The CA-3 year is a time of progressive responsibility, independence, and professional maturity. It is the launching pad to a professional future as a consultant anesthesiologist of the highest caliber. The CA-3 year is also a time for assuming the role of teacher, educating and tutoring students and young residents in the art of doctoring and the art of anesthesiology.
Residents are usually assigned the most complex or challenging cases when in the main operating room. They also complete their ACGME requirements for subspecialty training during this time.
Residents are encouraged to design programs suited to their unique needs, such as elective months in cardiology observing clinical echocardiography and cardiac catheterization. Some residents complete away rotations or go on medical missions during the CA-2 or CA-3 year. Since 2009, we have sent residents to away rotations in Mongolia, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Australia, India, Rwanda, Lebanon, Vietnam, Albania, Korea and the Philippines. And residents interested in research can spend significant time during the year participating in clinical or basic science investigations.
We also encourage–and pay for–all CA-3 residents to attend a national conference, such as that of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.
Photos by Sebastian Ruehlmann, M.D.