Clinical Year

• During the clinical year, residents are exposed to specialty areas such as inpatient medicine, emergency medicine, pain management and critical care. Residents learn how anesthesiology is used in various specialties and may opt to pursue further training in one of the specialty areas later on in the residency. Clinical training takes place in hospitals and outpatient facilities under the supervision of anesthesiology faculty.
  
  

Year 1

• After completing the transitional year, anesthesiology residents begin the first year of formal training. The University of Pennsylvania notes on its website that requirements for anesthesiology residents are set by the American Board of Anesthesiology. In the first year of a residency program, residents complete an introductory course that covers topics such as CPR and doctor-patient relationships. First-year residents also spend time in the operating room, learning basic skills under the supervision of attending residents.
  
  

Year 2

• In the second year of anesthesiology training, residents build on the skills learned during year 1. Residents undertake this portion of their learning primarily by participating in rotations in orthopedic or general surgery. They also learn about advanced techniques in anesthesia as applied to obstetrics and cardiology. Residents are exposed to clinical problems that they can expect to face in practice, and the University of Pennsylvania notes that these problems are presented "in a graded fashion," moving from more basic situations to more difficult ones.
  
  

Year 3

• During the final year of an anesthesiology residency, the focus is on learning how to manage the most complex cases and treat critically ill patients. The third year is also where residents decide whether they are interested in a clinical track, which focuses on patient care, or the clinical-scientist track, which combines patient care with research. Residents who select a clinical track can spend their third year in rotation in a specialty area of choice. Those who choose the clinical-scientist track spend at least six months conducting research.