Chief Residents Welcome:

Welcome to the Anesthesiology Residency Program at UMKC! We’re excited to share all our program has to offer and why it is an excellent place to receive your training. At UMKC, our strengths include a strong and diverse clinical experience with high acuity cases, ample opportunity to refine clinical and procedural skills throughout residency, and progressive autonomy both in and out of the OR.

This year, we are transitioning to a 4+1 schedule PGY-1, with the majority of the first 10 months spent with the Department of Internal Medicine. Rotations include 3 blocks of general medicine (also known as DoRo, short for “Docent Rotation”), 2 blocks cardiology, and 1 block each of pulmonary/medical critical care, nephrology, and emergency medicine. The “plus one” week includes rotations on our vascular access, regional anesthesia, pain management, pre-operative assessment, and obstetric anesthesia teams as well as the CVICU, a unit primarily staffed by anesthesiologists.  The final two months of the PGY-1 are reserved for dedicated time in the operating room.

During CA-1 to CA-3 years, UMKC residents participate in a full array of cases including complex cardiac cases (on and off-pump CABGs, VADs, TAVRs), transplants (heart, liver, kidney), robotic abdominal and thoracic surgeries, and high-risk labor and delivery. Residents typically hit their ACGME required case numbers early into their CA-2 year due to the extensive case variety. Throughout our four years, we rotate through St. Luke’s Hospital (where the majority of our clinical rotations occur), Children’s Mercy Hospital for pediatric anesthesiology, University Health at Truman Medical Center, and the Veterans Affairs, all of which are within a 20-minute drive of each other.

After completing an anesthesiology residency at UMKC, our residents are fully prepared to enter the next phase of their careers with confidence. About half of each class continues on to fellowship training and the other half into clinical practice. If you are interested in completing a fellowship in anesthesiology, our residents have had great success matching into their chosen sub-specialty. Below are just a few of the programs our residents have matched into all over the country:

• Cardiac Anesthesia: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, University of Washington, University of Florida, Texas A&M Baylor Scott & White, Maine Medical Center, and Loyola University Chicago
• Pediatric Anesthesia: UCLA Children’s, Barnes-Jewish at Wash U, University of Cincinnati, and Oregon Health and Sciences University
• Pain Management: Cleveland Clinic, Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Boston Children’s, University of Iowa, University of Virginia
• Obstetric Anesthesia: Washington University in St. Louis, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
• Regional Anesthesia: Thomas Jefferson University, University of Washington
• Critical Care Medicine: Cleveland Clinic, University of Nebraska, Washington University in St. Louis
• Combined Obstetric/Critical Care: Mayo Clinic
• Combined Cardiac/Critical Care: University of Florida

Additionally, our remaining graduates who practice general anesthesia are successful in finding jobs across the country. (view map)

In regards to our program’s location, Kansas City is a great place to live and explore outside of work. It is a rapidly growing city with a low cost of living, a great food scene, plenty of activities for families, sporting events (Super Bowl Champion Chiefs and the World Cup in 2026!), museums, parks, and much more. We hope this information has been helpful in your search for the residency program that is the best fit for you! We would love to have you join us.

Thank you for your interest in our program, and best of luck in the Match!

Rima Abhyankar, MD

Justin Ewald, MD

Chief Residents | Department of Anesthesiology
University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Medicine