Letter from our Chiefs
Welcome to the Tower Health Anesthesiology Residency Program at Reading Hospital! We appreciate your interest in our program and are pleased to share important information highlighting what it is like as a resident at Tower Health.
Our 4-year categorical anesthesiology program is located in West Reading, Pennsylvania. Reading Hospital is a 697+ bed, level 1 Trauma Center providing care for a large, diverse community. This setting allows for training in a high-volume, high-acuity environment. You will begin your training as a PGY-1 rotating through several departments at Reading Hospital. Rotations include Internal Medicine, Acute Care Surgery, SICU, Neurocritical care, Pulmonology, Emergency Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics, Chronic Pain, and Ultrasound. This first year will enhance your medical knowledge in each discipline as you learn to manage common presenting medical and surgical conditions. Additionally, it is a great way to learn about the hospital system and meet colleagues with whom you may eventually work in the perioperative setting.
The beginning of the CA-1 year is geared towards quickly introducing you to the basics of anesthesiology. During the two-month-long boot camp program you will be paired with another CA-1 and various attendings in the OR as you garner the skills necessary to properly and safely care for patients in the perioperative setting. During this time, you will also have daily protected time reserved for structured didactics provided by core faculty. As you solidify your skills and become more comfortable in the OR you will transition to practicing independently with attending supervision. During your clinical anesthesia years, you will be continuously challenged by different surgical cases and patient complexity. Periodic one-on-one meetings with the Program Director are held to assess each resident's progress. Additionally, a one-to-one mentorship system allows residents to choose a core faculty mentor to guide them through residency, QI projects, research opportunities, and career planning.
On average each resident is on call two to three times during the week and one weekend per month, averaging 50-60 hour work weeks. This allows residents plenty of time outside of the hospital to study for board exams and explore Berks County and the surrounding areas. There are plenty of outdoor recreational parks, lakes, and trails. The city of Reading and Penn Ave offers plenty of diverse restaurants and different cuisines to choose from. West Reading is ideally located approximately one hour from Philadelphia and two and a half hours from NYC and the Jersey Shore - allowing for a wide variety of weekend trips if desired. We are a tight-knit group of residents who often visit local restaurants together and plan holiday parties, celebrations of important life events, and outdoor activities.
The Anesthesiology Department consists of attendings, CRNAs, residents, anesthesia techs, rotating SRNAs, and medical students. Each member of our team is valuable and we are dependent on one another for providing the best possible quality of care for our community. We welcome your interest and encourage you to contact us if you have questions.
