Chief Resident Letter | Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

Chief Resident Letter

Letter From the Co-Chief Residents

Aron Tidrick, DO & Alex Wilkins, DO

       Aron Tidrick                                   Alex Wilkins 

Dear Applicant,

Welcome to the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Thank you for your interest in the department. We hope that the following will give you a good idea of the many benefits our program has to offer.

The clinical base year is completed at University Medical Center in Lubbock. Rotations include neuro intensive care unit, medical intensive care unit, cardiology, and pulmonology, just to name a few. The year is designed to give you a solid background in the areas that will be most beneficial to your career as an anesthesiologist. The year culminates with a month of transition to the operating room.

The clinical anesthesia years contain subspecialty rotations in a variety of settings. The majority of rotations take place at University Medical Center in Lubbock, though you also rotate through an office based pain practice, private hospitals, an anesthesia staffed ICU, and children’s hospital settings. The variety of experiences will give you a valuable insight into the different ways anesthesia is practiced in various settings.

 

The diversity of cases & experiences gained while training here is the key to becoming a great Anesthesiologist.

Aron Tidrick, DO

Chief Resident TTUHSC Department of Anesthesiology

DIDACTICS
Didactics are an important part of training, and our department is committed to insightful resident education. Didactics occur every Friday and include protected time for lectures, written and oral board preparation, resident lead instruction, case presentation, morbidity and mortality conferences, and journal club. In addition to didactics, we also have a state of the art simulation center that serves as a location for the Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology Program®. Didactics specifically for the clinical base year and CA-1 residents are focused on preparing for the ABA BASIC examination that occurs after the CA-1 year.

RESEARCH
Resident participation in research is thoroughly promoted by the department. There are a multitude of complex cases for presentation at various conferences including ASA, ASRA, GAARRC, just to name a few. Departmental support for these research presentations is truly phenomenal and the department is dedicated to furthering resident participation

RESIDENT LIFE
Life in Lubbock, Texas, is perfectly suited for residents. Short commutes, on-site parking, extremely affordable cost of living, and the friendly community are only some of what Lubbock has to offer. With 260 days of sunshine per year, enjoying the mild climate is easy. Lubbock has a population of almost 289,000, with a student population over 40,000 and the usual amenities of a university town. UMC is the referral level 1 trauma center for West Texas, Eastern New Mexico, and Western Oklahoma, encompassing a population of around 1.5 million. We experience great case diversity including many trauma situations, and are among the top in the nation for case numbers.

Thank you again for considering our program. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions. We look forward to meeting you and showing you everything that the department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center has to offer.

Sincerely,
Aron Tidrick, DO &  Alex Wilkins, DO