Learn more about our Pediatric Anesthesia Fellowship at The Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO).

Program Overview

The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario was opened to the public in 1974 and is a tertiary care pediatric centre affiliated with the University of Ottawa. It is a full service institution that receives approximately 60, 000 emergency visits per year. The hospital is the exclusive centre for pediatric care in the National Capital and surrounding region, serving a population of approximately 1 million people. It also caters to out-of-province patients including Manitoba, Quebec, Nunavut, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and PEI.

The Department consists of 18 fully certified anesthesiologists and support staff consisting of 6 Anesthesia Assistants. We are responsible for approximately 8,000 surgical cases per year. We practice in all areas of anesthesia including congenital cardiac with the exception of transplant surgery and major craniofacial reconstruction. Out of OR anesthesia responsibilities include, providing sedation for therapeutic and diagnostic procedures, managing an acute pain service & regional anesthesia, and evaluating patients in our perioperative assessment clinic. Anesthesia residents affiliated with the University of Ottawa and Queen’s University regularly rotate through the Department.

During this twelve month period, the Fellow will be primarily expected to do clinical pediatric anesthesia as a Fellow working under the supervision of our staff for both elective and emergency cases. This supervision is modified by the magnitude of the clinical situation, experience and qualifications of the Fellow. He/she will also be expected to participate in anesthesia activities outside the Operating Room including anesthesia being provided for oncology and radiological procedures. He/she will also take part in the Preoperative Anesthesia Assessment Clinic.

The remainder of the Fellowship year is devoted to other areas beyond normal clinical anesthesia. This includes research and other academic pursuits and on occasion Fellows may spend time in the Neonatal ICU, the Pediatric ICU or other areas within the hospital that have a particular interest to a pediatric anesthesiologist. These special areas of training can be arranged after adequate notice has been provided to us.

To repeat, our Department is actively involved in research. This research includes simulation based education research and combined clinical/bench research into the area of cerebral protection during global hypoxic events, regional anesthesia and postoperative pain management. Participation in this research is encouraged. Fellows may also become actively involved by preparing a research protocol and hopefully bringing the project to completion during their fellowship year.

"I highly recommend the pediatric anesthesia fellowship at the University of Ottawa. I was given a broad clinical exposure, specialty leading academic mentorship as well as many opportunities for professional advancement, all within a supportive and enjoyable environment. The fellowship certainly prepared me well for a future career in pediatric anesthesia."  Dr. Sarah Leir, previous fellow, now staff.

About Ottawa

Ottawa is the nation’s capital and is a city of approximately 1 million people. It offers a cosmopolitan life-style unusual in a city of its size. Cultural sites include the National Art Centre, whose stage plays host to drama, ballet, music and more all year round, the National Gallery of Canada, which houses the world’s largest collection of Canadian art as well as pieces from around the world, and the Canadian Museum of Civilization which is one of the most technically sophisticated museums in the world. Other museums focus on nature, military history, aviation, science and technology and agriculture. The Byward Market, located in the center of the city allows one to shop for fresh produce, handmade crafts and the numerous cafes and restaurants allow you to relax over a cappuccino or a gourmet meal. There are numerous nightclubs that allow you to enjoy live music.

The National Capital Region also boasts dozens of hiking trails, golf courses, indoor pools, sports clubs and more than 260 parks. In the summer, boaters take to the Ottawa & Rideau Rivers
and nearby lakes and cyclists and joggers enjoy the regions 140 km of scenic recreational pathways. In the winter, a 7.6 km stretch of the Rideau Canal becomes the world’s longest skating rink. Ski resorts and nordic spas in the Gatineau Hills are an easy half hour drive from downtown.

The city also supports several professional and semi-professional teams including the Ottawa Senators of the NHL, Ottawa Redblacks of CFL, Ottawa BlackJacks professional basketball league, Ottawa 67’s, our Junior Hockey League in Ontario and Ottawa Fury football club. Ottawa hosts numerous summer festivals including Canada Day celebrations, the Ottawa Jazz, Blues, Electronic Dance, Pride and , and during the winter, Winterlude, a 10-day winter festival which attracts thousands of revelers to ice playgrounds and snow sculpture contests.

For children there are numerous public, separate, and private schools which offer specialized programmes like French emersion and performing arts training and there are 31 public libraries.

Rideau Canal

Goals and Objectives

Clinical Education Objectives:

  • To learn the differences of importance to the anesthesiologist between the neonate, the child and the adult in terms of anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, and the psychological impact of hospitalization.

  • To appreciate the Preoperative Assessment of children, to learn how to assess and evaluate uncommon syndromes and problems in children and develop criteria for accepting children for anesthesia.

  • To familiarize the Fellow with anesthesia techniques and equipment for the commoner pediatric surgical procedures and out-of-OR diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

  • To learn the management of children in the postoperative period.

  • To learn and become proficient in the diagnoses and management of acute airway problems in children.

  • To learn CPR appropriate to children.

  • To be aware of the types of blood products available and the appropriate administration of them to children.

  • To be involved in acute pain management and regional anesthesia in the perioperative period.

  • To become familiar with the perioperative management of children with common pediatric cardiovascular anomalies. Further exposure will be determined by the Fellow’s own initiative.

  • To be able to function independently both in the OR and “on call” at the level of a Pediatric Anesthesia consultant.

Academic Education Objectives

  • To expose/involve the Fellow in complications/morbidity/mortality reviews.

  • To involve the Fellow in preparation and presentations of topics for departmental rounds.

  • To learn an appreciation of Pediatric Anesthesia literature as contained in textbooks, journals, etc. and be able to critically assess them.

  • To provide the Fellow the opportunity to take part in research activities in the Department as well as initiating his/her own investigations.

  • To attend a Core Lecture Series covering common pediatric problems, syndromes, complex medical comorbities and the perioperative management of congenital heart lesions

Application

All Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine (DAPM) fellowships require application submission through UO Campus. Documents must be uploaded by April 1st for a start date of the following July. Please note that applications received by mail, email or fax are no longer accepted.

For more details about application requirements, please click our Fellowship Application Instructions dropdown on the previous page.

Contact Us

Dr. Darlene Weekes, Fellowship Coordinator
Jennifer Borup, Fellowship Administrative Coordinator
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine,
Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario,
401 Smyth Road,
Ottawa, ON
K1H 8L1 Canada
Fax: 613-738-4815
Email: [email protected]
[email protected]
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