PRIO Rotation

The PRIO rotation is a valuable experience for our fellows that expands the fellows’ education. This flexible rotation will provide the fellow with some of the less common experiences in regional anesthesia training that are crucial to an overall advanced level of education. Fellows participate in the following four sub-rotations:

Pediatric
Fellows gain experience in pediatric regional anesthetics at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and their affiliated outpatient surgery center. Under the training of our board-certified pediatric anesthesiologists, fellows will learn numerous types of blocks and learn techniques unique to the pediatric population.

Research
Fellows will have dedicated, protected time to pursue new research projects and continue on the several ongoing studies and quality improvement initiatives already in progress. They will work closely with our Clinical Research Coordinator, Dr. Aseel Walker, along with our robust research team consisting of statisticians, residents, fellows, medical students, and volunteers. We have over 20 exciting ongoing research projects, mostly at our institution, as well as some multicenter trials. Learn more about some of our recent research projects by clicking into the Hartford Research section of this website. 

Intra-op
This rotation is a unique training opportunity in which the fellows perform a pre-op nerve block and then also provide the intraoperative anesthetic. Fellows get additional practice performing peripheral nerve blocks and get the added benefit of seeing how the blocks affect the intraoperative anesthetic. As the fellows are mostly in the orthopedic rooms for this sub-rotation, they will become proficient in performing spinals as well.

Outpatient 
Fellows work at different outpatient surgery centers gaining experience in ambulatory anesthesia. They become proficient in running a busy, fast-paced outpatient surgery center while learning peripheral nerve block techniques unique to these types of centers.

Regardless of rotation, fellows will be relieved to attend protected didactic time every Tuesday afternoon from 4-5 pm during which a variety of regional anesthesia topics will be discussed.

This lecture series also incorporates journal clubs, guest speakers, as well as practical topics for the developing anesthesiologist such as “Building a Successful Personal Financial Portfolio” and “Elements of Creating and Maintaining an Acute Pain Service.”