Rotations

Learn acute perioperative pain management, including neuraxial analgesia and peripheral nerve blockade techniques.

Master advanced airway techniques including:

• Airway blocks
• Bougies
• Fiber optic intubation
• Intubating LMAs
• Other video assisted intubation techniques

This rotation provides experience in thoracic anesthesia, including the appropriate use of double lumen endotracheal tubes, univent tubes, bronchoscopy and thoracic analgesic techniques.

Learn to administer cardiac anesthesia for off-pump and on-pump coronary artery revascularization and valve replacements. Develop basic skills of transesophageal echocardiography. You may also participate in major vascular surgery during this rotation.

This rotation provides a diverse experience to interventional pain management techniques. You will be exposed to acute and chronic pain problems and learn a variety of medical and surgical techniques for treating pain. This rotation takes place at the VA and UNM Hospital.

As the only Level I Trauma Center in New Mexico, our institution sees critically injured patients from all over the state and the Southwest. Rotate through the medical, trauma/surgical, neurosurgical, cardiothoracic or pediatric ICU.

This month-long rotation combines two weeks in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) with two weeks in non-operating room anesthesia settings. In the PACU, residents learn to evaluate and manage post-operative complications such as hemodynamic instability, airway issues, pain, nausea, and delayed emergence while ensuring safe recovery and discharge.

In Non-Operating Room Anesthesia (NORA) assignments, residents gain experience delivering anesthesia in remote and challenging environments such as GI, interventional radiology, cardiology, MRI/CT, and ECT. The rotation emphasizes situational awareness, safe anesthetic planning, crisis management, and teamwork in environments with limited resources and unique risks, preparing residents to provide safe and effective care outside the operating room.

The neurosurgical department offers a full range of neurosurgical cases, including vascular and nonvascular craniotomies and radiologic interventional neurosurgical procedures.

Approximately 3,500 obstetrical deliveries are performed a year at UNM Hospital. As a resident, you will face challenges unique to New Mexico—a state with a high rate of pregnancy-induced hypertension and complicated deliveries.

Under the guidance of the rotation director, residents receive excellent training in epidural anesthesia, continuous spinal anesthesia, combined spinal-epidural anesthesia and general anesthesia for cesarean section. An active (maternal/fetal medicine) service provides exposure to maternal-fetal transfusions in utero and other specialized procedures.

This elective is available to CA3s. Spend a month learning how to manage the operations of the operating room on a daily basis. Learn about board management and efficient staffing strategies while covering for perioperative emergencies.

The outpatient surgical center provides an excellent opportunity for you to learn a wide variety of regional anesthesia techniques. This rotation has arguably one of the best experiences in regional anesthesia in the country. Gain experience using ultrasound guided techniques in addition to traditional anatomic approaches.

A robust pediatric surgical caseload and exceptional pediatric anesthesiology faculty provide an outstanding rotation experience. You will provide regional anesthesia care for pediatric patients ranging from neonates to teenagers.

Learn firsthand about problems that can develop immediately after surgery. You will experience didactic and practical management of hemodynamic instability, airway problems, pain management and nausea and vomiting.

The main OR suite has 16 operating rooms and various mobile anesthetic sites. You will be exposed to a wide variety of trauma, orthopedic, gynecologic, ENT, general surgical and urologic procedures.

This elective provides residents with the opportunity to pursue a mentored research project under the guidance of faculty investigators. Residents will develop a structured research plan, including project aims, methods, expected outcomes, and a timeline for deliverables such as abstract submission to regional or national meetings. 

Research Electives may begin as early as the CA1 year, with the option to continue throughout training as part of a longitudinal “Research Track.” Residents on this track may dedicate additional elective blocks in their CA2 and CA3 years to sustain scholarly work. Final approval of all projects is determined by the Program Director in consultation with the Vice Chair of Research and the Research Assistant Professor.

This rotation builds on core anesthesia knowledge while focusing on the unique considerations of bariatric and total joint orthopedic surgery. Residents will refine their skills in anesthetic techniques and perioperative management tailored to these patient populations.

Spend a month at Houston Methodist in Houston, Texas, as a CA2 elective. This rotation provides additional experience and advanced training in cardiac anesthesia at the Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center, one of the leading cardiothoracic institutions in the country.

Spend a month at UC San Diego Health in La Jolla, California, as a CA2 elective. This rotation offers advanced training in cardiac anesthesia at the Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center, with exposure to complex cardiothoracic surgery, transplantation, and mechanical circulatory support at a nationally recognized academic medical center.

A unique, local experience for senior CA3 residents to gain knowledge in pediatric cardiac physiology and how to care for children with a range of congenital cardiac conditions, both for open heart on-pump cases and in the pediatric cardiac catheterization lab. All in a private practice setting and mentored by pediatric cardiac anesthesiologists.