Undergraduate Program

In conjunction with the Undergraduate Medical Education program, the Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine offers anesthesia electives for 3rd and 4th year clinical clerks (both UofA, and non-UofA Canadian trainees). This clinical elective includes instruction by anesthesiologists in the operating and recovery rooms, and guided reading of relevant literature.

The nature of modern clinical anesthesiology practice often means that we cannot assign a single preceptor to each elective student; however, our staff are friendly and eager to teach so the one-on-one exposure that students do receive, means that staff can often write reference letters based on one or two days experience. Overall, the response from medical students has always been a resounding 'wow' thanks to the wide variety of patient exposures and our highly enthusiastic staff.

Shadowing experiences are also offered to pre-clinical medical students in years 1 and 2. If you would like to shadow for exposure purpose only, we can arrange approximately four hours with one of our residents. If you would like to shadow for credit, we can arrange for two days of shadowing with one of our faculty members.

It is highly recommended that you apply early in order to avoid disappointment as space is very limited and demand is high.