I absIolutely adored my month in anchorage at ANMC. I know I want to do pulm/CCM, and wanted to use the rotation as an opportunity to get more ICU exposure, gain more procedural experience, and see a different pattern of practice outside of an urban, academic setting. On all of those fronts, it did not disappoint.

The rotation is very flexible on schedule; I opted for 3 weeks of ICU and 1 week of pulmonary clinic. The ICU doctors really enjoy working with residents and love to teach. I got a ton of hands-on experiences managing trauma and neuro-ICU patients that we don’t get much exposure to as residents. I also put in a ton of lines and did other procedures, including my first chest tube! The week in pulmonary clinic was also a delight. I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Clark who is a brilliant and thoughtful pulmonologist. It was also a nice opportunity to talk with patients more in a lower acuity setting and get to know their culture and stories.

There is also a lot to do and see in Anchorage and the surrounding areas, especially in the summer! You can chunk days off together, and I used the week of pulmonary clinic to really enjoy my long days. I visited Denali, went fishing in the Kenai Penninsula, did several hikes, biked the Coastal Trail, and more!

Overall, I’d recommend ANMC to anyone who wants more ICU or procedural experience. It has been the best rotation I have done as a resident and was an incredibly valuable educational experience.

Residents choose to rotate at ANMC for a variety of reasons, but I found working in a hospital dedicated to caring for Alaska Natives to be the most rewarding aspect. That said, I felt like I arrived in Anchorage with little background knowledge on the patient population and the hospital where I would work. During my rotation at ANMC, I compiled this powerpoint as a reference – it is a mix of information on the hospital’s history, Alaska Native population health statistics, and additional resources for learning more before and during the rotation (health equity papers, local must-visit museums, etc.) I hope these references help lay some of the ground work for the unique environment and culture. This beautiful state has a rich history that strongly impacts the health and daily lives of its people and the opportunity to meet and learn from them first-hand is inspiring. If you have any feedback or would like to add additional resources, please email me.

Have a wonderful rotation!

[Editor’s note: Michela put together this fantastic PowerPoint of background information about ANMC and the Alaska Native population it serves. Strongly recommended for anyone going to Anchorage!]

Anchorage, Alaska. Home to bears, moose, liver dialysis and abundant subclavian central venous access. I chose to spend all 4 weeks of the rotation in the ICU and would definitely recommend the experience (although I hear that residents enjoy their time with all specialties up here).

At ANMC all critically ill patients end up in one unit under the care of the ICU team, so you will see patients admitted with trauma and other “surgical problems” (NSTI, ICH requiring craniectomy etc.) in addition to the things we are more used to managing. If the variety doesn’t interest you it’s possible to pick up only the more classic medicine patients, but you will at least have the opportunity to manage a broader spectrum of critical illness. You will probably get to do lots of procedures (all manner of central lines, bronchoscopy) and intubate relatively often if you are so inclined. A more unique thing you will see here is MARS “liver dialysis” which gets used for acute liver failure and Tylenol overdose. The attendings and other hospital staff are very friendly and a lot of fun to work with.

At least in the summer there is lots to do here, four weekends is just not enough time to see all the cool stuff in the area. The hiking/wildlife is incredible. Homer and Seward make great weekend trips. This also seems like the place to be if you like fishing.