Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center Program

Program Identity & Fit

Wake Forest's anesthesiology program is a procedure-heavy, academically structured university residency built around mastery of airway management, regional anesthesia, and obstetric/pediatric subspecialty depth, with graduates routinely exceeding ACGME case minimums several-fold (200+ nerve blocks, 50 fiberoptic intubations, 25 awake intubations). Training occurs within a multi-hospital tertiary/quaternary academic health system serving as the only academic medical center in northwestern North Carolina, including a high-risk obstetric referral center (25-30% cesarean rate) and heavy cardiothoracic, neuro, and vascular caseloads. The curriculum is deliberately sequenced (Study Guides, seasonal subspecialty blocks, twice-yearly Mock Orals, cadaveric workshops) to produce a "solo-practice-ready" consultant, and five in-house ACGME/non-ACGME fellowships (cardiothoracic, regional/pain, OB, comprehensive pain/spine, addiction medicine) signal a program that supports subspecialization without mandating an academic-research identity. The program explicitly values procedural repetition, adaptability across practice settings, and a flexible CA-3 year, placing graduates into private practice, fellowship, and academic positions in roughly even measure.