Safari is just what it sounds like: fun, adventurous, but a little more dangerous. As the practice of medicine makes advancements in technology and innovation, anesthesiologists are doing more and more procedures out of the operating room. At our institution, we have more than a dozen out of OR sites and we are covering 3-6 of those every single day. Some examples of Safari locations include Interventional Radiology, GI, Burn Unit, Mobile OR (ICU procedures at the bedside), Electrophysiology Lab and MRI, just to name a few.
The rotation is one month entirely outside of the OR. Each Safari site is a unique environment that requires deliberate orientation and careful assessment to anesthetize patients safely. These remote sites challenge the anesthesiologist to be creative and flexible as these distant locations offer far fewer resources than the normal operating room. The only way to get comfortable with this vast variety of procedures is to dive in and explore. Once a senior elective, past residents found the experience so valuable that they insisted it become a required experience. It is now a favorite experience during the final year of training.
The rotation is one month entirely outside of the OR. Each Safari site is a unique environment that requires deliberate orientation and careful assessment to anesthetize patients safely. These remote sites challenge the anesthesiologist to be creative and flexible as these distant locations offer far fewer resources than the normal operating room. The only way to get comfortable with this vast variety of procedures is to dive in and explore. Once a senior elective, past residents found the experience so valuable that they insisted it become a required experience. It is now a favorite experience during the final year of training.