The University of British Columbia offers a 12-month fellowship in regional anesthesia and acute pain medicine based at St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver BC, Canada.  St. Paul’s Hospital features a busy block room associated with the main operating rooms which is staffed daily with a dedicated Anesthesiologist and an Anesthesia Assistant.  In addition, our facility operates a high-volume outpatient operating room area where extremity surgeries are performed solely under regional anesthesia techniques.  As of 2020 we have launched a third block room at our sister community hospital (Mount St. Joseph’s Hospital) where we provide regional anesthesia for predominantly breast surgery (paravertebral blocks and interfascial plane / truncal blocks) as well as a variety of other ambulatory plastic surgery and general surgery cases.  Between our three block areas, approximately 3,500 regional anesthesia techniques are performed annually.

Our practice includes a diverse mix of ultrasound guided upper and lower extremity nerve blocks, continuous perineurial catheter insertions, ambulatory “home” perineural catheter analgesia, truncal blocks, regional anesthesia for cardiac surgery, and neuraxial techniques.  The regional anesthesia fellow will gain ample experience in the performance of these techniques, and progress to the teaching and supervision of anesthesia residents during their regional anesthesia rotations.  Fellows will also participate in acute pain service rounds one week out of six, longitudinally throughout their fellowship year.  The acute pain service week will require on-call availability, but on-call is taken from home with most issues resolved over the phone.  In addition to the clinical experience, fellows will gain considerable experience in block room management, patient flow through the block area, and organization of anesthesia assistants and resident learners in a busy block room environment.

Research or a quality improvement/quality assurance project is mandatory, and fellows are expected to complete a project over the course of their fellowship year.  20% of time (1 day per week) is protected for research and other academic endeavors.  Fellows will provide anesthetic care in the main operating rooms one to two days per week, across all surgical services offered at St. Paul’s Hospital - with the exception of cardiac surgery rooms.

Teaching opportunities are plentiful and fellows will expand their clinical teaching skills over the course of the year.  Fellows are expected to present departmental rounds and lead a regional anesthesia focused journal club discussion once during their fellowship.  There are frequent opportunities to teach regional anesthesia skills to resident learners, and fellows may be invited to instruct ultrasound techniques at the annual Whistler Anesthesiology Summit, depending on the workshops offered that year.

Electronic submission is preferred. Candidates should have completed a Canadian residency and be FRCPC certified or eligible at the time of application. FRCA, ABA, and FANZCA candidates are also eligible to apply.  Please submit a curriculum vitae, letter of intent, and three letters of reference at the email provided below - it is preferred if letters of reference are sent directly from referees, in PDF format.  

Electronic submission is preferred. Candidates should have completed a Canadian residency and be FRCPC certified or eligible at the time of application. FRCA, FACP, and FANZCA candidates may be considered in select cases. Please submit a curriculum vitae, letter of intent, and three letters of reference. Interviews may be conducted in person or over the phone.