Sleep, Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine (SleAP) Fellowship (TWH/WCH)

The Sleep, Anesthesia, and Pain Medicine Research Unit at Women’s College Hospital is the first clinical-research centre specifically focused on evaluating sleep health disruption in perioperative and chronic pain settings.

This fellowship will be of interest to anesthesiologists who wish to learn first-hand clinical research methods in the fields of sleep medicine in perioperative and chronic pain settings. Located at Women’s College Hospital, fellows will have access to unique opportunities for learning about the clinical management of this group of patients. They will also be able to conduct multi-disciplinary and collaborative research in the fields of sleep medicine and anesthesia.

Clinical Curriculum

The objectives of this novel fellowship are to provide interested candidates with:

1. Understanding of sleep pathophysiology, upper airway physiology in sleep and under anesthesia, and the bidirectional relationship between sleep and prediction of long-term outcomes.
2. Excellent opportunity for research in a well-established setting while learning the principles of scoring and interpretation of laboratory and portable sleep studies and the use of cutting-edge technologies to evaluate sleep health.
3. Creation of clinical pathways to help patients with suspected or documented sleep-health disruption in the perioperative, high-risk obstetrics, and chronic pain settings.

In a typical week, a successful candidate will spend, on average, 2 days per week gaining clinical experience in focused sleep clinics evaluating patients with chronic pain, high-risk obstetrics, and those undergoing surgeries. They will also spend 3 days as an Advanced Clinical Fellow at Women’s College and Toronto Western Hospital operating rooms to maintain their anesthesia clinical skills.

Research areas include evaluating perioperative outcomes in patients with various sleep disorders, from sleep-related breathing or movement disorders to disorders of daytime hypersomnolence such as narcolepsy. Ongoing research projects include understanding mechanisms of upper airway collapse during sleep, sedation, and anesthesia; evaluating health technology such as Point-of-Care Ultrasound (PoCUS) to improve screening for OSA; and using cutting-edge tools to measure objective sleep-health data in patients with various sleep disorders in perioperative and chronic pain settings.

Education Curriculum

Departmental bi-weekly fellows’ rounds at 17:00 are mandatory. Regular education sessions will be arranged within the department with staff and residents in a multi-disciplinary setting, including anesthesiologists, surgeons, sleep physicians, and health care professionals such as respiratory, physical, and occupational therapists.

The fellows are encouraged to present their research at local, national, and international conferences to network with peers and researchers in the sleep and anesthesia community.

Research

The completion of at least one project is required. However, candidates are encouraged to participate in as many collaborative projects as possible.

Selection Criteria

Candidates who have completed an Anesthesia residency in an accredited program are eligible to apply. Priority will be given to candidates with an interest in collaborative research involving the fields of sleep medicine, chronic pain, and perioperative settings.

Call Duties

The purpose of this fellowship is to provide training in sleep medicine while providing an opportunity for continued clinical exposure to perioperative care and anesthesia services. On-call duties will be for the main operating room at Toronto Western Hospital and start at 15:30, regardless of an academic or clinical assignment that day. The fellow will be off post-call the following day. Weekend calls are approximately one in four weekends (either Saturday or Sunday, but not both).

Applications and Inquiries

If you are interested in applying, please use the link that corresponds to your desired session:

• For the January 2025 session, please use this online portal to apply (the closing date is February 1, 2024).
• For the January 2026 session, please use this online portal to apply (the closing date is February 1, 2025).

For direct inquiries, please contact:

Mandeep Singh, MBBS, MD, MSc, FRCPC
Anesthesiology and Sleep Medicine
Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine,
Women's College Hospital;
Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network
E: mandeep.singh@uhn.ca