Education Program

From the Director of Education...

Hello and Welcome!

Anesthesiology is an exciting and rewarding specialty of medicine. Success in our specialty requires outstanding training in the science and art of anesthesiology. The Department of Anesthesiology and Peri-Operative Medicine at OHSU is committed to providing exceptional resident training in a welcoming scholarly environment. Our faculty are dedicated to teaching and clinical excellence, providing our residents the foundation for life long learning. We have the benefit of practicing in one of the most beautiful areas of the country, and being affiliated with a growing, dynamic medical center. OHSU is truly a great place to train and work.

OHSU is one of the oldest departments of anesthesiology in the west. Dr. Frederick Haugen founded our department in 1948. Dr. Haugen trained under the great Dr. E.A. Rovenstine at Bellevue Hospital in New York. Dr. Haugen developed our department into one of the premier anesthesiology training programs in the nation. Dr. Norman Bergman followed him as Chair in 1971. Dr. Bergman served for eleven years and made OHSU an internationally known center in pulmonary physiology research. In addition, he oversaw the continued growth of the department and the expansion of the residency program. In 1982, Dr. Wendell Stevens assumed the Chair after serving as Chair at the University of Iowa. Dr. Stevens was a gifted teacher and researcher, and served as the president of the American Board of Anesthesiology during his tenure as chairman. In 1993, Dr. Harry Kingston became chairman and led the department through a very exciting period of growth in both the department and the university. During his tenure, we opened a separate children’s hospital, eye hospital, freestanding ambulatory surgery center, and became a leader in quality improvement and in medical economics. In 2002, Dr. Jeffery Kirsch assumed the chair of the newly named Department of Anesthesiology and Peri-Operative Medicine. Dr. Kirsch is an internationally recognized researcher, teacher, and clinician. He has been successful in recruiting researchers and academic faculty to OHSU. We are one of the top anesthesiology research departments in the nation, and can provide our residents access to fully staffed, productive, research laboratories as part of their education. Prior to joining OHSU, Dr. Kirsch served as the Vice Chair of Training and Education in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at Johns Hopkins University for more than 15 years. He brings this understanding and love for education to our department. Dr. Kirsch has placed outstanding patient care and excellence in education at the forefront of our department’s mission. We have a dedicated education support team, which includes our full time faculty level professional educator, an Education Manager, a Medical Student Education Director, as well as myself, the Director of Education. We share a suite of offices in our main hospital and welcome you to visit us when in Portland.

OHSU provides an outstanding environment for our residents and fellows. We provide outstanding patient care and education in a variety of locations. We have a large tertiary care adult surgical center in our main university hospital. In addition, we provide care in a freestanding adult ambulatory surgery center, a separate eye hospital, as well as a Comprehensive Pain Center. We are fortunate to have one of the finest children’s hospitals in the nation, the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. Within this facility, we provide family centered pediatric care and outstanding resident and fellow education. We also have a large regional referral center for obstetric care, as well as a nationally known women’s health center. Our regional anesthesia program and acute pain services are among the best in the nation. Our residents become superbly trained in peripheral nerve blocks, and modern methods of multimodal pain management. We have over 70 ICU beds in our adult ICUs, with full clinical, research and educational participation by critical care faculty members in Anesthesiology and Peri-Operative Medicine. In addition we have an outstanding VA Medical Center on our campus that gives our residents and students excellent teaching and experience with challenging adult cases. The VAMC is particularly strong in the area of cardiac and vascular anesthesia. We have recently opened a simulation center at OHSU whose medical director is a member of our department. This center provides state of the art simulation training and evaluation in operating room anesthesia, as well as critical care and resuscitation education.

Our program is dedicated to producing outstanding consultant anesthesiologists. We are looking for students and residents interested in obtaining an outstanding medical education in a nurturing academic environment. Our graduates have been very successful in obtaining employment in competitive practices in both private and academic environments. In addition, many of our residents have chosen fellowships in cardiac, critical care, pain management and pediatric anesthesia. We are proud of our department and our graduates. OHSU is truly a great place to work, learn and grow.

Christopher Swide, MD
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Peri-Operative Medicine
Director of Education