Every month, fellows from across subspecialties in the Montefiore Einstein Department of Anesthesiology come together to learn about career components of being an anesthesiologist outside the operating room. Known as the Fellows’ College, the program consists of monthly workshops that focus on non-clinical aspects of being a physician such as negotiating employment contracts, conflict resolution, and research best practices.

Restructured in 2014 by Department of Anesthesiology Vice Chair of Professional Affairs Dr. Jonathan Leff, the series of workshops incorporate lectures from veteran and junior faculty members as well as experts outside Montefiore. These experts include risk management attorneys and healthcare business professionals to discuss topics such as physician employment agreements and the financial aspects of an anesthesiology practice.

“We know our fellows are going to come out of fellowship well-trained and have the clinical skills to succeed,” Dr. Leff said. “But with the Fellows’ College, we thought there was a need to highlight other aspects of being an anesthesiologist that are important for somebody starting in their first job as an attending. For a physician, things like elevator pitches, employment agreements, and the business of anesthesiology are not so intuitive, so we wanted to fill that gap.”

In a recent Fellows’ College workshop titled, “Handling the Oral Board Exam... Should I be Scared?” Attending Anesthesiologist Dr. Jay Im spoke to the fellows about his experience taking the American Board of Anesthesiology’s Standardized Oral Examination (SOE). Dr. Im, a member of the Cardiothoracic Anesthesia and Obstetric Anesthesia divisions and Assistant Director of the Anesthesiology Residency Program, said he wanted to share his experience with the oral boards, which he found initially challenging, so the fellows could learn from his mistakes and be better prepared. A graduate of both the Montefiore Einstein Anesthesiology Residency Program and the Adult Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Fellowship Program, Dr. Im also has the unique perspective of being part of one of the earlier classes of fellows that participated in the Fellows’ College.

“From personal experience, I learned there is a certain way of studying for the oral boards. You don't have to spend a lot of money taking the prep course as long as you know how to prepare for the test,” Dr. Im explained, “I approach teaching this workshop not only as an attending with educational responsibility toward trainees, but also as a colleague and friend who wants to see them pass this exam.”

Department of Anesthesiology Vice Chair of Education Dr. Ramachandran said that holding these workshops on topics that transcend subspecialties is important not only for trainees to learn about these issues but for the fellows across the department to come together and share their insights with one another. Because the fellows often work in different locations within Montefiore Health System and on different cases, the Fellows’ College aims to break down these silos, she said. She added that it would have been helpful to have these workshops when she was a trainee at Montefiore Einstein nearly two decades ago.

"When I was a resident or fellow, I didn't know anything about the finances of an anesthesiology practice or negotiating a contract,” Dr. Ramachandran said. “These were things that were missing, but I don’t think something like the Fellows’ College was even thought of at that time.”

The workshops are revised each year based on fellows’ feedback as well as different developments within anesthesiology and medicine. For several years, Dr. Jerry Chao, Attending Pediatric Anesthesiologist and Director of the Pediatric Anesthesiology Fellowship Program, has led workshops on understanding current literature in anesthesiology. The workshop – “Are My Practices Supported by the Literature?” – serves as a forum for trainees and faculty to critically assess current research papers and discuss their impact on clinical practice.

“Keeping up with the advances in the field and appraising new literature in anesthesiology and the subspecialties is a lifelong skill that we’re continually honing,” Dr. Chao explained. “The emphasis for this workshop is that we’re all learning from each other and from the diversity and breadth of our practices and subspecialities."

Each year, Dr. Leff leads a Fellows’ College book club to discuss important elements within professional affairs such as effective communication and leadership. This year, the fellows are reading Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High. In previous years, Dr. Leff has led the book club discussion after the fellows compete in an escape room challenge – part of the workshop titled, “Is There Any Escape from This Fellowship?”

"Anesthesiology is thought to be an individualistic practice, but we want to make sure our fellows see themselves as part of a larger team,” Dr. Leff said. “There are times when you need people from multiple subspecialties on a case, and having this experience is going to make our fellows an asset to wherever they decide to go after fellowship. We want to make sure that they take careers over jobs.”

Dr. Miles Bogner, one of the Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Fellows, said participating in the Fellows’ College has been helpful during his fellowship year and provides additional insights as he prepares for his first attending position. Dr. Bogner will be staying at Montefiore Einstein as an attending anesthesiologist after completing fellowship this summer.

“Not only is it fun taking part in the team building exercises, but our attendings have given us great advice about how to approach things such as the oral boards,” he said.