WELCOME to wonderful and dynamic Seattle from your UW Anesthesia Chief Residents!
Choosing a residency program is a very exciting and momentous time. As the Chief Residents, we want to highlight why we love the University of Washington Department of Anesthesiology!
The UW Anesthesia Training Program:
Residency is a time of personal and professional growth, and it is important to choose a program that is the right fit for you. We believe our combination of excellent clinical training, faculty committed to resident education, and robust didactics will provide you with everything you need to excel wherever you go after residency. Historically our graduates have been very successful at either matching into fellowship programs of their choice, or procuring jobs at academic medical centers or private groups.
Clinical Training
Your anesthesiology training at UW will provide a strong clinical foundation for anything you may face coming out of residency. Our system provides specialty care for 5 states or the WWAMI region (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho), covering almost 25% of the total US landmass. With this expansive geographic catchment region, the surgical complexity and diversity of your training experience are unparalleled. At Harborview Medical Center, a Level 1 trauma center, your experience may include everything from management of bear maulings to gunshot victims, and everything in between. At the University of Washington Medical Center, you will gain in-depth experience in the “big cases” unique to a quaternary care center including complex general surgery, oncologic surgery, cardiac surgery, transplant surgery, neurosurgery, and obstetrics. Even early on as a CA-1 you will have ample opportunities to do complex cases, such as liver transplants and craniotomies. At Seattle Children’s Hospital, a leading pediatric hospital in the country, you will experience caring for complex syndromic pediatric patients undergoing specialized surgery in addition to bread & butter cases with a diverse faculty who excel in resident education. The VA Puget Sound provides a unique opportunity to care for a vulnerable population with rotations in acute & chronic pain, pre-op clinic, regional anesthesia, and general operating rooms.
Education
Our education office and program directors have concentrated heavily on creating a robust formal didactic program at UW. Every 3 weeks on Wednesdays, each class receives a protected day away from clinical duties for problem-based learning discussions and simulation sessions. This is not including the excellent formal teaching from our subspecialty rotations. We also receive department-funded question bank subscriptions, an academic fund for textbook purchases, and unrestricted access to the huge UW Library database for scientific journals and medical texts.
Mentorship
Mentorship is critically important to success in residency. This is especially true in a large department. From days after you match, you will join your peers in the F.A.M. — the “Fantastic Anesthesia Mentorship” program! In this peer mentoring program, enthusiastic and experienced senior residents are grouped with junior residents to provide guidance during their residency journeys! Matches are made based on your specific goals and preferences to ensure a good fit. In addition to peer mentors, you will choose a formal faculty advisor at the start of your CA1 year, and will also have many opportunities to identify additional advisors and mentors based on your interests and goals.
Other Opportunities
Our program rewards self-starters who can avail of the rich opportunities in the institution, hospitals, and city. As a result, there are several different pathways that residents have taken in our program. We have an excellent track record of jobs and fellowship placement, including a wide variety of fellowship opportunities at our own institution. If you are interested in pursuing research, there are extensive opportunities including a formal track through the Bonica Scholars Program. Simulation education and research is a big opportunity with multiple full-scale simulation centers at UW, Harborview, and Seattle Children’s Hospital. UW has robust multidisciplinary global health programs, and a global health leadership course is available during the CA-2 year. We have a variety of moonlighting experiences available to supplement salary if you wish, where residents are able to make extra pay for extra duty (EPED). Needless to say, if you have an interest or idea, you will find someone here who can support you with resources and guidance.
Wellness and Resiliency:
Resident well-being is a priority at UW. The department-funded Wellness Committee consists of an awesome group of residents from all years who organize social gatherings throughout the year. They also helped in the creation of “Wellness Rooms” at our major sites where residents share laughter and engaging conversations during breaks at work. We also have a Peer Support Program that provides a safe environment for confidential discussions to occur. It is available to all residents at any time. They assist residents with anything they need: from support following an emotionally challenging case to advice for planning fellowships and careers.
Outside of the hospital, Seattle is a culturally diverse city surrounded by beautiful water and breathtaking snow-capped mountains. The city offers an endless array of nature activities: hiking, camping, rock climbing, skiing/snowboarding, sailing, kayaking, surfing, and more. Seattle is also a rapidly growing city, with a robust culinary, coffee and micro-brew scene. We are well-known for our music, but also have a number of professional sports teams including baseball, football, soccer, and hockey! Sea-Tac is a bustling international airport offering opportunities to travel abroad during vacations, and possible 2-week vacation blocks allow international adventures.
Diversity:
At UW, we are committed to recruiting a diverse group of residents. We believe that we are strongest when we have colleagues from different racial, ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds and when we are supporting women and LGBTQ+ residents in anesthesia. Our department has its own Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council whose mission is to promote an inclusive and equitable working environment for the advancement of faculty, staff, and trainees. At the resident level, the recently founded Diversity Committee partners closely with program leadership to create and improve a culture of diversity and inclusion within our own training program. We have the unique opportunity to care for a diverse set of patients — both coming from across the WWAMI region, Seattle’s refugee population, and different immigrant communities locally. Diversity among physicians makes us better providers and ultimately leads to better patient care.
Resident Benefits:
You may have questions or concerns about UW Anesthesia given the press regarding the union negotiations. We would love to provide our Chief Resident perspective. The Resident and Fellow Physician Union – Northwest (formerly known as UWHA) is an asset to our residency. In many programs, the resident perspective may be subject to whims and changes over time. This is not the case at UW. The union provides constant advocacy of the resident perspective and allows for benefits that extend far beyond what any individual department could negotiate. Check out the benefits here from childcare to transportation to salary stipends!
Perspectives on UW Anesthesia:
Each of us has forged our own path through this program. That is the beauty of our program. Whether you are interested in pursuing academic medicine, private practice, or a non-traditional path, you will be supported in this department. Residents who are motivated, work as a team player, and thrive on opportunity will excel in our program.
Meet the Chiefs:
Andrew Eitel
Hi everyone! I am the Academic chief resident. I am originally from Virginia and began my life as a concert pianist, completing my undergraduate degree at The Juilliard School, before falling in love with medicine during a summer job at a medical clinic. I completed my medical training at the University of Colorado, spent a few years as a general surgery resident, and a subsequent two years as a T32 research fellow investigating trauma-induced coagulopathy, before switching sides of the operative drapes and coming to UW on a combined anesthesiology and critical care track.
I chose UW for the breadth of experience it offers, working with a diverse patient population, as well as its commitment to research and excellent fellowship opportunities. Training as an anesthesia resident at UW, you will encounter an enormous range of pathologies, and encounter multiple practice environments through collaboration with the VA, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Harborview, and UW Montlake. We offer rich experiences in trauma, transplant, burns, high risk OB, CT, Peds, and pain management. You will treat patients who are high acuity, from diverse backgrounds, and from all over the WWAMI region. By the time you are an attending, you will be well prepared to handle any case.
Seattle is a beautiful place to train. You will never run out of outdoor adventures, and the food scene is great as well.
As academic chief, I work closely with our leadership team on our didactic programs, facilitate residents’ involvement in research, grand rounds, and recruitment, and work on projects that promote resident wellness.
If you have any questions about our program and all that it has to offer, please feel free to send me an email: aeitel@uw.edu.
Mia McKinstry
Hello future anesthesiologists!!! Thank you for taking a look at our fantastic program here at the University of Washington Medical Center.
I am the administrative chief resident for Seattle Children’s Hospital and the VA Puget Sound Medical Center. I grew up in Pismo Beach, CA, then moved over to New York City for undergrad and med school and ended up spending 10 years there. Super excited to now have a few years of Seattle under my belt too!
I chose to come to UW/ Seattle because of the excellent combination of clinical training and a beautiful area to live in. I truly do not think you can get a greater breadth of high-quality clinical training at any other program. I thought Bellevue Hospital in NYC was crazy but ladies and gents here we have Harborview Medical Center! In all seriousness, the combination of medically complex cases at UW and the VA, the trauma at Harborview, and a top children’s hospital will leave you wanting for nothing.
And what a plus to train in one of the most naturally gorgeous areas in the country. My breath continues to get taken away as I explore more and more of the Pacific Northwest. I am by no means an ultra-outdoorsy person though, and still find plenty do in Seattle such as the great food and cocktail scene.
A wonderful plus to coming here has been the people. I have so loved getting to know all my co-residents, attending physicians, anesthesia techs, CRNAs, and other OR/ surgical staff! I truly enjoy my days at work even though we all know resident life can be tough.
Look forward to meeting you!
Millicent Olawale
Hi everyone! I’m Millicent, the administrative chief for University of Washington Montlake Hospital. I was born and raised in San Francisco, California but have also had the pleasure of living in some other amazing cities across the country since then. I’ve lived in New York City where I was an undergrad at Columbia University and in New Orleans where I did my medical school training at Tulane University School of Medicine.
I chose UW anesthesia for my training for three main reasons. First, the comprehensive clinical experience that we receive here is second to none. The size of the area that UW serves (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) ensures that we see a variety of complex patient presentations and gain ample experience with trauma, transplants, burns, high risk obstetrics, pediatrics and pain management which gives me the confidence that when I graduate, I will be well prepared to practice anywhere. Second, I wanted to train at a big program with lots of resources and fellow trainees. At 28 residents a year, we are one of the largest Anesthesiology Residency programs in the country. Third, our location is amazing. It has been great seeing all the amazing things that other parts of the country offer but I am truly happy to be back on the west coast and in Seattle now for my anesthesia training. I continue to be amazed at how objectively beautiful Seattle and the surroundings area are, especially in the spring and summer.
I am so proud of my program and honored to serve as one of its chief residents. Great things are happening here, and we would love for you to be a part of it. If you are considering a career as an anesthesiologist, I highly encourage you to come check us out in Seattle!
Phoebe Tham
Hello! I’m Phoebe, the administrative chief resident for Harborview Medical Center! I was born and raised in Singapore, finished middle and high school in Vancouver, B.C, Canada and eventually moved to Seattle for undergrad at UW. I worked in a pain practice for a few years before going across the state to attend medical school at WSU. And, now I’m back!
Other than getting to move home, attend UW football games, and watch all the sports that Seattle has to offer, I knew doing residency at UW was going to give me as comprehensive of a clinical experience as I could find. We take care of medically complex cases including transplant and cardiac experiences at UWMC, major trauma cases at Harborview (my personal favorite) and a wide variety of cases at Seattle Children’s. We work with an incredible group of attendings, CRNAs, admin staff and anesthesia techs that I learn so much from and make work fun.
Seattle is an incredible city. Even if you’re like me and don’t dream of going hiking, skiing or being super outdoorsy at every possible opportunity, there is truly something for everyone. The food scene is incredible, there are more breweries than I can count, more than 130 wine tasting rooms less than 30 minutes away, and we have all the major sports with teams that unfortunately aren’t very good right now but still a lot of fun. The winter rain is real, but the spring, summer and fall more than make up for the rain.
I hope you consider joining us and experience all that UW and Seattle has to offer. Go Dawgs!