Undergraduate Medical Education

The Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine’s faculty consists of world-renowned leaders in teaching and academics and participates at all levels of the MD Program. Our faculty are involved with core courses during pre-clerkship, mentorship, and many varied educational experiences, including our very popular ACE week, Anesthesia Career Exploration.

During clerkship, University of Toronto medical students complete a two-week anesthesia rotation in their third year. Approximately 280 students rotate through one of six core teaching hospitals or one of seven of our community partner sites. The rotation provides the students with airway management, IV insertion, cardiorespiratory resuscitation, pain management, and pre-operative assessment skills. Knowing the value of simulation in training, we have two days incorporated into the rotation. The two days include "Entry Sim" at the beginning of the rotation, focusing on team skills with an introduction to ACLS and crisis resource management. "Exit Sim" is on the second day and showcases the growth in competencies that clerks have gained over the rotation. The training is team based-at the Sunnybrook Canadian Simulation Center and the simulation days mainly focus on skill development, cardiorespiratory resuscitation, and core aspects of anesthesia. In addition, we have introduced the “flipped classroom” model into the rotation with the development of e-modules. This allows the students to study important topics of anesthesia in their own time and at their own pace.