About

Leadership in anesthesia care, education and research

We are an academic department that provides patient care, delivers education and conducts research in the areas of anesthesia, pain management and perioperative medicine. We partner with the two health authorities in Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Health (NSH) and IWK Health Centre, as well as Horizon Health in New Brunswick through our affiliation with the St. John campus of the Faculty of Medicine.

Our department provides a full spectrum of specialty anesthesia care to patients in the Maritimes, as well as nationally and internationally through education outreach initiatives and innovation in airway management. Though we have faculty in different parts of the province and the Maritimes, we work primarily within six main sites in Nova Scotia, namely:

• IWK Health Centre, Halifax
• Nova Scotia Health
  • QEII Health Sciences Centre, at both the Halifax Infirmary (HI) and Victoria General (VG) sites, Halifax
  • Dartmouth General Hospital
  • Hants Community Hospital, Windsor
  • Scotia Surgery, Dartmouth

Through our collaboration in New Brunswick, our faculty provides clinical services at Saint John Regional Hospital,  St. Joseph's Hospital and Sussex Health Centre.

Safe vigilant patient care is our hallmark

Over one hundred anesthesiologists perform more than 49,000 procedures annually at five hospitals and health centres in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. As a result, we offer medical students, residents and fellows exceptional learning opportunities and experience in all areas of anesthesia care, pain management and perioperative medicine.

Leadership in medical education

Our department trains undergraduate learners, including medical, nursing, allied health and paramedicine students, residents, fellows and department members to be highly competent, confident professionals. With more than 70 undergraduate students each year, 120 applicants annually for an average of six residency positions, and an ongoing commitment to continuous learning, our education program is among the most robust in Canada.

Research innovation and infrastructure

We believe a vibrant and productive research environment is crucial for creating new knowledge that advances the science and practice of anesthesia. Our researchers focus primarily on research in pain, airway management, and perioperative inflammation and organ protection. Outcomes research and device development are also areas of concentration.