The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario was opened to the public in 1974 and is a tertiary care pediatric centre affiliated with the University of Ottawa. It is a full service institution that receives approximately 60, 000 emergency visits per year. The hospital is the exclusive centre for pediatric care in the National Capital and surrounding region, serving a population of approximately 1 million people. It also caters to out-of-province patients including Manitoba, Quebec, Nunavut, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and PEI.
The Department consists of 18 fully certified anesthesiologists and support staff consisting of 6 Anesthesia Assistants. We are responsible for approximately 8,000 surgical cases per year. We practice in all areas of anesthesia including congenital cardiac with the exception of transplant surgery and major craniofacial reconstruction. Out of OR anesthesia responsibilities include, providing sedation for therapeutic and diagnostic procedures, managing an acute pain service & regional anesthesia, and evaluating patients in our perioperative assessment clinic. Anesthesia residents affiliated with the University of Ottawa and Queen’s University regularly rotate through the Department.
During this twelve month period, the Fellow will be primarily expected to do clinical pediatric anesthesia as a Fellow working under the supervision of our staff for both elective and emergency cases. This supervision is modified by the magnitude of the clinical situation, experience and qualifications of the Fellow. He/she will also be expected to participate in anesthesia activities outside the Operating Room including anesthesia being provided for oncology and radiological procedures. He/she will also take part in the Preoperative Anesthesia Assessment Clinic.
The remainder of the Fellowship year is devoted to other areas beyond normal clinical anesthesia. This includes research and other academic pursuits and on occasion Fellows may spend time in the Neonatal ICU, the Pediatric ICU or other areas within the hospital that have a particular interest to a pediatric anesthesiologist. These special areas of training can be arranged after adequate notice has been provided to us.
To repeat, our Department is actively involved in research. This research includes simulation based education research and combined clinical/bench research into the area of cerebral protection during global hypoxic events, regional anesthesia and postoperative pain management. Participation in this research is encouraged. Fellows may also become actively involved by preparing a research protocol and hopefully bringing the project to completion during their fellowship year.
"I highly recommend the pediatric anesthesia fellowship at the University of Ottawa. I was given a broad clinical exposure, specialty leading academic mentorship as well as many opportunities for professional advancement, all within a supportive and enjoyable environment. The fellowship certainly prepared me well for a future career in pediatric anesthesia." Dr. Sarah Leir, previous fellow, now staff.
