Pediatric Anesthesiology

The Pediatric Anesthesiology fellowship is sponsored by the Children’s Hospital of Michigan within the Detroit Medical Center. The Children’s Hospital of Michigan (CHM), founded in 1886, is a 228-bed hospital and the only freestanding hospital in Michigan dedicated exclusively to caring for children. The Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit and the Children's Hospital of Michigan Specialty Center Troy cares for approximately 100,000 patients per year.

Our fellowship has been accredited since 1962. Anesthesia is provided for over 14,000 surgeries each year. With several operating rooms, an Acute Pain service, a 39-bed NICU, and a 48-bed PICU, fellows are provided with a well-rounded and clinically excellent pediatric anesthesiology experience. This program offers broad exposure to anesthesia for pediatric surgery, including congenital heart disease, neurosurgery, organ transplantation, craniofacial, scoliosis repair, and trauma.

Teaching Faculty:

The teaching faculty comprises various training backgrounds, including both osteopathic & allopathic disciplines. All faculty members are board certified pediatric anesthesiologists with faculty appointments at the Wayne State University (WSU) School of Medicine, Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Central Michigan University College of Medicine. Please visit WSU website for more information regarding current and past academic work by these faculty members.

Jamey Snell, MD
Chief of Pediatric Anesthesiology

Edward Kaminski, MD
Fellowship Program Director; Director, Resident Education

Dominik Choromanski, MD
Fellowship Associate Program Director

Maria Zestos, MD

Chair, WSUSOM Dept of Anesthesiology
Interim Research Director

 

Core Faculty Members:

  • Victoria Bradford
  • Amy Brummer, MD
  • Julie Buch, MD
  • Dominik Choromanski, MD
  • Sharon Kemper, DO
  • Jonathon Nelson, MD
  • Jaspreet Sangha, MD
  • Jamey Snell, MD

Additional Faculty:

  • Victoria Bradford
  • Amy Brummer, MD
  • Julie Buch, MD
  • Dominik Choromanski, MD
  • Sharon Kemper, DO
  • Jonathon Nelson, MD
  • Jaspreet Sangha, MD
  • Jamey Snell, MD

 

Core Faculty Members:

Kara Thornton
Fellowship Program Coordinator
Email: [email protected]

The one-year fellowship seeks physicians who will have completed training in an accredited U.S. residency program in Anesthesiology. The fellowship program participates in the ERAS universal application process. Please visit the Society for Pediatric website (https://pedsanesthesia.org/fellowship-application-process/) for the application process for the Pediatric Anesthesiology fellowship, utilizing the San Francisco Match website https://www.sfmatch.org/specialty/pediatric-anesthesiology--fellowship/CAS which provides a timeline with important application dates.

The following information should be uploaded into the SF Match Centralized Application System:

Application to Pediatric Anesthesiology Fellowship programs must include the following:

  1. CAS Application:
    • Complete Personal Info form
    • Submit Required Supplemental form
  2. Personal Statement; *
  3. Medical School Transcripts
  4. USMLE Steps 1, 2, and 3/COMLEX 1, 2, and 3 or equivalent transcripts.
  5. ABA BASIC Exam Scores
  6. Three (3) letters of reference. **
  7. MSPE

NOTE: ITE scores (optional document)

*Please refer to the CAS Applicant Instructions for details. 

** One Letter of Reference must come from the anesthesiology residency program director.

The fellowship currently enrolls three one-year positions. Interviews are conducted approximately one year before the fellowship start date.

A single advanced cardiac fellowship position is available every year to applicants (who already completed a one-year Pediatric Anesthesiology fellowship) to gain further experience in care for complex cardiac disease in children. Applications for this advanced one-year fellowship can be sent anytime. Please call Diane Keech at 313-745-5535 for more information about this advanced fellowship.

For fellows’ benefits and policies, please visit the  DMC Graduate of Medical Education (GME) Website.

For more information on the Pediatric Anesthesia Fellowship or the SF Match application process, please contact:

Ed Kaminski, MD
Program Director
[email protected]
(313) 745-5535

Current FellowsPast Fellows

2025-2026:

Kamar Ahdab, MD
Mariam Ahmed, MD
Arlene Haque, MD

2021-2022

Jonathan Edelman, MD
Ismat Mrad, MD
Hannah Tackwell, MBBCh

2024-2025:

No fellows Enrolled

2020-2021

Marla Kerwin, DO
Megan Nash, DO
Christopher Garcia, MD, Advanced Cardiac Fellowship

2023-2024:

Ugne Cerna, MD

2019-2020

Christopher Garcia, MD
Eliane Al-Halabi, MD

2022-2023

Adam Cassella MD
Anna Lahori, MD
Lauren Blanchette, MD

2018-2019

Andrew Letayf, MD
Ashish Kumar, MD
Desiree Aird, MD
Dana McKeon, MD, Advanced Cardiac Fellowship

 

2017-2018

Dana McKeon, MD
Angela Helmholdt, DO
Abhilash Chutei, MD

Each month, fellows undergo various rotations focusing on different pediatric surgical categories and advanced anesthetic management, with case exposure monitored using the ACGME Case Log system. Alongside these rotations, assignments for unique surgical procedures (like organ transplantation) are prioritized for fellows to provide comprehensive exposure.

The first month of fellowship is dedicated to general pediatric cases to improve basic pediatric management skills. The following months will focus on anesthetic management for various complex surgeries and advanced anesthetic techniques.

Routine and complex anesthetic management are found in the following clinical areas:

  • General Surgery
  • Neurosurgery
  • Cardiothoracic Surgery
  • Cardiac Catheterization Procedures
  • Craniofacial Surgery
  • Major Orthopedic Surgery (including Scoliosis Surgery)
  • Organ Transplantation
  • Anesthesia Outside of the OR (including MRI and Angiography)
  • Advanced Pediatric Airway Management
  • Ultrasound-Guided Regional Anesthesia

Also included in the curriculum for fellows is a one-month rotation on the Pediatric/Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Didactics

  • For the first two months, fellows attend 45 minute weekly didactic sessions covering a variety of basic pediatric anesthesia topics. Afterwards, fellows participate in presentations regarding more advanced anesthetic management for various pediatric conditions.
  • A weekly CME conference is facilitated by core faculty, lecturers from other pediatric departments, or guests from outside institutions.
  • Every week, fellows participate in Problem-Based Learning Discussions (PBLDs) moderated by our core faculty.  These provide practice for oral presentation of patient consultation and management, especially for future oral APPLIED exams.
  • Three presentations on specific Pediatric Anesthesiology topics will be presented by fellows while leading bi-monthly journal club sessions during their fellowship. In addition, a Grand Rounds presentation will take place toward the latter half of the year.

Research

All fellows will have access to physical and online medical journals provided by the Shiffman Medical Library within Wayne State University. Fellows participate in research opportunities and case reports to be submitted and presented to the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia (SPA) annual conference. Fellows can join current research projects led by faculty, or can create entirely new projects themselves. Our dedicated clinical research coordinator will guide fellows on their research projects throughout the year.

Fellows also participate with Quality Improvement (QI) projects and are encouraged to present their work at the local/regional summits on QI conferences, including the annual Southeast Michigan CME (SEMCME) QI Summit.

Fellowships

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