Navy Cardiac Anesthesia

[narcusprince]

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Navy Cardiac Anesthesia? Can anyone comment if their are any Cardiac attendings in the Navy? What type of cases/caseload?

 

[pgg]

Navy Cardiac Anesthesia? Can anyone comment if their are any Cardiac attendings in the Navy? What type of cases/caseload?

You saw the extent of it at Portsmouth. At peak efficiency, perhaps 4-6 cases per month ... spread out amongst a handful of CT qualified anesthesiologists (none of whom were actually CT-fellowship trained). Of late that 4-6/month has been more like 0-2/month. The patients are all very low risk, but the pump runs were all long anyway ... they just don't do enough to get really good at them like a place that does 10+ per day. I think Bethesda does more than Portsmouth, but I don't know for sure. There are no cardiac or thoracic cases done outside Bethesda, Portsmouth, or San Diego.

This was my dilemma - was interested in doing a fellowship, but a funded FTOS fellowship would've cost me an extra year of obligated service, and I was afraid that 5+ years of not doing any CT cases to speak of would make the endeavor too frustrating to put up with. Now I'm thinking I'll do the fellowship when I get out.

One of the CT surgeons at Portsmouth is getting out, and the story is he's going back to some kind of superfellowship or supervised practice or something for a year because no one would hire him after so many years of skill rot.

Moonlighting is an option, but I know the locums market around Portsmouth has gone to hell, and I hear the NNMC/NMCSD areas aren't much better. Out here in the sticks, they're looking for guys to do pump cases at a local hospital where I'm moonlighting but they want fellowship trained or TEE-proficient people to do them.

Short version, I would not count on being able to do a significant number of CT cases regardless of where the Navy puts you for your payback. If you do have a fellowship behind you, it's very likely that you'll go to one of the big 3 ... but again, case loads won't be high.

 

[usnavdoc]

Where do you guys have to rotate out to in order to get your cases?

 

[pgg]

Don't know about Bethesda or San Diego.

Portsmouth
- CA1 is all at home program

- CA2 has 2 months at the Univ of VA for neuro & trauma, 2 months at the local childrens hospital for peds

- CA3 has 2 months at Washington Hospital Center in DC for cardiac, and most of us went back for more peds and/or additional time at UVA

So 6 out of 36 months are required out rotations, but most spend 8 or 9 months out. I also spent some elective time elsewhere as a CA3 but that's not typical.