Medical College of Wisconsin Anesthesiology Critical Care Fellowship

The Critical Care Fellowship is a one-year, ACGME-approved experience that encompasses management of airway and ventilator support, invasive hemodynamic monitors, a variety of drug infusions, and nutritional support, as well as offering exposure to medical ethics issues.

Our training is truly multidisciplinary, as the fellow will be working under the direction of faculty from Critical Care Anesthesiologists, Critical Care Pulmonologists, Critical Care Trauma trained physicians, and Neuro Critical Care physicians.

The exposure is broad and includes medicine, transplant, trauma, vascular, general, cardiothoracic, and neurosurgical patients. The fellow leads a team of anesthesiology, surgery, medicine, neurology, and emergency medicine residents as well as advanced practice providers.

Our experience with post-cardiac surgical patients across three locations provides exposure across quaternary academic care, VA, and private practice cardiac surgery. Fellows develop their clinical skills in treating and preventing organ failure, invasive procedures, POCUS and echocardiography, as well as the management of durable and temporary mechanical support (Total Artificial Heart, VAD, ECMO, Impella).

Overview

The fellow rotates through the intensive care units at the VA Medical Center as well as the intensive care units for surgical (SICU), cardiovascular (CVICU), medical (MICU), and neuro (NICU) at Froedtert Hospital, which is the only Level 1 trauma and tertiary care referral center in Milwaukee. The training is truly multi-disciplinary, as the fellow will be working under the direction of faculty from Pulmonary/Critical Care, Trauma/Critical Care, and Neuro/Critical Care. The exposure is broad and includes medicine, transplant, trauma, vascular, general, cardiothoracic, and neurosurgical patients. The fellow leads a team of anesthesiology, surgery, medicine, neurology, and emergency medicine residents.

If the fellow elects to spend time in research, he or she may choose to base this research in either ongoing clinical or basic science research activities, or to develop his/her own independent line of research. It is expected that the fellow be able to prepare the research data in abstract form for presentation at a national meeting of anesthesiology or critical care physicians, as well as assist in the preparation of a manuscript for publication.

An optional second year of anesthesiology - critical care research also is available.

Emergency Medicine Critical Care Fellowship track

1 position available

We welcome applications from candidates who have completed an ACGME accredited Emergency Medicine residency. We encourage the ability to continue to expand their emergency room medicine acumen while also gaining multi-specialty critical care experiences through participation in our critical care rotations.

This fellowship is a two year critical care/emergency medicine combined fellowship. The first year the fellow is an ACGME accredited critical care fellow with potential moonlighting opportunities as an EM fellow. The second year the fellow participates in a combined Emergency Medicine Critical Care fellowship (non-ACGME Instructor level).

Multidisciplinary training

CVICU: 2-3 months
MICU: 2-3 months
NICU: 2 weeks
Trauma (level 1) SICU: 2-3 months
VA SICU: 4-5 months

Rotation sites

Froedtert Hospital
VA Medical Center
Aurora St. Luke’s

Didactics

The didactic program covers a wide range of clinical and basic science topics:

Monthly journal club series
Weekly case conferences
12-part lecture series (including board review) with additional teaching that varies depending on site
Fellows may choose research time or from several electives

Application and Selection Process

The Anesthesia Critical Care Fellowship of the Medical College of Wisconsin participates in the SF Match for Critical Care Anesthesia, and is currently accepting off-cycle applications for Academic Year 2024-2025. If you are interested in applying off-cycle, please contact Education Program Coordinator Sarah Pritchard.

Interested in-cycle applicants should plan to register for the SF Match. Please note the following:

Applications should be submitted via SF Match. If you have any addendums to your application and are unable to update SF Match, you can email them to Education Program Coordinator, Sarah Pritchard (spritchard@mcw.edu).
Residents are free to interview at any other programs of interest, and our program will NOT ask applicants for an early decision outside of the match. Please do not accept an interview date with us at MCW unless you intend to register for the SF Match.
If you have interviewed with us and accept a position elsewhere outside the match, please a) withdraw from the match and b) notify us of your decision.
The SF Match registration opens in November, final ranking lists are due by May. Match Day is at the end of May each year. Specific dates can be found on the SF Match website.

Education overview

Learn more about the kind of education opportunities offered by the program.

all

Clinical Education and Rotations

2-week blocks: the 1^st-15^th and the 16^th-end of month:

VA SICU: 4-5 months. Fellow leads a team of residents and interns caring for post-op surgical patients in the 18-bed, mixed ICU. Majority of cases are cardiothoracic and vascular patients, with the remaining caseload composed of general surgery, neurosurgery, and occasionally ENT, urology, and others. Call is approximately every other night from home, with one weekend day, and is arranged between the attending and fellow.

Froedtert CVICU: 2-3 months. Fellow leads a team of residents caring for post-op CABG, valve, LVAD, and vascular patients, as well as ventilator management of cardiology patients in the 10-bed, mixed ICU. Home call is determined by fellow and attending. Fellow works one weekend day per week.

Froedtert SICU: 2-3 months. Fellow leads a team of residents and interns caring for trauma and liver patients, and post-op general, vascular, transplant, as well as some ENT, urology, and others in the 22-bed ICU. There is no call or weekend coverage on this rotation.

Froedtert MICU: 2-3 months. Fellow leads a team of residents and interns caring for all variety of medical patients in the 26-bed ICU. The most common cases are COPD exacerbations and sepsis. There is late call every other day and 24-hour in-house call one day each weekend.

Froedtert NICU: 2 weeks. Fellow is a member of a team consisting of a neuro-ICU fellow and residents in the 12-bed ICU. The patient load consists of all varieties of neurologic patients with the majority being CVA and post-op neurosurgery patients. There is no call or weekend coverage on this rotation.

Research/Elective: 1.5 months. This time is allotted for the fellow to pursue research or other scholarly activities. It may be used as elective time. Fellow is free of clinical duties during these blocks.

Didactics

Multiple interactive weekly conferences that differ by rotation, as well as extensive bedside teaching. Critical Care fellow journal club is held monthly.

VA-SICU: Weekly Journal Club, led by the fellow, and two, weekly, case-based discussions led by either the MICU or SICU attending

Froedtert SICU: Weekly Surgical Conference, M&M, grand rounds, and ICU Conference

Froedtert MICU: Weekly Case-based Conference or M&M 3 weeks/month, and a pathology conference 1 week/month; these conferences are attended throughout the year regardless of rotation

Combined Critical Care Conference: Multidisciplinary conference involving the SICU, CVICU, MICU and NICU once per month

Anesthesia: Case-based Conference weekly, providing information useful for clinical practice and board exams

Current Fellows

Rawad Rayes, MD

Critical Care Medicine Fellow

Tyler Turner, MD

Critical Care Medicine Fellow

Riley Westein, MD

Critical Care Medicine Fellow

Contact Us

For more information about the Critical Care fellowship program, please get in touch

Dustin Hang, MD

Interim Program Director

dhang@mcw.edu

Sarah Pritchard

Education Program Coordinator

spritchard@mcw.edu
(414) 805-6106

Critical Care Medicine Fellowship
Department of Anesthesiology
Medical College of Wisconsin
9200 W. Wisconsin Ave., P347
Milwaukee, WI 53226