Pediatric Anesthesia for the Practicing Anesthesiologist (PAPA)
Program Focus

Program Focus

The Pediatric Anesthesia for the Practicing Anesthesiologist (PAPA) Program at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center is designed to provide an intensive refresher in pediatric anesthesiology for the practicing physician.

During your week you will gain valuable hands-on experience in pediatric anesthesia care. You will also learn about the policies and procedures that improve patient safety and outcomes at Cincinnati Children’s. Before your arrival in Cincinnati, you will discuss your educational objectives with the course director in detail, and your schedule will be designed with those objectives in mind.

Areas of Focus

The Department of Anesthesia is annually responsible for more than 30,000 anesthetics provided in our 28 operating rooms, two endoscopy suites, three operating rooms at our Mason Campus and eight operating rooms at our Liberty Campus.

Our surgical case load is diverse, including ENT, orthopedics, urology, plastics, general pediatric surgery, neurosurgery and all pediatric medical specialties. We have heart, liver, kidney and small bowel transplantation programs and perform fetal surgery, bariatric surgery and other highly subspecialized procedures in our hospital. The PAPA Program will allow you to participate in the clinical care of patients undergoing many of these routine and innovative procedures.
The Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology / Head and Neck Surgery is the busiest department at Cincinnati Children’s. We annually perform more than 4,000 ear tubes, 2,000 tonsillectomies, 1,800 airway exams and 125 airway reconstructions.

The Aerodigestive and Sleep Center (ADSC), in which our ENT surgeons collaborate with members of the divisions of pulmonary medicine and gastroenterology, also provides a rich environment to hone the skills required to care for this challenging patient population as we anesthetize children undergoing microlaryngoscopy, upper endoscopy and flexible bronchoscopy.
The PAPA Program provides an exceptional opportunity to develop the skills required for advanced pediatric airway management. Due to our large case load and the clinical strength of many of our departments, we see a large number of children with syndromes and anomalies associated with challenging airway management. We utilize the full armamentarium of airway management tools, including the fiberoptic bronchoscope, laryngeal mask airways and the Bullard laryngoscope.

Participants have an opportunity to develop the requisite pediatric airway knowledge and skills in difficult airway management through case discussions, use of airway models and mentored hands-on experience in our operating rooms.

The Division of Pain Management at Cincinnati Children’s is a busy, complex service that touches on all aspects of pediatric pain practice. PAPA Program participants with an interest in this area gain experience and training in management of acute and chronic pain and palliative care.

Major areas of focus include:

  • Systemic analgesia (opioids, PCAs, infusions, NSAIDs, adjunct medications)
  • The pharmacology and physiology of pain perception and treatment in infants and children
  • Regional anesthesia
  • Familiarity with the roles of physical therapy and psychology in pain management
  • An introduction to the philosophy and approaches to end-of-life care in children

The proportion of time spent on acute, chronic and palliative care services will be adjusted based on participant interest.

The PAPA Program provides a unique opportunity to participate in the sedation and anesthesia care of some of the 3,000 children who annually require a radiographic study at Cincinnati Children’s.

We are responsible for care at numerous sites, including four MRI scanners, three CT scanners, a radiotherapy unit and two interventional radiology operating rooms. Our staff utilizes many pharmacologic modalities in our radiology practice, including barbiturates, propofol, narcotics, alpha-2 agonists, as well as oral and intravenous sedatives. Participants will participate in the full range of our modern radiology anesthesia practice.
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