The University of South Florida (USF) is a young, dynamic educational institution that held its first classes in 1960. USF has grown to become the 11th largest public university in the nation, and the second largest of Florida's nine state universities. The College of Medicine matches The University's rapid development, which opened its doors in 1971. More than ninety physicians graduate from the College of Medicine and enter residency training programs each year. USF, with its 1672-acre campus, is part of the fast-growing Tampa Bay area. More than two million people reside in the Tampa Bay area, so the College of Medicine serves a critical role as a regional referral center and research institution.

The Anesthesiology Residency Program at USF is one of the largest in the country, and it has doubled in size since 1988, when John B. Downs, M.D. became Chairman of the Department. More than forty faculty members with expertise in a variety of specialty fields teach residents skills needed to become fully-trained anesthesiologists. The program is structured to give residents appropriate clinical and didactic material to supplement an active reading program. Combined, these opportunities will permit the development of an exceptional clinician.

The Department serves the Tampa Bay community and the University's 15-county referral area through the College's hospital and clinical affiliates.

The major teaching hospitals are Tampa General Hospital, a 1000-bed facility and the only Level One Trauma Center on Florida's West Coast, and H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute. Affiliated hospitals include James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital, Bay Pines Veteran's Hospital, All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Mount Sinai Medical Center on Miami Beach, and the Florida Pain Clinic.

In 1991, and again in 1996, the Department received full accreditation by the Residency Review Committee for Anesthesiology.

The Anesthesiology Residency Program at USF gives residents four years of training designed to prepare them for either clinical or academic careers in anesthesiology. The four postgraduate years consist of a clinical base year (PGY-1) and three years of clinical anesthesiology training (CA-1 through CA-3). The PGY-1 year consists of four months of anesthesiology and eight months of internal medicine. Requests for rotations other than internal medicine may be accommodated. During the PGY-1 year, faculty closely supervises residents. Training generally includes a rotation in an acute care unit, the emergency room, and general medicine wards and clinics. Following the PGY-1 year, residents will spend thirty-six months in specialized clinical anesthesia training. Residents who choose to enter the Department as CA-1s need to arrange their own PGY-1 year at another institution.