Medical Center Moffitt-Long Hospital and Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center. Fellows become team leaders in a wide variety of ICU settings, including closed medical and surgical ICUs. ICU teams at UCSF are composed of residents, co-fellows, and attendings from multidisciplinary training backgrounds, which creates a rich teaching and learning environment and allows exposure to a wide breadth of patient populations.

During their training, fellows develop proficiency in:

• Expert management and consultation in the comprehensive care of patients with multisystem organ failure
• Hemodynamic monitoring, circulatory support, and ventilatory management of critically ill patients
• Systems-level practice through a dedicated role in patient triage both within the hospital and from outside facilities

In addition, fellows will participate in the care of kidney, liver, heart, and lung transplant patients through our high-volume transplant programs and advanced hemodynamic support modalities including both ECMO and temporary and permanent LVADs.

Additional elective experiences are available to all fellows in a wide variety of medical subspecialties, including Cardiology, Echocardiography, Pulmonary Medicine, Renal Disease, Palliative Care, Interventional Radiology, Infectious Disease, and many more.

We have a rigorous educational program that includes:

• Didactics: New fellows start with a daily ICU lecture series which covers core topics in critical care medicine. This leads into a twice-weekly fellow didactic series that focuses on advanced topics in critical care medicine led by faculty from both within and outside the Critical Care Medicine division, and from both within and outside of UCSF. Our formal didactics include:
  • Lectures, workshops, and group discussions
  • Journal clubs
  • Grand Rounds
  • Crisis simulation
  • Morbidity and mortality conferences
  • Longitudinal mechanical ventilation curriculum composed of lectures, hands-on bedside teaching, and simulation sessions 
     
• Fellows as Teachers: Our fellows have opportunities to present at weekly case conferences, monthly interdisciplinary M&M (which offers exposure to formal QI processes), journal clubs, and departmental grand rounds. Fellows frequently present their work at national meetings, as well. Fellows are responsible for supervising and teaching residents at the bedside and are essential leaders of our ICU teams. Fellows have opportunities to lead ICU rounds which provides another opportunity for professional growth. 
   
• Critical Care Ultrasound: We have a robust structured critical care ultrasound curriculum. Each fellow participates in an intensive two-day workshop, comprised of both didactics and hands-on scanning sessions with live models, led by experts in critical care ultrasound. We have a dedicated ultrasound didactic series throughout the year that includes image review, quality assurance, and advanced TEE teaching. All fellows complete a dedicated ultrasound rotation to further develop advanced ultrasound skills. This rotation involves scanning patients in the ICUs, rotation with echocardiography technicians and cardiology intensivists, performing procedures with interventional radiologists, and performing TEE exams in the cardiac ORs. We have state-of-the-art ultrasound equipment in each ICU.
   
• Procedures: ICU teams at UCSF are responsible for performing central lines, intubations, thoracentesis, paracentesis, and lumbar punctures for all critically ill patients in need of these procedures. Fellows also frequently participate in bronchoscopy, chest tube placement, and percutaneous tracheostomy alongside attendings expert in these procedures. Fellows gain expertise in performing these procedures through bedside teaching, procedure workshops, and working with experts throughout their rotations.
   
• Research and QI: While our fellowship is clinically focused, many high-level research projects including clinical trials are ongoing in our division. Fellows have the opportunity to interface with these trials at the enrollment and treatment phases, and have the opportunity to complete scholarly work under the mentorship of CCM faculty. All fellows learn about QI processes through fellow-led quality improvement projects and participation in the division QI review process. For fellows who are interested in pursuing a research-focused career, a second year of clinical or research experience may be arranged depending upon educational needs and funding availability.

We also have special clinical tracks available for those who are interested in completing additional subspecialty training in liver transplant anesthesia or research after critical care medicine fellowship.

We participate in the computerized match for CCM coordinated through SF Match. We also utilize their common application service. The common application can be found here. As part of your application we ask that you also submit the following materials to Katherine Brogan if not already included in your application materials:

• Three original letters of recommendation (we strongly prefer that one of these come from your residency Program Director).
• Copies of either USMLE (part I and II) or FLEX examination scores 
• Copies of ITE (In Training Exam) scores

Applications for fellowship positions are due by March 1 of the year prior to the fellowship start date, though we encourage submission of application materials no later than February 1. We will review applications and offer interviews on a rolling basis. Our interview season runs from January through April. All interviews will be conducted virtually.

**If you are applying for a position in both cardiac anesthesia and critical care medicine please visit the Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists Fellowship webpage for more information about how to apply. We ask that you submit the supplemental questionnaire in addition to your application.

Important dates for this year’s application cycle – SF Match Fellowship Match Calendar.

Some additional information about our program and UCSF GME:

• Information about the terms, conditions and benefits of an appointment at UCSF are here.
• A sample contract letter is here.
• You may visit the UCSF Graduate Medical Education website for more appointment information, contracts, policies, and guidelines.
• We encourage you to explore the UCSF GME Applicant app here.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to learn more about our program.

Anne Donovan, M.D.
Program Director

Albert Yen, M.D.
Associate Program Director

Katherine Brogan
Program Coordinator

Bernadette Martin
Program Coordinator