group photo of anesthesiology people

Postgraduate Anesthesiology Residency

Welcome Message

Our faculty and administrative staff are dedicated to providing the highest quality residency training program possible. Our faculty members have invested countless hours in the development and delivery of a well planned curriculum. We pride ourselves on having an accessible, flexible and innovative approach to medical education. The residency program is small enough to individualize each resident's experience while being large enough to offer a full range of anesthesia experiences. We are proud to have achieved full accreditation status with our recent Royal College review.

Our residents rotate through 5 major teaching sites. The Ottawa Hospital, Civic Campus is the base site for all trauma, neurosurgery, obstetrics, bariatric surgery and vascular surgery. The General Campus is the base site for all major cancer surgery, Obstetrics, and Thoracic Surgery. The Riverside Campus is our Ambulatory centre. The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO)  and the University of Ottawa Heart Institute allow for comprehensive training in Pediatric and Cardiac anesthesia, respectively

Our philosophy of residency education is centered on several key principles. First and foremost is an emphasis on a commitment to patient care. We strive to promote work live balance with the rigors of a career in medicine. We are committed to a team approach as we support each other’s success as colleagues. Our curriculum encourages self-directed and lifelong learning to develop the necessary skills to adapt to the ever-changing practice of medicine. Our program emphasizes a growth mindset; we use constructive feedback to help us reflect on ways to learn and improve. We are proud to actively involve our resident group in decision-making, as we firmly believe the residency program belongs to them and that their voices are essential in shaping its direction and success.

Our department and program are dedicated to promoting contributions to the improvement of our knowledge through scholarship in research, education, and patient safety.

The residency program at the University of Ottawa values diversity in our trainees, staff and community. We strive to foster a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion in all of our activities. We also realize that individual strengths come from many lived experiences that do not necessarily relate to achievements in academics or research. We encourage trainees to share what makes them their own person. In doing so, we aim to empower our trainees and colleagues to become strong leaders in their future practices and communities.

We hope that you enjoy learning about our training program.

Different flags in the air
Youtube Video
Welcome to the University of Ottawa - Post-Graduate Medical Education

Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) Rotation

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) in anesthesia and perioperative care is an invaluable tool for rapid diagnosis of haemodynamic instability, ensuring procedural safety, and monitoring response to treatments.  We are excited to have a core group of enthusiastic POCUS-trained faculty across The Ottawa Hospital and Ottawa Heart Institute Campuses to provide a fantastic learning experience for our trainees.  This dedicated group works closely with the POCUS trainees to provide a unique learning experience.  The University of Ottawa POCUS curriculum is aimed at developing proficiency in ultrasound in the following areas relevant to perioperative medicine: focused cardiac, lung and diaphragm, gastric, FAST, airway and lower extremity US for DVT detection.

The POCUS curriculum consists of a basic bootcamp, online learning, supervised basic scanning, and a one-month scanning rotation. Learning is supplemented throughout the year by POCUS academic half days and POCUS rounds. Trainees work with their POCUS mentors to develop skills in image acquisition and interpretation, develop a logbook of their scans, and learn about archiving.  Skills are maintained throughout residency by continued scanning with the dedicated group of POCUS faculty.  POCUS rounds and scanning sessions bring the entire group of trainees together several times per year and are a great opportunity for skill maintenance and for trainees to develop teaching skills.  The POCUS faculty work closely with POCUS teams from other departments, providing opportunities for collaboration and inter-departmental learning.

docotr checking patient

Simulation Education

Youtube Video: Anesthesiology Simulation Education at The Ottawa Hospital/University of Ottawa

A major strength of our program is an innovative and established simulation education program. Residents actively participate in theatre-based high-fidelity simulations during multiple stages of their training with the aim of honing their Crisis Resource Management skills and developing their ability to manage common and rare perioperative emergencies. Simulation scenarios are carefully mapped to the overall curriculum. There is a strong emphasis upon interprofessional and multi-disciplinary team training, where we often learn with our surgical, nursing and allied health colleagues, to enable us to work more effectively together. Furthermore, simulation-based training procedural training, which include ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia, regional, neuraxial, and POCUS, is also being increasingly used within our curriculum.

Our University of Ottawa Skills and Simulation centre (connected to the Civic Hospital) is one of the largest multi-disciplinary and inter-professional training centres in Canada. Our team of simulation experts include national and international leaders in simulation-based medical education and research.

  • Within our simulation curriculum, Residents undertake both formative (for learning) and summative (for assessment) simulation sessions, which include: The Foundations Bootcamp module is heavily rooted in simulation education: our incoming residents engage in over 30 simulation scenarios and partial task procedural training as part of their bootcamp experience. These junior residents learn important knowledge, skills and attitudes in a safe learning environment, while bonding with their peers. They practice the critical skill of reflection and debriefing, which is the cornerstone of adult learning.
  • All residents participate in our global simulation curriculum, which is a 4 year rotating curriculum that focuses upon development of crisis resource management skills. Combined obstetric-anesthesia simulation, trauma- focused simulation and pediatric simulation are regularly interspersed throughout residency.  
  • Junior residents demonstrate their knowledge and skills in the foundations OSCE and CRM-OSCE.
  • Our senior residents engage in the Royal College mandated initiative: Canadian National Anesthesia Simulation Curriculum (CanNASC) where they undergo simulation scenarios as part of a summative evaluation.  The resident-run ACLS milestone summative assessment program allows our residents to engage in both the implementation of simulation scenarios and providing feedback to their peers.  
  • Residents have the opportunity to do an elective in simulation education in their senior years, assisting in the development and implementation of our simulation curriculum.
patient having surgery

Formative (for learning) and summative (for assessment) simulation education is an integral part of our residency program and occurs at all stages of training.

The Foundations Bootcamp module is heavily rooted in simulation education: our PGY1 residents engage in over 30 simulation scenarios and partial task training as part of their bootcamp experience. These junior residents learn important knowledge, skills and attitudes in a safe learning environment, while bonding with their peers. They practice the critical skill of reflection and debriefing, which is the cornerstone of adult learning. 

All residents participate in our global simulation curriculum, which is a 4 year rotating curriculum that focuses upon development of crisis resource management skills. Combined obstetric-anesthesia simulation, trauma- focused simulation and pediatric simulation are regularly interspersed throughout residency.  

Junior residents demonstrate their knowledge and skills in the foundations OSCE and CRM-OSCE. Our senior residents engage in the Royal College mandated initiative: Canadian National Anesthesia Simulation Curriculum (CanNASC) where they undergo simulation scenarios as part of a summative evaluation.  The resident-run ACLS milestone summative assessment program allows our residents to engage in both the implementation of simulation scenarios and providing feedback to their peers.   
Residents have the opportunity to do an elective in simulation education in their senior years, assisting in the development and implementation of our simulation curriculum.

Scholarship Opportunities

Anesthesiology Research and Scholarship: The quality and success of our faculty researchers provide a great environment for our residents to get valuable experience contributing to a scholarship project. Scholarship in our department is showcased at our yearly Gary Johnson Research Day in May. Our hope is to support residents in achieving the goal of presenting at a national meeting and/or achieving a publication. Recently, several of our residents have been awarded CAS research grants and presented at national conferences. Our department is thoroughly committed to supporting scholarly activity and welcome interest and motivation from residents.

Learning Cases:

Our education faculty have developed a series of clinical cases for each module. These learning cases use the principle of flipped classroom to engage the resident in self-directed learning. These cases promote module specific cases that match the clinical rotation.  There are approximately 5 specific learning cases per module, and we have amassed over 200 learning cases on our system to date. Each case comes with a case stem, questions, and 2-4 high yield references based on the most recent scientific evidence. Residents prepare for the cases on their own time, and when ready initiate a review with the faculty to develop a deeper understanding of the topic. The learning cases help us assess core knowledge and practical information to help demonstrate an understanding related to milestones. 

Academic Half Day Curriculum: 

The Academic Half Day (AHD) structure for residents is organized to support progressive learning and inter-year collaboration. For PGY-1 residents, the first six blocks will focus on Foundations/Bootcamp sessions held on Tuesdays. These sessions are designed to avoid redundancy with the broader 3-year curriculum. During the initial two blocks, some sessions will be led by senior residents (PGY2–5) to foster camaraderie across training levels, followed by informal social gatherings such as café meetups or BBQs, with funding provided to support these events. Starting in Block 7 (January), PGY-1s will transition to join PGY2–3s on Thursdays, ensuring comprehensive exposure to the full curriculum in preparation for exam-focused study in PGY-4.

For PGY-2 and PGY-3 residents, AHD will continue on Thursdays, following the established 3-year rotating curriculum. This includes coverage of Barash textbook chapters and essential CanMEDS competencies. The program is enhancing its offerings with more interactive, role-aligned workshops—such as sessions on managing difficult airways and how to have difficult conversations such as end of life care with our experts in Palliative care and MAID. High-demand workshops like PoCUS and Regional Anesthesia will be repeated annually. Residents are encouraged to suggest additional topics.

For PGY-4 and PGY-5 residents, a shift occurs in Block 7, with both groups attending Tuesday AHD sessions together. PGY-4s will also begin Academic Full Days in April to deepen their preparation for final exams. 

Longitudinal Oral Exam Preparation:

Our faculty are dedicated to preparing our residents for the Royal College examination. We invest into regular and structured oral exam preparations program that starts in PGY2 with formal biannual practice sessions. After these sessions, we hold a review with the residents to help them learn from these practice sessions. Weekly resident rounds take place every Tuesday, focusing on managing case presentations. Senior residents get weekly group practice during their academic half day to hone their skills. We have a continuous improvement program to give feedback to junior faculty to improve their delivery of oral exam practice.