Fellowship Details & Requirements

Our GME Office has preliminary eligibility requirements that all prospective trainees must meet before applying for a training program at our institution. In addition to these criteria, our program also includes the following requirements:

• Candidates must have completed an accredited Anesthesiology residency program in either the United States or Canada and be board certified or board eligible.
• International candidates with equivalent foreign training will be considered if they have full ECFMG certification. We require certified translations for all documents that are not in English, a credentials evaluation which states that their foreign medical degree is comparable to ones that are issued by an accredited US medical school, and a Physician-in-Training (PIT) permit of full medical license from the Texas Medical Board.
• J-1 Applicants must have ECFMG certification and have passed USMLE Steps 1 & 2  

Please submit the following application materials to Monique Rodriguez at MJValdez@mdanderson.org. Required Application Materials: 

• Online Fellowship Application
• Curriculum Vitae
• Personal Statement/Letter of Intent
• Letters of Recommendation – 3 letters from faculty anesthesiologists (one letter from training program director is required)
• Letter of Good Standing (at current institution)
• Medical School Diploma and Transcript
• ABA In-Training and Basic Exam scores
• ECFMG Certificate if applicable & USMLE score report

Successful completion of fellowship training results in an institutional certification by UT MD Anderson. In order to be qualified for certification, the fellow must complete 12 months of training within the department. Fellows will have to customize clinical rotations in surgical oncology, head and neck oncology, brain tumors, acute and chronic pain, pulmonary lab and research (2 - 3 months). Clinical or laboratory research is encouraged during the fellowship. 

• To attain the specialized fund of knowledge, technical ability, and clinical judgment that are required to provide safe, evidence-based care for a wide range of patients undergoing neurosurgical procedures. 
• To develop interpersonal and communication skills that allow effective exchange of information and collaboration with patients, their families, and health professionals.
• To carry out professional responsibilities with adherence to ethical principles. 
• To develop awareness and responsiveness to the larger context and health care system and enlist system resources to provide optimal health care
• To gain familiarity with research methods and to have the opportunity to be involved in a research or quality- improvement project. 
• To gain experience as a clinical teacher while supervising the anesthetic care of residents and mid-level providers. 
• To foster understanding and compassion towards the needs of medically underserved populations. 
• Clinical experience in providing anesthetic care for adults and children undergoing: 
  • Surgical and radiologic procedures on the central and peripheral nervous systems where neural tissue is at risk.
  • Any surgical procedure that places any nervous system component at risk; this includes neurosurgery, neuroradiology, structural spine, critical care, and all other medical or surgical conditions requiring neuroscience expertise.
• One month experience in managing adult neurosurgical patients in an intensive care unit setting. 
• Didactic lectures, journal club, departmental and divisional conferences, including Anesthesiology and Neurosurgery Grand Rounds and Morbidity and Mortality conferences. 
• Case presentations at the institutional Neuroanesthesiology Conference, at least one lecture to the core anesthesia residents as a junior lecturer in Neuroanesthesiology. 
• Planning and producing the Neuroanesthesiology journal club for residents/fellows/faculty, and organizing and planning Neuroanesthesiology lectures for the anesthesiology residents. 
• Faculty-mentored research and quality improvement projects. He/she will also be required to submit an abstract of scholarly work/or a case presentation to the Society of Neuroscience in Anesthesiology and Critical Care (SNACC) Annual Meeting. 
• Faculty mentorship to foster the fellow’s personal and academic goals. 
• Maintain Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) and Emergency Neurological Life Support (ENLS) certifications. 

Timeline

• Adult Neurosurgical Anesthesiology- 7 Months OR Based
• Intraoperative Neuromonitoring (IONM) - 1 Month OR Based
• Neuro Critical Care - 1 Month OR Based 

The Neuroanesthesiology Fellowship is a comprehensive, modular program designed to provide advanced clinical expertise, interdisciplinary training, and scholarly development in perioperative neuroscience. 

I.    Adult Neurosurgical Anesthesiology 

Fellows complete a minimum 24-week equivalent focused on complex adult neurosurgical anesthesia, including craniotomy and spine surgery. Clinical experience encompasses intracranial, spinal cord, and spine procedures, with optional exposure to traumatic brain injury, functional neurosurgery, endoscopic techniques, and sitting craniotomy. Case distribution meets ICPNT minimum procedural recommendations, ensuring breadth and depth across tumor, vascular, epilepsy, trauma, spine, shunt, and awake craniotomy cases, as well as exposure to intraoperative neuromonitoring collaboration. 

II.  Intraoperative Neuromonitoring (IONM) 

Under faculty supervision, fellows gain proficiency in the indications, interpretation, and anesthetic implications of intraoperative neuromonitoring. Training includes EEG, evoked potentials, and adjunct neuromonitoring modalities used during intracranial, spine, vascular, and cardiac procedures. Fellows learn to integrate neuromonitoring data into anesthetic management to optimize neurologic outcomes and minimize perioperative injury. 

III.  Neurocritical Care 

Fellows participate in the care of critically ill neurologic and neurosurgical patients in the ICU setting. Training emphasizes perioperative optimization, postoperative management, and treatment of acute neurologic conditions such as traumatic brain injury, stroke, intracranial hypertension, and status epilepticus. Fellows develop competence in airway management, invasive monitoring, ICP management, multimodal neuromonitoring, and the management of systemic complications of neurologic injury. 

IV.  Pediatric Neurosurgical Anesthesia (Elective) 

Fellows may rotate in pediatric neurosurgical anesthesia, either as a dedicated or longitudinal experience. This module focuses on perioperative care for pediatric intracranial, spine, and neuroradiologic procedures, with emphasis on age-specific neurophysiology, congenital and metabolic disorders, pediatric pharmacology, invasive monitoring, and management of increased intracranial pressure. Participation in pediatric anesthesia educational activities is encouraged. 

V.  Neuroradiology 

Fellows receive formal and informal education in diagnostic and interventional neuroradiology. Training includes interpretation of MRI, fMRI, and CT imaging, participation in endovascular procedures, and anesthetic management for stroke therapy, aneurysm treatment, carotid disease, vasospasm, and AVMs. This module may be integrated with adult neurosurgical anesthesia to meet time-equivalent requirements. 

VI.  Clinical Neuroscience Scholarship 

All fellows complete a mentored scholarly project in neuroanesthesiology, neurocritical care, or perioperative neuroscience. Projects may include clinical research, quality improvement, educational scholarship, or scholarly writing. Fellows are expected to present their work locally or nationally and complete the project by the end of training. Dedicated non-clinical time is provided to support scholarly activity.

VII.  Ambulatory Experience 

During operative rotations, fellows gain experience in ambulatory neurosurgical procedures, including minimally invasive spine and peripheral nerve surgeries, enhancing familiarity with outpatient perioperative care models.  

In addition to gaining unparalleled education and training experience, MD Anderson trainees have access to exceptional resources and benefits to help them build meaningful careers and lead fulfilling lives.

Institutional benefits and support

GME trainees’ salary stipends are updated every year based on the ACGME’s recommendations, and because our trainees are considered workforce members, they also enjoy MD Anderson’s employee benefits, including health insurance, retirement planning, disability insurance and six weeks of parental leave.

Our GME House Staff Senate offers trainees the opportunity to experience a leadership role in a medical field career, and the institution’s Academic Mentoring Council provides avenues to secure tailored academic mentoring from faculty. Our GME trainees benefit from the extensive support offered to our research trainees, too; they are invited to participate in grant application workshops, apply for pilot grants to support their research ideas and receive monetary awards for securing extramural grant funding.

Trainee wellness is also of utmost importance at MD Anderson.

Our trainees have access to MD Anderson’s employee networks, fitness center and other wellness resources provided by the institution. Additionally, our Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC), which provides oversight of our accredited programs, regularly assess our trainees’ needs and implements various initiatives, such as providing free call meals and discounted parking to GME House Staff, to address those gaps. The committee even has a subcommittee entirely dedicated to supporting the wellness of our trainees.

Our efforts to ensure a welcoming and supportive education and training experience have been commended nationally. In 2023, the Office of Graduate Medical Education received the DeWitt C. Baldwin, Jr. Award, a prestigious national award that recognizes our institution for its respectful and supportive environment for delivering medical education and patient care.

Beyond MD Anderson

MD Anderson’s location has many benefits, too. Our main campus is nestled inside the Texas Medical Center, the world’s largest medical center which boasts about 10 million patient encounters each year. Many of our faculty are involved in interorganizational research collaborations, both within the TMC and across the nation, exposing trainees to groundbreaking advancements in medical care in real time.

Most importantly, the city of Houston is a great place to call home and raise a family. We are one of the most culturally diverse cities in the nation. More than 145 different languages are spoken across the city, placing us behind only New York and Los Angeles. In fact, about 30% of the city’s population speaks a language other than English at home. And, paychecks here stretch farther than most U.S. metro areas, thanks to our low cost of living.

Visit our Why Houston page to learn more about our city’s affordable housing, fine dining, entertainment scene, nationally renowned museums and other great attributes.