Message From the Chairman

Welcome to the website of the Loma Linda University Department of Anesthesiology. We are located in the heart of beautiful Southern California, situated conveniently between Los Angeles and Palm Springs in the Inland Empire. Our location places us within one hour of surfing at the beach, camping in the desert, skiing in the mountains, or catching a play in Los Angeles. There are six major airports within one hour's drive.

We have an outstanding academic department that provides a strong subspecialty experience. Fellowship training is available in the fields of pediatric and cardiothoracic anesthesia, pain management, critical care medicine, and research in both clinical and basic science. We are world renowned for pediatric cardiac surgery. The first infant heart transplant was done at Loma Linda University in 1985. Loma Linda University Medical Center is a tertiary care medical center and Level 1 trauma center for both pediatrics and adults. There is a heavy emphasis on pediatric anesthesia training; 25% of the caseload of a typical resident is in the field of pediatrics.

Our department currently has 35 attending physicians and 49 residents. Members of our faculty are nationally renowned for their academic and clinical excellence. We have numerous faculty members involved with organized medicine. Dr. Linda Mason serves on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Anesthesiologists and Dr. Rebecca Patchin is Chair-Elect of the Board of Trustees of the American Medical Association.

Our resident research department is very active. Our residents won first place in 2006 and 2007 and third place in 2008 at the Western Anesthesia Residents Conference. Residents desiring research experience are given opportunities for extended research time in an NIH-funded neuroscience research laboratory. In addition, there are numerous opportunities to work with faculty on clinical research projects.

The department prides itself on diversity; 40% or our faculty is female. Nine of the fifteen residents matched in spring of 2007 came from medical schools other than Loma Linda University. Currently there are residents from 22 different medical schools in our program.

I assure you that if you apply to our residency program you will meet friendly faculty who are dedicated to resident education and to providing a healthy atmosphere in which to learn.