McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University Program

Program Identity & Fit

Northwestern's anesthesiology program is a large academic, university-based residency anchored in a high-volume, complex tertiary/quaternary surgical caseload at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and affiliated Feinberg sites, with a department that holds the top NIH funding position in its specialty in Chicago and runs 57 ongoing studies spanning perioperative outcomes, neuroanesthesiology, pain medicine, and AI/engineering applications in care. It offers nine subspecialty fellowships (cardiac, neuro, OB, pediatric, pain, critical care, informatics, regional/acute pain) and structures training around graded autonomy (1:1 to 2:1 to 1:2 supervision), a longitudinal point-of-care ultrasound curriculum, simulation-based critical event training (STAT curriculum), and a distinctive two-year Global Health Clinical Scholars pathway with field placements in Ghana and the Dominican Republic. A dedicated Private Practice Symposium alongside optional CA-3 research rotations signals the program prepares residents for both academic and community/private practice trajectories rather than pushing a single career path. The program values residents who can engage with a research-active, technologically forward department while also handling a demanding clinical caseload, evidenced by holistic review criteria emphasizing letters, clerkship performance, and extracurricular leadership alongside board scores.