Clinical Component

Navigating the Clinical Component

Your Daily Practice: Where Complexity Meets Excellence

Your clinical days at Temple will immerse you in some of the most challenging and rewarding cardiac cases in academic medicine. With over 900 cardiothoracic surgical cases annually—including more than 150 lung transplants—you’ll operate at a volume and acuity few academic centers can match. This is not routine, elective-heavy work. This is high-stakes cardiac anesthesia where your expertise, decisions, and presence at the bedside directly impact lives.

Case Mix and Surgical Volume

Your weekly schedule blends approximately 50–60% cardiac cases with general anesthesia on other days, giving you subspecialty depth and generalist breadth. You’ll manage a broad array of cases:

  • Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)
  • Valve repairs and replacements
  • Ventricular assist device (VAD) placement
  • Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)
  • Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy
  • Heart and lung transplantation
  • Thoracic oncology and complex thoracic procedures
  • 1–2 cardiac cases daily when on cardiac service
  • 2–6 general anesthesia cases per day when not on cardiac service
  • 23 operating rooms (19–21 typically staffed daily), including three hybrid ORs
  • GE TEE machines used in all cardiac rooms
  • Team of five skilled, collaborative cardiac surgeons

The Cardiac-Only Call Model

Temple maintains a cardiac-only call model. When on call, you cover only cardiac emergencies—no obstetric or general surgery interruptions. This ensures your time and expertise are dedicated to urgent cardiac procedures like transplants or reoperations.

  • Home pager call with 30-minute response time
  • Weekday call: 7 AM to 7 AM, 4–5 times per month
  • Weekend call: Friday 7 AM to Monday 7 AM, ~1 per month
  • Guaranteed post-call day off after weekend call
  • Equitable distribution of call—no seniority exemptions
  • Call burden expected to ease as cardiac team grows from 4 to 8 physicians

The Physician-Only Cardiac Model

Temple’s physician-only model for cardiac anesthesia means you personally deliver care for all cardiac cases, supported by residents—not CRNAs. This provides full clinical autonomy and deeper teaching relationships. CRNAs assist in general anesthesia cases only.

Technology and Clinical Support

You’ll use Epic for documentation and communication, and all cardiac cases utilize GE TEE machines for intraoperative imaging. The three hybrid OR suites support advanced cardiac and transplant surgery with cutting-edge technology and monitoring.

Teaching While You Practice

Teaching is seamlessly embedded in your day. With about 30 anesthesiology residents and one cardiothoracic fellow annually, you’ll guide learners in real-time: echo interpretation, hemodynamics, and critical intraoperative decisions. Education happens organically—high-touch mentorship in high-acuity settings.

Research and Scholarly Opportunities

Though the position is 90% clinical / 10% academic, opportunities for scholarly work exist. Collaborations with Fox Chase Cancer Center and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia support thoracic and pediatric research, respectively. Protected time and funding may be available for candidates with active or pending projects aligned with Temple’s academic priorities.

This role offers what many cardiac anesthesiologists seek yet seldom find: daily clinical challenge, meaningful teaching, and a call model built for longevity, not burnout. You’ll practice at your peak—fully engaged, well-supported, and making a difference.

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