Medical Student Education

The faculty deliver lectures in the principles of anesthesia and the pharmacology of anesthetic drugs. Integrated with this didactic program, the anesthesiology department provides pertinent clinical demonstrations at the affiliated hospitals. Faculty members also lecture as part of the didactic programs in microbiology and physiology.

Also available are eight-week summer preceptorships through Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. These preceptorships are offered during the summers following the first or second year of medical school.

A two-week anesthesiology selective, within the context of the overall surgery rotation, is provided for third-year students. This experience is offered at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and Buffalo General Medical Center. The student receives clinical exposure with anesthesiology residents and staff in the operating rooms, recovery rooms and ICUs.

Practical instruction, preoperative evaluation, preparation of patients for anesthesia, methods of anesthesia and postoperative care are considered within this integrated rotation.

A four-week anesthesiology elective for third year students is also available to UB students. This experience is primarily limited to the second half of the third year and is not an option for students visiting from other universities.

The objectives of this four-week rotation are to provide an opportunity for students to have direct patient management in the practice of clinical anesthesiology and to point out the clinical applications of physiology and pharmacology as they pertain to anesthesiology.

Within this four-week elective, students are responsible for the preoperative evaluation of patients and the ordering of preoperative medication. They are then allowed to actively participate in the administration of anesthesia in the operating room and are responsible for the postoperative care of the patient. The students are under the direct supervision of an attending anesthesiologist in a ratio of no more than two students per faculty member.

The objectives are the same as the four-week anesthesiology elective described above for third-year students. This rotation is open to fourth-year students for both semesters.

Students visiting from other universities may apply for these one-month experiences through the VSAS program and with approval from the University at Buffalo Office of Medical Education.

Third- and fourth-year students may opt to take an elective in anesthesia research. They must make individual arrangements with the anesthesiology administrative office to participate in research programs.

Departmental research investigations include:

• acid-base balance and circulation of anesthetized patients during passive hyperventilation
• kinetics of inflammatory responses in acute lung injury
• cerebral blood flow
• ventilation during and post-anesthesia
• uptake and distribution of inert gases and inhalation anesthetics
• clinical investigation of various anesthetic agents and adjuvants
• analysis of NMDA receptors
• myocardial ischemia reperfusion
• electrophysiological studies

Our electives let you pursue clinical and research experiences tailored to your interests.