Experience

Anesthesia at UC Irvine is a great experience. The residents and attending physicians are friendly and they love to teach. There is a supportive learning atmosphere, so don’t be afraid to ask questions. You learn how to assess and manage airways, which are important skills to have as a physician. As a medical student, you get to intubate patients and place IVs and do other procedures depending on the case. What you get out of this rotation is what you put in. Come ready to learn and find out what anesthesia is really about.

Comments from UC Irvine Medical Students

How UCI Impacted my Career Goal as an Anesthesiologist

I truly enjoyed my anesthesia rotation at UCI. Because of the enthusiasm that both the attendings and the residents have in teaching in addition to the daily lectures, my knowledge in anesthesia grew tremendously in a short 4-week period. I was also amazed at how approachable everyone was in the department. The friendliness of the atmosphere definitely relieved any stress I had during the rotation. The positive experience at UCI definitely solidified my choice in becoming an anesthesiologist. I would highly recommend any students interested in anesthesiology to rotate through UCI for not only a highly educational experience but also an unforgettably fun one.

- Jody Chou, MS4

A Terrific Hands-On Experience

My experience rotating through the Anesthesiology department at UCI was amazing! The rotation truly advocates student involvement, and I had the opportunity to actually perform and clinically apply procedures that I only read about in textbooks. Not only did I participate in procedures such as intubations and starting central lines, but I was also exposed to a diversity of cases such as pediatric and cardiac procedures. Furthermore, I had the unique opportunity to care for patients throughout the perioperative continuum, as I performed pre-operative as well as post-operative assessments. With active guidance from the residents and faculty, I really got to experience the field of anesthesia through active, first-hand practice.

The Medical Student Lecture series was also extremely helpful, and made it obvious that student teaching is a top priority at UCI. Where else would you have attendings spend hours teaching medical students outside of the OR in efforts to enhance their understanding? These lectures were great in terms of explaining the fundamentals of anesthesia at a medical student level.

Above all else, the rotation was truly amazing because it emphasizes a tremendously supportive learning atmosphere. All the residents, attendings, and administration are greatly accessible, and they welcome active participation and questions. Undoubtedly, the student-oriented teaching environment and camaraderie of the department facilitates an enthusiastic learning milieu for medical students. Overall, not only was my rotation educational and hands-on, but I honestly had a terrific time working with the residents and attendings at UCI.

- Emily Wang, MS4

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