Enhancing Skills in Pediatric Anesthesia and Critical Care

From top experts to eager young clinicians, the week of November 23 to 29, 2025, brought together faculty and fellows who share the same goal: Improving pediatric anesthesia and critical care worldwide. The OMI teamed up with none other than the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Medical University of Vienna to educate 36 physicians from 27 countries about the newest updates in the field.

According to CHOP’s website, “Founded in 1964, the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine has played a pioneering role in improving outcomes for children in intensive care. In 1967, the Department established the first pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) in the United States, followed by the country’s first intensive respiratory rehabilitation care unit for ventilator-dependent children in 1975.” Partnering with such an influential institution allows the OMI to educate physicians worldwide, ultimately improving the lives of countless children.

The course was led by CHOP expert Dr. Amy J. Romer, who is a pediatric intensivist specializing in cardiac critical care. She was supported by three other CHOP experts, namely Dr. Christie Glau (Director of the Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Ultrasound Fellowship at CHOP), Dr. Olivia Nelson, and Dr. Kumaran Senthil. From Austria, the faculty cohort was joined by Dr. Peter Marhofer, who is the Director of Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine at the Medical University of Vienna. While the Austrian specialist has taught in Salzburg six times, including this week, the remainder of the faculty taught at an OMI seminar for the first time. The faculty were thrilled to share their expertise with the eager participants, who were inspired by the faculty’s many personal stories and tips.

“This week, we taught about a variety of anesthesiology and critical care topics in pediatrics, including difficult airway management, point of care ultrasound (POCUS), sepsis, ARDS, traumatic brain injury, ECMO, and many others,” summarized the course director. The seminar is based on a three-year curriculum.

In a heartfelt statement, Dr. Romer described her first impressions at the OMI’s pediatric course: “The faculty and I were thrilled to be teaching at the seminar. We enjoyed getting to know such a lively group of fellows from across the globe and were impressed by their enthusiasm and engagement. Many sessions involved lively discussions about different approaches to patient management. We are so grateful to be part of this unique and meaningful program.”

The hands-on training on Thursday was one of the highlights of the week for participants. They were able to immediately put their newly-gained knowledge to the test in two interactive sessions. One hour was dedicated to point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), while the second hour focused on regional anesthesia and vascular access, specifically, ultrasound of the upper extremities. According to Dr. Glau, “By the end of the POCUS session, participants were able to identify how to adjust ultrasound machine settings to optimize images, demonstrate the ability to obtain standardized cardiac POCUS images: Subcostal, Parasternal Long, Parasternal Short, and Apical 4-chamber, identify anatomic structures in standardized cardiac POCUS images, and describe the strengths of each cardiac view within a focused cardiac POCUS assessment.” The workshops reinforced the importance of skill-based learning in pediatric critical care.