Welcome
Welcome to the Department of Anesthesia at University of Iowa Health Care. We appreciate your interest in our residency program!
Our four-year, ACGME-accredited residency is rooted in a legacy of clinical excellence and innovative education. Situated within a bustling tertiary care center in a vibrant university town, our program offers unparalleled exposure to a diverse and complex patient population. Graduates emerge thoroughly equipped to excel in private practice, academic medicine, or advanced fellowship training across all anesthesia subspecialties.
The internship year is thoughtfully structured to provide broad clinical experience through rotations in anesthesia, internal medicine, surgery, critical care, pediatrics, palliative care, and emergency medicine. Complementing these are non-clinical rotations focused on patient safety, quality improvement, and advanced clinical medicine. This foundational year ensures residents enter the subsequent clinical anesthesia training with confidence and competence.
Throughout the three Clinical Anesthesia years, trainees engage in immersive patient care supported by a rigorous curriculum of didactics, including interactive lectures, high-fidelity simulations, skill workshops, case-based discussions, journal clubs, and morbidity and mortality conferences. Our program is committed to fostering clinical mastery, critical thinking, and ethical leadership. We are proud that our alumni consistently assume prominent roles as innovators and leaders within their fields, both regionally and nationally.
We invite you to explore the unique opportunities our program offers and consider joining a community dedicated to advancing the art and science of anesthesiology.
Explore the program
At the University of Iowa, our residency program is designed to immerse you in a rigorous yet supportive environment that balances intensive clinical training with a vibrant resident experience. You will rotate through a wide variety of settings—ranging from high-acuity tertiary care to specialized anesthesia services—ensuring comprehensive exposure and skill development. Life as a resident here is enriched by a collaborative culture that emphasizes wellness, mentorship, and professional growth. Coupled with the unique advantages of Iowa City’s welcoming community and excellent quality of life, our program offers more than training—it provides a place where you can thrive both personally and professionally. Explore the full scope of rotations, resident activities, and the reasons why so many choose Iowa as the foundation for their anesthesiology career.
Core Competencies
Our department is home to over 80 faculty members who bring deep expertise across a wide range of anesthesiology subspecialties, including pediatric, regional, transplant, obstetric, and cardiac anesthesia. These educators are not only leaders in their fields but are also deeply invested in resident development. Their teaching is continuously evaluated by learners, ensuring accountability and a consistently high standard of instruction. The faculty’s unwavering commitment is to guide residents in developing advanced clinical judgment, technical excellence, and professional confidence.
We are dedicated to providing a well-balanced and intellectually rigorous training experience that prepares residents to become exceptional perioperative physicians. With a curriculum that blends high-volume clinical exposure, thoughtful mentorship, and academic enrichment, our program shapes physicians who are both skilled and adaptable. The University of Iowa offers an ideal environment for training—supportive, challenging, and collaborative—while Iowa City provides a vibrant, welcoming community that enhances both personal and professional life.
Regional anesthesia
Our department performs more than 2,700 regional anesthetics per year; about 25% of our cases receive some type of regional anesthesia. Our residents are extremely comfortable with both neuraxial techniques and upper and lower extremity nerve blocks. Ultrasound machines are available throughout the clinical areas where regional anesthesia is practiced, and the number of blocks performed by our residents is usually 2-3 times greater than the minimum required by the ACGME Residency Review Committee.
Pediatric anesthesia
More than 25% of our anesthetics involve children (age <18), and the Stead Family Children's Hospital, which opened in 2017, performs almost 75% of the complex pediatric surgery in the state of Iowa. This facility is consistently nationally ranked in multiple pediatric specialties, and its 8-room operating suite and procedural sedation suites further enhance training opportunities for our residents.
Critical care medicine
The department has directed the Surgical and Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit (SNICU) for more than 40 years. The Medical Director of the SNICU is Shawn Simmons, MD, who, along with 11 critical-care-trained anesthesiologists and certified faculty, manages more than 3,100 patients per year. The residents spend 6 months in the ICU during their 4 years of clinical training. The experience gained in the critical care unit has enabled our residents to develop into exceptional perioperative physicians.
Simulation
The Department of Anesthesia opened the first simulation center at the University of Iowa in the late 1990s. We have an advanced high-fidelity simulation unit housed within the department for easy access by our trainees. We also have an echocardiography simulator that allows our residents to practice TEE examinations 24/7. Simulation-based activities are an integral part of our clinical rotations.
Research opportunities
Our faculty members are involved in basic, translational, and clinical research. Areas of focus include basic science pain research, clinical neuroanesthesia and cardiovascular research, and health systems/operating room management research. Residents are encouraged to participate in ongoing research. Our residents annually participate in the Midwest Anesthesia Resident's Conference, where they present research and case reports to colleagues from around the Midwest.
Pain management
At University of Iowa, we have outstanding acute and chronic pain management services. Residents assigned to the acute pain management service also perform most of the regional anesthetic techniques for our patients. In addition, we follow many patients with continuous regional anesthetic techniques in the hospital as well as consult for pain management of complex patients.
Why Iowa?
Discover firsthand from our residents the reasons they selected the University of Iowa.
Rotations
Gain an in-depth understanding of the comprehensive learning curriculum at UI Health Care.
Resident Life
Explore the typical hours, key responsibilities, and what life is truly like as a resident in our program.