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Advanced Clinical Practice

Toronto Western Hospital (TWH) and Women's College Hospital (WCH)

The Department of Anesthesia offers an opportunity to gain more experience in the overall context of clinical anesthesia practice, including anesthesia for neuro and spine surgery at Toronto Western Hospital (TWH) as well as ambulatory and day-surgery anesthesia at Women’s College Hospital (WCH); moreover, there are opportunities for research, teaching, and/or quality improvement projects.

The fellows will be exposed to all surgeries carried out at our two academic hospital sites: TWH and WCH. TWH is one of Toronto’s hubs for neurosurgery and spine surgery, with a particular specialization in Functional, Vascular, and Oncology Neurosurgery and Spine surgery. Also, it hosts one of the Ontario Centres of Excellence for Bariatric Surgery, and it is the headquarters of the Schroeder Arthritis Institute, Canada’s largest arthritis hub (with more than 1100 joint replacements carried out annually), and the unique Toronto Hand Program, among other orthopedic surgeries. WCH is specialized in innovation and ambulatory surgery, with a variety of surgeries offered, from sport medicine to endocrine surgery, from plastic and reconstructive surgery to unique sexual medicine and feminizing transition-related genital surgery.

The ACP fellows in our program will be exposed to and provide anesthesia services for all types of surgeries carried out at the two hospital sites, except block rooms (for focused and specific regional anesthesia or neuro-anesthesia fellowships, please see our department fellowships). These include General Surgery with a specific focus on Bariatric Surgery, Endocrine, major Spine Surgery, Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Plastics, Hand surgery, Urology, Ophthalmology, and Day Surgery. Gynecologic surgeries and ancillary anaesthetic locations comprise a Neuro-radiology suite for various embolization, thrombectomy, and stent procedures, as well as various services for radiology (MRI, FUS), GI/endoscopies, and cardiology (TEE). Fellows may be assigned to the pre-assessment clinic and to the acute pain service with staff on a rotation basis. Fellows will gain independence throughout the year and are expected to function independently with minimal supervision, especially during on-calls, although the staff will always be available and in-hospital for any necessity.

ACP fellows will be included in the on-call roster and will be required to work nights, weekends, and holidays on a rotation basis. Calls are shared among all fellows (including regional, neuro, SleAP, and POCUS); calls start at 15:30, and we offer academic time pre-call, and post-call time off for our fellows. We limit the number of on-calls to a monthly maximum average of 6 night and/or weekend calls, but the actual number is usually well below the maximum limit. All our fellows receive a competitive salary supported by our Anesthesia department and extended health benefits.

Fellows interested in research are encouraged to pursue research opportunities under supervision, either joining research in progress or starting new projects; a functioning and supportive environment is available for interested fellows; academic time is offered to all fellows when necessary and in line with the Department's clinical duties. Based on interest and productivity, this can be extended up to a maximum of 40 days per year; travel grants are available for fellows presenting at major conferences.

Education is provided to clinical fellows in the form of didactic rounds/seminars on top of anesthesia skills; regular rounds are held weekly, and the fellows can present their own research at these rounds.

The environment is well suited to a candidate preparing for licensing exams and wishing to integrate into the Canadian healthcare system; it is also well suited to the recent graduate who would like an additional year of experience prior to embarking on a busy community practice, as well as to the graduate of a subspecialty program who wants to familiarize themselves with more clinical anesthesia procedures as well as exposure to neuro/spine surgery and post-operative pain management.


Additional Information

Positions Offered:

  • 2 positions starting each January
  • 2 positions starting each July

Duration:

Programs are 6–12 months in length, according to the trainee’s goals and objectives. Fellows usually work full-time (100%, 5 days per week), but a reduced workload (60–80%, 3–4 days/week) can be considered upon request (include details and information on the application and letter of interest).

Applications:

Applicants need to have successfully completed all the required anesthesia examinations and be registered with the official regulatory authorities for ACLS certification.

Applications should be submitted at least 12–18 months in advance; please apply through the online platform:

Shortlisted candidates will be contacted 12 months before the tentative start date for reference letters, to further review the application, and possibly to schedule a virtual interview. Please do not send any reference letters until requested to do so.

Successful candidates will be notified about 9–15 months ahead of a potential start date.

DIRECT INQUIRIES TO:

Dr. Simone Schiavo
Fellowship Program Coordinator
Department of Anesthesia, Toronto Western Hospital (UHN)
simone.schiavo@uhn.ca