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Welcome from Our Program Director

The faculty and I take pride in being part of one of the premier programs in the country. We are committed to training excellent future clinicians, leaders, and educators in Anesthesiology. I’m proud to say that our RUSH trainees are sought after by fellowship programs and other anesthesia groups looking for well-trained anesthesiologists.

RUSH residents get exposure to a wide variety of cases and scenarios which encompass the entire spectrum of anesthesia disciplines during residency. Most of your training will take place at RUSH University Medical Center, a state of the art hospital with over 600 beds and training programs in all major specialties. The facilities available to trainees are second to none.

In addition to training at RUSH University Medical Center, you will have the opportunity to rotate through other sites to obtain training in certain disciplines, such as Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital to obtain additional experience in Pediatric Anesthesiology, NorthShore University HealthSystem (Skokie for community based anesthesia practice and Evanston for Cardiac Anesthesiology) and RUSH Oak Brook Surgery Center for Ambulatory and Regional Anesthesiology. These locations were added to ensure that you receive training in all possible settings. We want you to leave our training program with the absolute confidence to handle anything that may come your way.

Members of our faculty are some of the best in their fields. They are a group of diverse, enthusiastic, motivated and specialty-trained faculty committed to your education and mentorship. You will be paired with faculty mentors based on specialty and/or research interests.

The RUSH Anesthesiology Residency Program has been accredited for the past thirty years. In addition, I am proud to tell you that we’ve been granted an unprecedented six continuous five years cycles of accreditation by the ACGME. The program is now in its first ten-year cycle of the new ACGME accreditation system. We are currently among the larger programs nationally with approval for 80 residents from ACGME.

As your Program Director, I am committed to continuing this path to constantly improve the program. The faculty and I understand that this involves resident involvement through feedback and that is why our residents play an integral part in the management and administration of the program. We realize that the residents are our best asset and appreciate all the contributions they have made to the success of the program and the institution.

The program has a well-rounded structured didactic curriculum with the goal to prepare residents for the American Board of Anesthesiology examinations and practical tips on how to become an excellent anesthesiologist who can thrive in any situation.

Our ideal residency candidate is motivated, a proactive learner with the excellent communications skills necessary to work in multidisciplinary teams. These are skills that I believe will contribute to your success in how medicine is practiced in this day and age.

Our focus is to recruit and train the next generation of clinicians, educators, and research leaders. If you are considering a career in academia, RUSH might be the program for you. Trainees with the desire to teach have traditionally performed well in our program.

Lastly, I want you to know that your well-being is essential to us. Your well-being and education go together. The institution and department have set resources in place to ensure that you have all the tools to succeed, even when life gets complicated or overwhelming.

I am confident that we can provide you with an excellent education where you’ll look forward to each day at RUSH. We look forward to meeting you and hope you will strongly consider RUSH in your quest to find the ideal training program.

 

Arvind Rajagopal, MBBS
Residency Program Director
Department of Anesthesia