Message from the Program Director

Irwin GratzThank you for your interest in our Anesthesiology Residency Program. Our program is a fully accredited, integrated, four-year program. We are a close department that prides itself on providing a supportive atmosphere conducive to learning in a variety of clinical and didactic settings. With a focus on professionalism, collaboration, and teamwork, our residents develop into physicians who are prepared for leadership roles in the academic and private practice setting.

Cooper University Health Care is a Level I Trauma Center located in Camden, New Jersey. Recent expansions to the health system include MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper, a state of the art cancer center.

Faculty achievements include publications, research accomplishments, and regional and national speaking engagements. Year after year our faculty is represented at the American Society of Anesthesiologists and the New Jersey Society of Anesthesiologists Annual meetings. We have a diverse faculty from various educational backgrounds and experience in the private practice sector.

At Cooper, we place patient and family-centered care above all else. Our physicians are part of a multi-disciplinary group practice caring for patients with complex illnesses, combining their expertise to determine the most effective treatments. In addition to academic achievements, our faculty is clinically strong, providing the residency group with outstanding instruction in TEE, ultrasound guided regional anesthesia, leading edge critical care experience, simulation, and a top-level chronic pain experience.

Over the past several years, we have been successful in filling our residency with exceptional candidates. We currently train four residents per year, and our residents have achieved the incredible feat of a 97% board pass rate. Residents can choose to be involved in research and are offered the opportunity to publish. Approximately 50% of our residents go onto fellowship positions.

At Cooper, we pay strict attention to the ACGME defined work hours and closely monitor our resident duty hours. The average hours worked by residents per week are CBY: 51, CA1: 52, CA2: 52, and CA3: 52.5.

These are just a few of the highlights of our program that I hope you will consider as you make your decision.

Irwin Gratz, DO
Residency Program Director
Professor of Anesthesiology
Gratz-Irwin@CooperHealth.edu