Do you have an electronic anesthesia record?

Yes, since November 2010 the department has used the Epic Intraoperative Anesthesia record for all of our cases–which substantially reduces the amount of "secretarial" work done by our providers.

Since May 2009, the entire hospital has been using the electronic medical record (Epic).

Do residents have an educational fund?

Yes. All residents receive $3,000 over four years to use for books, iPads, journal subscriptions, exam fees (USMLE/COMLEX and ABA Board exams), meeting registration fees, review courses, travel expenses for meetings, etc.

The department also rewards residents who perform well on the annual Anesthesia In-Training Examination by providing additional educational funds.

University of Iowa does not permit in-house moonlighting. However, the Department of Anesthesia supplements the educational fund of non-call residents when they stay late (past 6 p.m.) in the OR.

You have a student nurse anesthesia program at Iowa. Don't these nurse anesthesia students compete with residents for cases?

Not really–the SRNA program is currently 36 months long, with 24 months spent in clinical training. Of the 24 months, approximately 18 months (75%) are spent at the University–the other six months are spent at outside hospitals.

SRNAs do not perform OB anesthesia, peripheral nerve blocks, or epidurals at UI Hospitals & Clinics. SRNAs who need cardiac anesthesia experience are paired with the cardiac anesthesia fellow.

Our SRNAs (and our CRNAs) are invaluable partners in our anesthesia care team–they take call, help with late cases, work with faculty to provide breaks, and get residents out for academic activities.

Our CRNAs are a major reason we can provide educational opportunities for residents–and why our residents are treated as more than just a source of clinical manpower.