Critical Care Anesthesiology Fellowship

The Critical Care Anesthesiology fellowship at UCSF offers a distinctive training environment, with both broad and deep clinical exposure across surgical, cardiothoracic, medical, neurological, and trauma ICUs. Fellows are fully integrated into interprofessional critical care teams led by intensivists from a wide range of training backgrounds (e.g., Anesthesiology, Pulmonology, Cardiology, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Trauma & Acute Care Surgery, Neurocritical Care, Nephrology, Palliative Care), and they work alongside fellows and residents who similarly bring diverse clinical training experience and perspectives. This breadth of training backgrounds and viewpoints enriches the educational experience for our fellows. Program faculty are leaders in the field and are strong role models for clinical excellence and academic success.

Fellows serve as team leaders, and they are encouraged to assume increasing responsibility through graduated autonomy. This model fosters the leadership skills and clinical independence necessary for fellows to thrive in their future practices. Fellows describe an inclusive learning environment characterized by supportive relationships between fellows and faculty throughout the multidisciplinary Critical Care Medicine division. They develop a strong sense of autonomy and ownership of patient care while maintaining ready access to appropriate clinical supervision and support.

Alongside the outstanding clinical training at UCSF, the fellowship also provides a comprehensive didactic curriculum with protected educational time to provide a well-rounded educational experience. Our program emphasizes mentorship and individualized career and professional development throughout your training.

The fellowship is ACGME-approved and accepts up to 7 candidates per year from Anesthesiology, Emergency Medicine, and other approved training backgrounds. We also offer dual fellowship positions for trainees interested in both CCM and ACTA or another UCSF fellowship.

The clinical experience

Fellow rotations are at Moffitt-Long, ZSFG, and Mission Bay Hospitals. Fellows rotate through the following ICUs:

In addition, fellows complete a 1-month Point-of-Care Ultrasound rotation and two elective rotations of their choosing. Emergency Medicine fellows complete additional rotations as required by the ABA, detailed in the block diagram below.

Moffitt-Long Hospital

Ariel view of Parnassus campus with mount Sutro and the Sutro tower in the background.

Moffitt-Long Hospital is the main tertiary care hospital at UCSF located on the Parnassus Heights campus, with 86 ICU beds in 6 ICUs. UCSF is a major referral center throughout Northern California and as such has a breadth of subspecialty expertise, including a high-volume transplant program. At this clinical site, fellows work with national leaders in Critical Care Medicine from a variety of training backgrounds. And – you truly can’t beat the view!

Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (ZSFG)

Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, brick, concrete and glass buildings surrounding a silver sculpture with blue sky and clouds in the background.

ZSFG is the county hospital affiliate to UCSF and the only Level 1 Trauma Center in San Francisco City and County. At this location, fellows care for patients with blunt and penetrating trauma and traumatic brain injuries in adult and pediatric patients, as well as patients undergoing a variety of general and subspecialty surgical procedures, critically ill obstetric patients, and medical critically ill patients. At ZSFG, patients from medically underserved populations receive world-class care.

Mission Bay Hospital

Mission Bay children's hospital a glass and stone building with blue sky in the background.

Mission Bay is the UCSF home for oncologic surgery, obstetrics, and pediatrics. In this more focused ICU, Emergency Medicine fellows will gain exposure to management of subspecialty surgical and critically ill obstetric patients.

Health systems experience

The ability to provide critical care outside the walls of the ICU is increasingly important to the systems-level practice of Critical Care Medicine. We prepare our fellows for systems-based critical care practice as follows:

Our fellows play an integral role in triage of patients from the ED, inpatient, surgical, and procedural areas of the hospital as well as coordinating transfers from referring hospitals. Fellows are integrated into the ICU Triage team and work directly with a dedicated Central Intensivist attending to triage patients throughout the hospital, respond to emergencies, stabilize deteriorating patients, and coordinate patient care throughout the Health System.

Fellows serve as the first point of contact for the UCSF Pulmonary Embolism Response Team (PERT) and are the designated code leader for codes occurring in the ICUs, hospital procedural areas, and for ECMO/VAD patients. They are the back-up code leader for codes in other inpatient areas.

Each fellow is invited to join a medical center committee to gain exposure to leadership and decision-making within a large Health System. Examples include: Code Blue Committee, Adult Critical Care Medicine Committee, and Medication Safety Committee.

Education

At UCSF, our high-acuity clinical training is well-balanced with protected time for structured didactic sessions. Your education is incredibly important to us.

At the beginning of fellowship, didactics start with 2-3 weeks of a daily core curriculum lecture series. During this initial series, our multidisciplinary ICU fellows gain or reinforce the knowledge needed to start their fellowships with a strong foundation of critical care expertise. After this initial series, fellows have twice weekly teaching sessions which include a mix of traditional lectures, case-based discussions, journal clubs, Grand Rounds presentations, simulation, and M&M conference.

We are also very excited to offer a three-day in-person in-depth course on advanced mechanical ventilation. This course was developed by critical care faculty at the NIH and has been adopted into many critical care fellowships across the country. During this course, our fellows gain an advanced understanding of the mechanical ventilator and develop a nuanced approach to management of patient-ventilator interaction. New fellows also attend a two-day in-person critical care ultrasound course during the first months of fellowship, as detailed below.

A triptych of groups of fellows in class room and simulation lab settings.

A strong foundation in critical care ultrasound is essential to the clinical practice of critical care medicine. To build the groundwork, we offer a two-day critical care ultrasound course. Topics covered in this course may include:

Ultrasound physics and machine review
Basic cardiac anatomy and transthoracic cardiac ultrasound views
Introduction to TEE
Advanced hemodynamic measurements
VeXUS exam
Airway ultrasound
Neurologic POCUS exam
Abdominal/gastric ultrasound
Procedure simulation (chest tubes, thoracentesis, paracentesis)

The course is led by our Director of Critical Care Ultrasound with course faculty including attendings from our Critical Care Medicine division and external expert guests from Cardiology, Anesthesiology, Pulmonology, and Interventional Pulmonology training backgrounds. After the course, ultrasound-related topics and image review are integrated into the fellow didactic series throughout the year.

Each fellow also completes a 1-month structured Critical Care Ultrasound rotation. During this rotation, fellows complete ultrasound exams on ICU patients, perform image review and quality assurance with ultrasound faculty, acquire images with TTE techs, read TTEs with cardiology fellows and attendings, learn ultrasound-guided procedures with interventional radiology, and participate in ultrasound-related simulation and didactic teaching for residents and co-fellows.

For fellows who have an interest in obtaining certification in critical care echocardiography through a national organization, we offer a pathway to support the required image acquisition and review for case log completion during fellowship.

Fellows will be involved in intubation, central line and PAC placement, thoracentesis, chest tube placement, paracentesis, lumbar puncture, bronchoscopy, and placement and management of temporary pacing devices. Fellows may gain exposure to percutaneous tracheostomy placement and ECMO cannulation when working with CCM attendings who are independently credentialed to perform these procedures.

Fellows play an important role in the CCM Division’s quality improvement processes. Fellows lead a yearly quality improvement incentive project. They also actively participate in the monthly CCM QI Committee meeting and monthly M&M Conference through case review and presentation, including performance of QI analyses after adverse events.

A person wearing a lanyard and scrub pants looks at a piece of paper with a whiteboard showing a drawing of lungs in the background.

Fellows assume the role of team leader in our ICUs, and they are essential educators of residents, medical students, and other learners in the ICU. We support the development of fellows into educators in the following ways:

Graded autonomy as fellowship progresses
Daily fellow-led rounds
Fellow Friday (independent fellow rounds on Fridays)
Fellow-led case conference
Daily bedside teaching (encouraged)
QI and M&M case presentations
Structured feedback processes

For fellows who have a specific career or academic interest, we are willing to discuss the possibility of developing individualized tracks within our existing block diagram structures. Examples include special focus in:

Research
Quality improvement
Education or simulation
Cardiothoracic ICU
Transplant

Have a different interest? Talk to us!

Six people posed together, five standing arm in arm and one laying on the grass in front of the others, on a grassy area with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.

We truly care about fellows as individuals and professionals. Our program leadership team is invested in providing mentorship and guiding fellows in the process of professional identity formation. We have a faculty coaching program that will allow you to develop a mentorship relationship with a CCM faculty member. Fellows complete an Individualized Development Plan and carry out a required scholarly activity during the year. Program leaders and faculty are readily available to provide our fellows with the support they need! Peer mentorship is also an essential part of our program, and through encouragement of mentorship within the fellow group, our fellows make connections that last a lifetime.

At graduation, our fellows are ready to be leaders in any type of ICU practice – academic, community, medical, surgical, cardiothoracic, mixed population – anywhere they want to go. Our program uniquely prepares fellows for future leadership opportunities by exposing them to a broad patient population within a variety of ICUs and a mixture of care models (primary vs. consultative management) and by emphasizing the health-systems roles essential to practice of CCM including triage and rescue of acutely deteriorating ICU patients, care coordination across a growing Health System, and capacity management and throughput. Because of our multidisciplinary CCM division, fellows learn from attendings and co-fellows from many training backgrounds, which both broadens and deepens their perspective on managing a wide variety of patients in a wide variety of clinical environments. When added to experience with code and crisis leadership, QI processes, and work impacting the entire interprofessional care team, our fellows have the tools and foundations to step into any practice at the completion of fellowship.

We asked fellows from the past 3 years to describe our program in one word or short phrase. Here are their responses:

A multi-colored word cloud featuring the words: multidisciplinary, supportive, complex, camaraderie, teamwork, fun, exquisite, friendship, joyful, community and empowering.

A rendering of a new multi-story building with trees in the foreground and blue sky.

UCSF Health is growing rapidly. The Division of Critical Care Medicine is excited to expand our footprint within the new locations at UCSF Stanyan and UCSF Hyde, which bring opportunities for different types of critical care practice to the group. A brand new, technologically advanced hospital is under construction at the Parnassus Heights campus, adjacent to Moffitt-Long Hospital. This new hospital is expected to open in 2030, and with it will come a substantial increase in critical care bed capacity and new roles and opportunities for our interprofessional critical care team.

How to apply

We are committed to advancing and sustaining opportunity for all applicants. 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), COMLEX, 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.

A selfie of three smiling people with the golden gate bridge in the background.

Anne Donovan, MD
Program Director

Albert Yen, MD
Associate Program Director

Katherine Brogan
Program Coordinator

Current fellows (2025-2026)

Daniel Doynow, DO, MPH – CCM/EM Fellow (Year 1)

Smiling man with short brown hair, wearing a gray suit and blue tie.

Hi everyone! I’m Dan. I grew up in Upstate New York and spent much of my undergraduate years in Germany before returning to the U.S. to complete a BA in German Language and Literature at Stony Brook University. Missing the mountains, I moved to Vermont and completed a MPH, then headed to Utah to spend a season ski patrolling before starting medical school.

I attended the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), where I gained invaluable experience working in a translational electrophysiology lab at the University of Pennsylvania. I matched into Emergency Medicine at Virginia Tech Carilion Clinic, where I developed a strong interest in critical care and resuscitative research.

Outside the hospital, I embrace the classic emergency medicine lifestyle—most often found mountain biking, rock climbing, or skiing.

Chandler Ford, MD – CCM/EM Fellow (Year 1)

Smiling woman with shoulder length blonde hair, wearing a gray jacket over a black shirt. I originally hail from Connecticut and grew up along the coast before finishing the majority of my higher education at UCONN. I completed my undergraduate years with an individualized major in Global Health before going to medical school at Frank H. Netter MD SOM at Quinnipiac. During gap years I was able to work with a wildlife conservation group in Costa Rica, conduct maternal health research in the Dominican Republic and Mysore India, as well as complete the first year of my MPH at Johns Hopkins University. I completed Emergency Medicine residency at UCONN and spent the majority of my training at Hartford Hospital, the 18th busiest ED in the country! There I fostered my interests in health equity and critical care and resuscitation, ultimately leading me to apply for the Anesthesia Critical Care Medicine fellowship here at UCSF. Outside of work I love a good cup of tea, spending time with my cats, exploring the city with my wife, reading, gouache painting and attending Drag shows!

Colin Jenkins, MD – CCM/EM Fellow (Year 2)

Man with short blond hair wearing a navy blue suit and tie I was born and raised in Berkeley, CA and attended college at UC Berkeley. I then completed medical school at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and residency in Emergency Medicine at Riverside Community Hospital/UC Riverside. I was thrilled to return to the Bay Area and to care for my community in the multidisciplinary clinical and academic environment of UCSF. I have particular interests in medical education, academic writing, and interdisciplinary care. Outside of work, I enjoy drumming, photography, aviation, and finding the best croissants in the city.

Katherine Ku, DO – CCM/EM Fellow (Year 2)

Woman with long dark hair and a dark jacket I was born and raised in Northern California and consider the Bay Area and Sacramento home. I went to Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington for a bachelor’s in neuroscience with a minor in French. I then spent two years with Peace Corps in Togo, West Africa. When I returned, I worked at the UC Davis MIND Institute as well as UCSF’s IND. I then completed a combined DO/MPH degree at Touro University. In my final year of medical school, I was awarded a Fulbright Fogarty Fellowship to develop community-based strategies for managing PSBI in rural settings in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. Unfortunately, this was indefinitely postponed. I completed my Emergency Medicine residency training at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Stockton, CA. I am so grateful and inspired to learn from the amazing physicians that make up UCSF’s critical care team as an EM/CC Fellow! Outside of work, I enjoy live music, motorcycle road trips, hiking, jumping into cold alpine lakes and rivers, being outside with my pup, and good food and drinks with friends and family.

Alejandro Ochoa Ramirez, MD – CCM Fellow

Smiling man with short black hair, wearing a gray and blue suit with a pink tie. I grew up in Mexico before moving to the United States for college, where I earned degrees in chemistry, biology, and piano performance. I went on to attend the Medical College of Wisconsin for medical school, focusing my research on critical care and nutrition. After completing my anesthesiology residency at the University of Iowa, I’m now at UCSF pursuing dual fellowship training in critical care and cardiothoracic anesthesia. Outside of work, I love going to live music shows, discovering new restaurants, and exploring the city with my wife and our new baby.

Akshay Shanker, MD – CCM Fellow

Smiling man with short curly black hair. After living in seven states before I was seven (including a brief stint in California), I grew up outside the Boston area before my family eventually settled in Rockville, Maryland. In the meantime, I studied Biochemistry and Writing at Washington University in St. Louis for undergrad and did medical school at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University in Philly. During medical school, I took a research year at Harvard Medical School / MIT to study postoperative neurocognitive dysfunction, cardiac anesthesia, and frailty with Dr. Balachundhar Subramaniam and Dr. Emery Brown. I then went to Manhattan to undergo anesthesia residency at NewYork-Presbyterian: Weill Cornell Medical Center before heading to the West Coast for fellowship!

Outside of work, I really enjoy DJing, making espresso and latte art, playing tennis and soccer, and transitioning from city walks in NYC to outdoor hikes in the Bay Area. I’m passionate about teaching and mentoring, creating a sense of camaraderie and social support within training programs, and trying to be the best colleague I can be in the meantime!

Critical Care Anesthesiology Fellowship