Overview of Clinical Years
Clinical Base Year (PGY-1)
The Clinical Base Year (CBY) fulfills ACGME specialty-specific requirements while directly preparing residents for anesthesiology training. PGY-1 residents rotate through Emergency Medicine, ENT, Internal Medicine, Surgery, Critical Care, Pain Medicine, Ultrasound, Interventional Pulmonology, Radiology, and Anesthesiology — with the anesthesiology rotation scheduled last so the class transitions together into CA-1 on July 1.
The Clinical Base Year is thoughtfully designed to provide experiences directly relevant to anesthesiology and perioperative medicine while fulfilling specialty-specific ACGME requirements. This foundational year prepares residents for the three subsequent years of clinical anesthesiology training.
Our PGY-1 residents complete 13 4-week rotations emphasizing perioperative care. These diverse experiences help residents develop essential clinical skills and begin applying them to their emerging practice as anesthesiologists.
The final rotation of the PGY-1 year is Anesthesiology, allowing the entire class to engage in a 4-week pre-orientation rotation in the OR to ensure that residents are well prepared to begin their clinical anesthesiology training on July 1.
SAMPLE SCHEDULE:
Rotation #1 -- Internal Medicine
Rotation #2 -- Thoracic Surgery
Rotation #3 -- General Surgery
Rotation #4 -- Internal Medicine
Rotation #5 -- ENT
Rotation #6 -- Emergency Medicine
Rotation #7 -- ICU
Rotation #8 -- Internal Medicine
Rotation #9 -- Radiology
Rotation #10 -- Interventional Pulmonary
Rotation #11 -- Pain Medicine
Rotation #12 -- EM Ultrasound
Rotation #13 -- Anesthesiology
CA-1 Year Overview
Residents begin with a two-month OR orientation, paired one-to-one with attendings and senior residents for close supervision. They have no call responsibilities during this period as they build comfort and confidence in the OR. The first month includes a focused intraoperative curriculum plus daily didactics on anesthesiology fundamentals.
CA-1 residents rotate across general surgery, orthopedics, ambulatory surgery, acute pain medicine, trauma, the preop clinic, PACU, OB, and ICU, with progressively increasing autonomy.
Didactics & Board Prep: Our lecture series emphasizes spaced repetition with focus on one subspecialty every month. Within the month, residents will engage with a topic with traditional didactic lectures, question focused board review, a case-review series, and journal club. Also included throughout the year are POCUS and trauma modules, task-based training (airway management and other core skills) in our simulation center, and high-fidelity simulation scenarios that teach crisis resource management. Residents get a two-week study block ahead of the ABA BASIC Exam, supported by faculty lectures, the Learnly program, and a True Learn question-bank subscription for all residents. The program has a 100% BASIC exam pass rate.
CA-2 Year Overview
Our CA-2 residents take the next step in training by focusing on subspecialties within Anesthesiology— pediatric, neuro, and cardiothoracic anesthesiology, critical care, obstetric anesthesiology, non-operating room anesthesia (NORA), and acute/chronic pain medicine — building clinical judgment and independence. Residents also rotate through Cooper's ambulatory centers for outpatient-focused care.
CA-2s also become more active participants in the didactic curriculum. Education continues with Tuesday Grand Rounds, subspecialty conferences, board review, journal club, simulation, and mock orals, with daily mobile-based competency feedback.
CA-2 is also when residents begin exploring fellowship interests, mentors, and scholarly activity, with individualized guidance on application timelines.
CA-3 Year Overview
CA-3 residents return to the general OR as seniors, managing increasingly complex cases with greater autonomy — trauma and difficult airway management, regional anesthesia, neuroanesthesia, thoracic/vascular anesthesia, critical care, TEE, and pediatric anesthesia at CHOP. Electives allow further focus in regional anesthesia, critical care, echocardiography, OB, pediatric anesthesia, or research.
Residents take on OR leadership, junior-resident teaching, and multidisciplinary decision-making, with continued formative feedback. By graduation, residents are expected to function independently across the full scope of anesthesiology practice.