ROTATION: Cardiovascular Anesthesia (CV); VA Medical Center Cardiothoracic Anesthesia  (VACT) (also CA-3 level rotation at VA (VACT), Shands-Jacksonville (SJCV), St. Vincent's Jacksonville (CVSTV)
TYPE: Required or elective 
DURATION: 1 month
Responsible Faculty member:  Greg Janelle, MD (Shands), Felipe Urdaneta, MD (VA Medical Center), Robert Redfern, MD (Shands Jacksonville), Kevin Donovan, MD (St. Vincent's - Jacksonville)

PREREQUISITES: Completion of 6 months of clinical anesthesia

CA-3 Level Rotations at Shands, Shands Jacksonville, Malcolm Randall VA Medical Center, and St. Vincent's - Jacksonville click here

CORE ROTATION INFORMATION

General Goals 

  • Develop knowledge of cardiovascular anesthesia (anesthesia for the patient with cardiovascular disease) and the skills for lifelong continuing education 
  • Develop technical and monitoring skills necessary to cardiovascular anesthesia 
  • Develop judgment and skills, including planning, necessary to deliver cardiovascular anesthesia 
  • Administer anesthesia for a wide variety of cardiothoracic cases and develop interest in further learning 
  • Develop an understanding of the major issues involved in the perioperative care of the 
    child with congenital heart disease 

SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES:  (General Competencies also apply)

PATIENT CARE SKILLS:

  • Assess anesthetic risk and prepare both adults and pediatric patients for cardiac surgery 
  • Be able to apply / insert invasive m onitoring devices including:
    • Arterial catheters
    • Central Venous Catheters (subclavian, internal jugular, external jugular (rarely), femoral (rarely)
    • Pulmonary artery catheters
    • Spinal Drains (for thoracoabdominal aneurysms)
  • Interpret data obtained from these monitoring devices including:
    • Invasive arterial blood pressure monitoring 
    • Pulmonary artery (PA) catheter monitoring 
      • PA waveforms and pulmonary capillary wedge (PCW) tracings
      • Cardiac output by thermodilution and waveforms 
      • Mixed venous oxygen saturation and changes in it 
    • Transesophageal echocardiography  
      • Be able to recognize the four chamber and gastric short-axis views and name all normal structures.
    • Cerebral Oximetry
    • Activated Clotting Time
  • Choose appropriate anesthetic techniques for patients with different types of cardiovascular disease 
  • Understand the steps involved in initiating and discontinuing cardiopulmonary bypass 
  • Work as a team member with fellow anesthesiologists, surgeons, perfusionists, and nurses 
  • Maintain good clinical judgment under stress and act quickly and accurately in diagnosis, interpretation, and treatment of intraoperative problems
  • Be able to place endotracheal tubes to facilitate one-lung ventilation as needed during thoracic surgery including:
    • Double-lumen endotracheal tubes
    • Univent tubes
    • Bronchial blockers
    • Use of fiberoptic bronchoscopy to precisely determine proper placement of these tubes
  • Be able to adjust ventilatory parameters to improve oxygenation during one-lung ventilation
  • Be able to recommend / provide appropriate postoperative pain control for patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgery including:
    • Patient controlled analgesia
    • Thoracic epidural anesthesia / analgesia

MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE:   (See also General Competencies)

  • Cardiovascular physiology (Frank-Starling Law)
    • Effect of preload on cardiovascular function
    • Effect of afterload on cardiovascular function
    • Factors determining inotropic state
    • Cardiac cycle and the function of all four valves
    • Differences in function between the neonatal / pediatric heart and the adult heart
  • Cardiovascular pharmacology
    • Effects of commonly used anesthetic drugs on cardiac function
      • How these effects may lead to a particular choice of drug for a patient with a particular cardiac lesion (e.g. use of halothane for patient with LV outflow obstruction from SAM)
    • Pharmacology of inotropic (catecholamine and non-catecholamine) drugs
    • Pharmacology of vasodilators
    • Pharmacology of calcium channel blockers
    • Pharmacology of beta-blocking agents
  • Cardiovascular anatomy (especially as relates to TEE below)
  • Pulmonary artery catheter
    • Normal and pathologic waveforms
    • Difference between wedge pressure and pulmonary artery diastolic pressure measurement
    • Thermodilution cardiac output - principles of operation and factors causing errors
    • Principles of operation of continuous cardiac output catheters
    • Physiology of mixed venous oxygen saturation - factors determining changes in measured values
  • Basic Concepts and operational principles of transesophageal echocardiography
  • Basic principles of operation of a cardiopulmonary bypass machine and pump oxygenators
  • Pulmonary physiology
    • Relationship between ventilation and perfusion, concepts of shunt and dead-space
    • Interpretation of arterial blood gas measurements.
      • Recognition of metabolic and respiratory acidoses or alkaloses
      • Knowledge of effects of changes in arterial blood gases (pH, pCO2, pO2) on the pulmonary circulation
    • Mechanism for the effects of PEEP / CPAP, complications and side-effects associated with PEEP / CPAP
  • Pulmonary pharmacology
    • Effects of anesthetic drugs and adjunctive drugs (inotropic agents, vasodilators, vasoconstrictors) on ventilation and perfusion

 PRACTICE-BASED LEARNING AND IMPROVEMENT

  • See general competencies section
  • During the cardiovascular rotation, the resident should pay close attention to the following practices and will be expected to make significant improvements in the following areas:
    • Efficiency of case turnover of complex cases requiring invasive monitoring.
    • Efficiency of placing invasive monitoring catheters
    • Organizational skills of tubing and monitoring wires to prevent excessive tangling.
    • Organizational skills of the anesthesia workstation - making needed drugs available quickly without having to search for them.
    • Organization of efficient transport of medically complex patients pre- and postoperatively

    Please discuss these areas with your attending physicians and ask for focused directions in each of these areas.

INTERPERSONAL AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS, PROFESSIONALISM

SYSTEMS-BASED PRACTICE

  • Practice cost-effective, safe anesthesia
  • Be able to provide fast-track anesthesia to appropriate patients
  • Be able to use medical informatics to learn about the various cardiovascular medical conditions in patients presenting for cardiovascular surgery

III. Evaluation to Determine Goal Achievement 

  • You are evaluated every week by all attendings who worked with you. The attending physicians complete a Departmental Resident Evaluation Form, which is reviewed by the Clinical Competence Committee quarterly and by the program director continuously. Your advisor informs you of any problems identified, and serious problems will be discussed with you immediately after they occur. 
  • You will complete a Departmental Rotation Evaluation Form. 
  • The Program Director will evaluate the results of the In-Training Examination for the American Board of Anesthesiologists (ABA) in general and for areas of departmental weakness. Consistent weaknesses may result in adjustment of the above goals. 

IV. Teaching Resources to Accomplish the Objectives 

  • Approximately 450 adult and 150 pediatric cardiopulmonary bypass cases per year at Shands Teaching Hospital and 150 adult cases per year at the Veterans Administration Medical Center requiring the following procedures: 
    • Aortic repairs 
    • Congenital repairs--pediatric 
    • Coronary artery bypass grafting and valves--adults 
    • Electrophysiology 
    • Thoracic surgery 
    • Transplantation--heart and lungs 
  • Text books (on reserve at the Health Center Library) 
    • JA Kaplan: Cardiac Anesthesia 
    • J Benumof: Anesthesia for Thoracic Surgery 
    • C Lake: Pediatric Cardiac Anesthesia
  • Online Classic Articles Library
  • Equipment 
    • Transesophageal echocardiography machines (n = 3) dedicated to operating room use 
    • Computer program for teaching transesophageal anatomy and techniques (TEECHER®) 
  • Faculty :
    • Laurie K. Davies, MD
    • Nicole Dobija, MD
    • Nikolaus Gravenstein, MD 
    • Gregory Janelle, MD (Chief)
    • Emilio B. Lobato, MD  
    • David A. Paulus, MD 
    • Yonggang Peng, MD, PhD
    • Felipe Urdaneta, MD
    • Albrecht Wobst, MD, PhD

Dr. Janelle is the faculty member responsible for the CV and Dr. Urdaneta is responsible for the VACT rotation.

CA-3 Advanced Clinical Track Cardiovascular Rotations

Advanced Clinical Track Rotations in CV Anesthesiology may be performed at:  Shands Hospital at UF, VA Medical Center, Shands at Jacksonville, St. Vincent's Hospital in Jacksonville, and the Texas Heart Institute in Houston, Texas.  The Goals / Competencies are the same for all five rotations.  Rotation Directors are listed below.

Goals: In addition to those outlined for the basic rotation in Cardiothoracic Anesthesia:

  • Expand the knowledge base with regards to cardiovascular and pulmonary physiology and pharmacology and pathophysiology developed during CA-1 and CA-2 years. 
  • Develop clinical judgment to provide anesthetic care for more complex cardiovascular and thoracic procedures. 
  • Develop technical skills necessary to conduct more complex cardiothoracic cases.
  • Gain sufficient experience for independent practice of high-volume cardiovascular anesthesiology in private practice.  

Patient Care Skills and Medical Knowledge: In addition to those outlined for the basic rotation in Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology:

  • Be able to complete a thorough preoperative evaluation for all cardiothoracic patients, 
    recognizing impact of their disease states on perioperative management. For routine cardiothoracic procedures, accomplish preoperative preparation and anesthetic planning independently.  For complex procedures, preoperative preparation and planning will occur with assistance from the attending anesthesiologist as needed and as appropriate.
  • Plan and carry out anesthetics for routine cardiothoracic procedures with minimal assistance from the attending physician. 
  • Perform anesthetics for complex cardiothoracic procedures with as needed assistance from the attending anesthesiologist. 
  • Perform all invasive monitoring techniques and interpret information obtained reliably with minimal assistance from the attending anesthesiologist. 
  • Develop beyond a basic understanding of transesophageal echocardiography, be able to insert the probe.  Be able to obtain and interpret 4-chamber and short-axis views, recognize most common pathology including valvular lesions and wall motion abnormalities.  Be aware of and able to discuss documented advantages and disadvantages of the use of TEE monitoring during cardiothoracic procedures. 

OPERATIONAL DETAILS:  When rotating at St. Vincent's, please observe the following policy with respect to getting cases started in the morning:  You are expected to arrive each morning at 0630 every day except Thursday where the expectation is 0730.  This will give you time to visit your postoperative patients, write a note, set up your room and have your patient in the operating room in a timely fashion. 

Evaluation:  As described in the primary cardiothoracic rotation.  However, in addition, your ability to practice cardiothoracic anesthesia as an independent consultant anesthesiologist will be assessed.

Resources: As described in basic Cardiothoracic Rotation

Responsible Faculty:

  • Shands at UF:  Dr. Janelle
  • Gainesville VA Medical Center:  Dr. Urdaneta
  • Shands at Jacksonville:  Dr. Redfern
  • St. Vincent's Hospital in Jacksonville:  Dr. Kevin Donovan

RETURN TO INDEX FOR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Revised 7/14/06