Beginning in September, resident conferences are held on Tuesdays from 6:00 - 6:50 am, primarily to review topics pertinent for junior residents. Although residents of all levels are welcome at each of the departmentally-sponsored lectures, the Tuesday morning session is specifically designed for CA-1 residents and closely follows the content outline for the Basic Examination now required during residency training. Topics include review of basic science principles with an emphasis on their clinical applications, clinical anesthesia topics with an emphasis on airway management and formation of an anesthetic plan, and topics related to communication or professionalism. With the mentoring of a faculty member, each CA-1 resident delivers at least one formal lecture to his or her colleagues during the PGY-2 year. Public speaking and formal presentation skills are an invaluable component of both academic and private practice and your residency training at Jefferson provides multiple opportunities to polish these important skills with coaching and mentoring from faculty.

During the academic year, a Wednesday afternoon conference from 1:30 - 2:30 pm is conducted. Intended primarily as a CA-3 conference, senior residents are relieved from the clinical duties to attend. CA-1 and CA-2 residents may or may not also be relieved from clinical duties as the operating room schedule permits. The primary focus of the Wednesday afternoon session is the presentation of advanced topics in Anesthesiology with a special emphasis on preparation for the ABA Oral Board Examination. Tutorial sessions on preparing for the ABA Oral Examination are conducted by current and former ABA Examiners on the faculty. In addition to the individualized Mock Oral Board experience offered six times each year, the Wednesday sessions use sample questions to help prepare the resident to critically analyze stem questions and formulate succinct and organized responses to examiner queries. This conference also affords the opportunity to present advanced topics in Anesthesiology valuable to senior-level residents and to discuss career opportunities and fellowship or job hunting/contract negotiation skills.

Beginning in August, resident conferences are held on Thursdays from 6:00 - 6:50 am, immediately prior to the Departmental Grand Rounds. With the exception of Clinical Base Year (PGY-1) residents, all anesthesiology residents are expected to attend this conference. Formal lectures on a variety of clinical general and subspecialty anesthesiology topics are delivered by faculty and visiting guest speakers. Additionally, ten resident journal clubs are sponsored each year with faculty-moderated discussion of recent research or review articles.

The Departmental Grand Rounds are held each Thursday from 6:55 - 7:45 am throughout the calendar year. The conference features formal lectures on important or emerging topics in clinical anesthesiology, presentations of departmental research, visiting professor lectures, Morbidity and Mortality Conference, and combined Surgical-Anesthesia Morbidity and Mortality Conference. This conference is held every Thursday during the year, with the exception of holidays or when Mock Oral Examination simulation is held for the residents in lieu of both regularly scheduled Thursday lectures (6 times annually).

Beginning in September, resident conferences are held most Fridays from 6:00 - 6:50 am. The format of this conference is question and answer sessions for the purpose of preparing for the American Board of Anesthesiology written examinations. Some of these conferences are conducted as formal question and answer sessions and some are conducted in a friendly, but competitive Jeopardy-style format. The resident gains experience answering questions in the “A-type” and “G-set” formats which appear on the ABA in-training and board examinations.

Several subspecialty case discussion groups are hosted by our Fellowship Directors. Dr. Michael Mahla hosts a discussion group for neuroanesthesia-related cases and Dr. Jordan Goldhammer hosts a discussion group for cardiac anesthesia-related cases. The conferences are required only fellows, but all are welcome.