Anesthesiology

Welcome to the Detroit Medical Center Anesthesiology Residency Program

Thank you for your interest in the Anesthesiology Residency Program at the Detroit Medical Center. Our four-year, categorical program offers a comprehensive and rigorous training experience grounded in clinical excellence, innovation, and mentorship. We are proud of our longstanding tradition of training outstanding anesthesiologists. Following the DMC’s acquisition of Sinai Hospital of Detroit in 1997, the institution was renamed Sinai-Grace Hospital. At the time, Sinai already housed a residency program, which the DMC assumed responsibility for in 1998, graduating its first class under new administration in 1999 affiliated with Wayne State University School of Medicine . Today, our residents train throughout the DMC network of hospitals, though they spend the majority of their time at Harper University Hospital. To date, we have trained more than 250 physicians who now practice across the country and around the world.

As one of the largest healthcare systems in southeast Michigan, the DMC offers a diverse, high-acuity patient population and a wide breadth of surgical cases across our multiple tertiary-care hospitals, including specialized cases in cardiovascular surgery, pediatrics, and obstetrics. Our residents graduate with the confidence and skill to handle complex perioperative scenarios, thanks to early and sustained exposure to high-responsibility roles in critical care, regional anesthesia, cardiac, and pain management.

Our department fosters a collaborative learning environment supported by faculty dedicated to your growth as both a physician and a person. We emphasize hands-on learning, robust clinical training, and a strong culture of mentorship. Our alumni go on to thrive in competitive fellowships, academic positions, and private practice across the country.

Beyond the hospital, Detroit is a vibrant and revitalized city. Home to all four major professional sports teams, world-class museums, a growing culinary scene, and easy access to the Great Lakes and expansive parks, it’s an exciting place to live, train, and explore.

We are proud to train the next generation of anesthesiologists—compassionate, capable, and committed to excellence. We invite you to join our program and become part of the DMC legacy.

Sincerely,
The DMC Department of Anesthesiology

Anesthesiology Residency Program Application Requirements

Thank you for your interest in Detroit Medical Center Anesthesiology Residency Program affiliated with Wayne State

University School of Medicine.
We accept residency applications via the ERAS system only
Our residency program is a four year categorical program
Application requirements:
- Completed application through ERAS (CV, transcripts, personal statement, three letters of recommendation, medical student performance evaluation (Dean’s Letter) - USMLE or COMLEX Step 1 score report. Please note, Step 2 score report can be provided after the application deadline
Interviews generally take place in October through early December
The Detroit Medical Center will sponsor J-1 visas. The institution does NOT sponsor H-1B visas for foreign nationals

Contact Us

Harper University Hospital
Department of Anesthesiology
3990 John R, Box 162
Detroit, MI 48201
Phone: (313) 745-7233
Fax: (313) 993-3889

Program Coordinator

Monica Hoopingarner
Program Administration
Email: [email protected]

Jeffrey K. Clark MD
Jamie David MD
Deepak Gupta, MD
Eric Hsu, MD
Mohamed Ismaeil, MD | Associate Program Director
Muhammad Jaffar, MD, FASA, FCCM, FCCP | Program Director
Robert Joslin, MD
Arvind Kalidindi, MD
Jeffrey Kangas, MD
Whitney Minard, MD
Padmavathi Patel, MD
Pranav Patel, MD | Associate Program Director
Sagar Patel, MD
Samuel Perov, MD
Wael Saasouh, MD
Michael Schostak, MD
Sonam Sehdev, MD
Alexander Shalhoub, MD
Charles Giles Smith, MD

Welcome Letter from our Chief Residents

Welcome to the Detroit Medical Center Anesthesiology Residency Program!

Thank you for considering our program. We are excited about the possibility of you joining our team. The Detroit Medical Center (DMC) Anesthesiology Residency is designed to help you become a skilled, confident anesthesiologist, fully prepared for fellowship or private practice.

We are a medium-sized program, with 12 residents per year, based in the heart of Detroit, Michigan. Your training will begin with a comprehensive intern year, followed by three years of specialized anesthesia training across DMC-affiliated hospitals. The intern year is seamlessly integrated into the rest of your residency, fostering close relationships with senior residents and attendings. You'll rotate through the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU), Pain Medicine, and Pre-Admission Testing, among other rotations giving you a broad foundation. You’ll also be invited to join journal clubs and social events, helping you feel at home within our anesthesia family by the time you begin your clinical anesthesia (CA-1) year.

A unique aspect of our program is the Anesthesia Bootcamp, which takes place during June of your intern year. This hands-on month allows you to work side-by-side with senior residents and attendings, sharpening your clinical anesthesia skills. In addition, a structured didactic series covers essential anesthesia topics, ensuring a smooth and confident transition into your CA-1 year.

Case exposure is abundant and varied, giving you the opportunity to surpass the minimum ACGME requirements for graduation. Our patients often present with complex comorbidities, providing invaluable experience and preparing you for practice in any setting. We offer extensive training in regional and neuraxial anesthesia, meeting these requirements by the end of your CA-1 year. You will also gain significant experience with our high-risk obstetric population and have the opportunity for pediatric anesthesia training next door at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan.

Our high-volume of cardiac cases, including ECMO, valve replacements, multi-vessel CABGs, and Aortic dissection repairs, are complemented by a range of vascular, intra-thoracic, and neurosurgical procedures. Furthermore, our five months of SICU rotations ensure that our residents become well-rounded perioperative physicians.

To support your growth and education, we host weekly didactic sessions and oral board preparation to help you build your knowledge base and prepare for BASIC, ADVANCED, oral boards, and life as an attending

Our program is a close-knit community of residents, faculty, and staff who are deeply committed to your success. Our faculty is not only excellent educators but also mentors dedicated to helping you achieve both your professional and personal goals. Many of our graduates match with competitive fellowships in Cardiac, Critical Care, Pain Medicine, Regional Anesthesia, and Pediatrics at top institutions across the country.

We invite you to consider our program as your destination for anesthesiology residency training. We are proud of the opportunities our program offers and look forward to the possibility of you joining us.

Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our coordinators or follow us on social media to learn more about what we have to offer.

Warm regards,

The Detroit Medical Center Anesthesiology Residency Team

Welcome Letter from our Program Director

Dear Applicants,

It’s a pleasure to welcome you to the Detroit Medical Center Anesthesiology Residency Program. As Program Director, I’m proud to lead a team committed to developing skilled, compassionate, and well-rounded anesthesiologists. Our residents benefit from hands-on experience with a diverse patient population, early autonomy, and strong mentorship—all within a supportive and collegial environment. I look forward to meeting you and sharing more about what makes our program and our city a truly special place to train.

Warm regards,
Muhammad Jaffar, MD, FASA, FCCM, FCCP, CPE
Program Director, Anesthesiology Residency
Detroit Medical Center

Leadership

Muhammad Jaffar, MD, FASA, FCCM, FCCP
Program Director

Mohamed Ismaeil, MD

Associate Program Director

Pranav Patel, MD

Associate Program Director

Monica Hoopingarner

Program Coordinator

PGY1

Medicine Floors (8 weeks)

Surgical ICU (8 weeks)

Emergency Medicine (4 weeks)

Pain Medicine (4 weeks)

Pre-Admission Testing/Pre-op Clinic (9-10wks spread over the year)

Trauma Surgery (4 weeks)

Cardiac and Pulmonary Consults (7-8 weeks)

Anesthesia Boot Camp (4 weeks)

PGY2/CA1

10 Months at Harper University Hospital

Basic/Main O.R. (5 Months)

Vascular Main O.R. (1 Month)

Outpatient Surgery Center (2 Months)

PACU (1 Month)

Acute Pain Service (1 Month)

2 Months at the VA Medical Center

PGY3/CA2

Cardiac Anesthesia (1 Month)

Thoracic Anesthesia (1 Month)

Vascular Surgery Anesthesia (1 Month)

Neurosurgery Anesthesia (1 Month)

Acute Pain Service at Harper Hospital (1 Month)

Acute Pain Service at Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital (1 Month)

Obstetric Anesthesiology at Hutzel Women’s Hospital (1 Month)

Chronic Pain Management at Rehab Institute of Michigan (RIM) & University Pain Clinic (UPC) (1 Month)

Pediatric Anesthesiology (2 Months) at Children’s Hospital of Michigan

ICU at Harper University Hospital (1 Month);

ICU at Sinai Grace Hospital (1 Month)

PGY4/CA3

Junior Attending (2 Months)

Board Runner (1 Month)

Pre-Admission Testing/Pre-op Clinic (1 Month)

Advanced Clinical Cases/Neuroanesthesia (1 Month)

Non-Operating Room Anesthesia (NORA; 1 Month)

Cardiac Anesthesia (1 Month)

Acute Pain at Harper University Hospital (1 Month)

ICU at Harper University Hospital (1 Month)

OB at Hutzel Women’s Hospital (1 Month)

Elective (2 Months)

Didactics

Problem Based Learning Discussion (PBLD) Every Wednesday (6:00am-6:30am)

Faculty Presentation 1st Wednesday of the month (6:30am-7:30am)

Morbidity & Mortality Conference 2nd Wednesday of the month (6:30am-7:30am)

Guest Speaker Lecture 3rd Wednesday of the month (6:30am-7:30am)

CA-3 Grand Rounds Lecture 4th Wednesday of the month (6:30am-7:30am)

Key Words Every Monday (5:00pm-6:00pm)

Mock Oral Board Preparation every other Friday (6:00am-7:00am)

Written Board Review every other Friday (6:00am-7:00am)

Journal Club Quarterly

Saturday Sessions About 4x per year: Hands-on Training Course(s), Simulation Sessions

“Coffee & Confide” sessions with chief residents

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion sessions

Hands-on Ultrasound Training sessions

Pediatric and ICU focused didactic sessions

Clinical Rotation Sites

Our training sites within the Detroit Medical Center complement each other, in that each provides valuable clinical experiences to add to the residents’ training. These include:

Accreditation

The Anesthesiology Residency is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

Certification

After successfully completing the program, you are eligible to take the Advanced Examination offered by the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA). This written exam is taken at the end of your residency training followed by the Applied Examination, which consists of a Standardized Oral Examination and Objective Structured Clinical Examination. Residents are fully qualified to apply for any one of the ABA certified fellowship subspecialities or obtain employment in national private practice groups.

Day in the Life

While your day to day schedule varies dramatically based on the rotation and year of training, this is what a typical day will look like during your CA-1 year:

You will receive the OR schedule the day before so you can look up your patients, prepare an anesthetic plan, and staff with your attending
6:00 a.m.: Arrive at the hospital and set up your OR
7:00 a.m.: Meet and examine your patient in the pre-operative area. Afterwards discuss your patient and plan with your attending for the day.
7:30 a.m.: First cases start
You will be provided morning and lunch breaks
4:00-6:00 p.m.: Check in with the board runner, finish for the day and go home

Call Schedule

We have a night float system that covers all of our in-house calls which start from 6pm and end at 6am Sunday to Thursday. The team consists of 3 residents: a CA-1 and a CA-2 who will report from 6pm to 6am, along with a CA-3 coming in from 10pm to 7am to assist with any advanced cases. We do have 24 hour calls on Friday and Saturday. There is no clinical duty after your calls. Not including ICU and OB rotations, residents take approximately one 24-hour overnight call per month. On average, residents take approximately 4 weeks of night float per year.

Detroit

Living in Detroit offers a vibrant and dynamic experience, making it an exciting place to train as a resident. Home to all four major professional sports teams—Lions, Tigers, Pistons, and Red Wings—there’s always a game to catch, and the city’s energy around sports is unmatched. Detroit’s restaurant scene has exploded in recent years, offering everything from award-winning fine dining to hidden neighborhood gems. The city’s rich cultural heritage is on display in its thriving art scene, including the Detroit Institute of Arts, world-class music venues, a growing network of local galleries, the Motown Museum, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and Detroit’s vibrant street murals. With quick access to the Great Lakes, Belle Isle Park, and nearby hiking trails, residents can easily enjoy outdoor activities and weekend getaways. Add in affordable neighborhoods with short commutes, a diverse and welcoming community, and the chance to train on high-acuity, high-impact cases in a resurging city—and Detroit becomes a phenomenal place to live and work during residency.

Wellness

DMC has a number of initiatives to help with resident wellness including, but not limited to, the following:

Physician Well Being Committee: Charged with addressing the psychological, emotional, and physical well-being of residents and faculty; ensuring adequate resources
Tenet Employee Assistance Program
Peer to Peer Support Line
Warrior Strong
Health Resources Outside the DMC
Spiritual Care Support
Peace of Mind Therapy Hotline
DMC Employee Emotional Support Group
Education/Training about Physician Burnout
Taxi/Rideshare vouchers for if residents are too tired to drive home safely
Wellness Events throughout the Anesthesia Department

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At the DMC Anesthesiology Residency Program, we are committed to fostering an inclusive, respectful, and supportive environment for all. We recognize the impact of implicit bias in medicine and actively work to address it through DEI training sessions, recruitment efforts, and continuous evaluation of our workplace culture. By building a diverse team that reflects the patients we serve, we aim to deliver equitable, culturally compassionate care and strengthen the relationships between caregivers and our community.

Visit https://diversity.wayne.edu/ to learn more about the initiatives available through our affiliated Wayne State University School of Medicine.

Resources Provided

DMC provides its residents with a number of resources including, but not limited to, the following:

Truelearn question bank
Anesthesia toolbox
Conference funding
Free covered parking
Educational and Meal stipend
Tenet Employee Assistance Program
Peer to Peer Support Line
Warrior Strong
Spiritual Care Support
Peace of Mind Therapy Hotline
DMC Employee Emotional Support Group
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Optical Insurance
Liability Insurance
Life Insurance
Disability Insurance

Our affiliation with Wayne State University allows us to provide access to a number of databases and resources including UpToDate access, New England Journal of Medicine access, JAMA access, ClinicalKey access which provides online access to hundreds of medical texts and journals, Oxford Journals access which provides online access to several e-journals, PubMed Database access, Cochrane Database access.

Moonlighting

Our program does allow moonlighting if you are in good standing and have passed your basic boards. You can discuss this matter with our Program Director to seek approval at that time.

Vacation Time

Residents are provided with a total of 80 days of paid vacation during the 1–4 years of training (20 days per year) in accordance with the American Board of Anesthesiology guidelines.

For more information of DMC house staff benefits, please visit the.

Google Scholar profiles for some of our most frequent collaborators within DMC

ASA

We typically send 10-12 residents to the American Society of Anesthesiologists Annual Meeting each year where our residents present scientific, QI abstracts and medically challenging cases. Residents are invited to a social gathering with faculty members and expenses are paid by department (airfare, hotel accommodation, meals).

For more information, please contact:

George McKelvey, PhD
Research Associate
Phone: (313) 598-6036
E-Mail: [email protected]

Stephanie Harris, MBA
Research Coordinator
Phone: (313) 966-5022
E-Mail: [email protected]