Resources
A curated reading and listening list for anesthesiology — built for medical students on rotation, residents working through the curriculum, and anyone prepping for the boards. The classics (Morgan & Mikhail, Miller, "Baby Miller") plus the question banks, free sites, and podcasts worth your time.
- 1Anesthesia Student Survival Guide
- 2Basics of Anesthesia (Baby Miller)
- 3OpenAnesthesia
- 1Stanford Anesthesia CA-1 Guide
- 2Morgan & Mikhail's Clinical Anesthesiology
- 3MGH Handbook
- 1Anesthesiology Core Review (ACR) Part 1 & 2
- 2ACE / TrueLearn question banks
- 3Miller's Anesthesia (deep dives)
Core textbooks
The foundational references most programs build their reading around. Start with one comprehensive text and one pharmacology/physiology text.
Morgan & Mikhail's Clinical Anesthesiology
Start hereThe classic first read — concise, well-organized, and approachable. Widely considered the best single text to start with as a student or new CA-1.
Basics of Anesthesia
Start hereA focused, high-yield introduction distilled from Miller's. Excellent for medical students on an anesthesia rotation and early residency review.
Miller's Anesthesia
The encyclopedic, two-volume reference. Not a cover-to-cover read — use it to go deep on a specific topic and as the authoritative source for boards.
Clinical Anesthesia
Comprehensive single-volume text that sits between Morgan & Mikhail and Miller in depth. A common primary reference throughout residency.
Stoelting's Pharmacology & Physiology in Anesthetic Practice
The go-to deep dive on anesthetic pharmacology and physiology. Invaluable for understanding mechanisms behind board questions.
Stoelting's Anesthesia and Co-Existing Disease
How comorbidities change the anesthetic plan, organized by disease. Read the relevant chapter the night before a complex case.
Handbooks & quick reference
Pocket-sized, case-oriented references for the OR — fast answers when you need them at the head of the bed.
Clinical Anesthesia Procedures of the Massachusetts General Hospital
Start herePractical, protocol-driven pocket book covering day-to-day OR management. A favorite for CA-1s learning the practical workflow.
The Anesthesiologist's Manual of Surgical Procedures
Procedure-by-procedure guide: what the surgeon does, the anesthetic considerations, positioning, and likely blood loss. Read before unfamiliar cases.
Pocket Anesthesia
Bulleted, high-density quick reference that fits in a scrub pocket. Good for rapid look-ups during the case.
Anesthesia Student Survival Guide
Start hereWritten specifically for medical students and interns starting their first anesthesia rotation — sets expectations and teaches the basics of the OR day.
Faust's Anesthesiology Review
Short, focused chapters on individual topics — useful for filling gaps and as a bridge toward board review.
Board & exam prep
Question banks and review resources targeted at the ABA BASIC, ADVANCED, and APPLIED (oral/OSCE) exams. Pair a question bank with a keyword review.
Anesthesiology Core Review (ACR), Part 1 & Part 2
Start hereMaps directly to the ABA BASIC (Part 1) and ADVANCED (Part 2) content outlines. The standard text-based review pair for the written boards.
Hall's Anesthesiology Board Review
Rapid-fire keyword-style Q&A for last-mile review and quick self-testing. Good for reinforcing buzzword associations.
ACE — Anesthesiology Continuing Education (ASA)
The ASA's self-assessment question program with detailed discussions. Question style closely mirrors the in-training (ITE) and board exams.
TrueLearn / M5 SmartBank
Large online question bank with analytics, frequently used for ITE and BASIC/ADVANCED prep. Practice in tutor mode, then timed blocks.
AnesthesiaHub Question Bank
This site's own 500+ board-style MCQs with explanations across 12 categories — quiz yourself or review by topic, free.
Subspecialty & procedural
Definitive texts for the major subspecialties — reach for these on rotation or when preparing a complex case.
Kaplan's Cardiac Anesthesia
The reference for cardiac anesthesia, TEE, and cardiopulmonary bypass management.
Chestnut's Obstetric Anesthesia: Principles and Practice
Comprehensive OB anesthesia text covering physiology of pregnancy, neuraxial labor analgesia, and obstetric emergencies.
A Practice of Anesthesia for Infants and Children
The standard pediatric anesthesia reference — developmental physiology, equipment sizing, and age-specific management.
Hadzic's Peripheral Nerve Blocks & Anatomy for Ultrasound-Guided Regional Anesthesia
Atlas-style regional anesthesia text with sonoanatomy and block techniques. Pairs well with the NYSORA website.
Free & online resources
High-quality, freely accessible sites. Great for just-in-time learning and visual/procedural topics.
Stanford Anesthesia CA-1 Guide
Start hereThe single best free onboarding resource for a new resident. Written by Stanford faculty and residents, it walks you through the things nobody formally teaches — how to set up your machine and workspace, the structured pre-op evaluation, a practical induction-to-emergence game plan, and how to actually run a case as a CA-1. Skim it before your first day in the OR, then keep it open during your first months. Pairs perfectly with a core text like Morgan & Mikhail.
OpenAnesthesia
Start hereFree keyword reviews, summaries, and a podcast tightly aligned with the ABA content outline. An excellent companion to board prep.
NYSORA
Start hereThe best free atlas for ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia — anatomy, technique, and dosing for virtually every block.
Life in the Fast Lane (LITFL)
Outstanding free ECG library and critical-care content. Useful for the ICU and emergency portions of training.
Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF)
Newsletter and resources focused on perioperative patient safety — a frequent source of practice-changing recommendations.
Podcasts & multimedia
Learn on the commute. These are well-produced, trainee-friendly audio resources.
ACCRAC
Start hereThe most popular anesthesia podcast — interviews and topic reviews spanning the entire specialty, pitched at the resident level.
Depth of Anesthesia
Evidence-focused episodes that interrogate common practices and the literature behind them. Great for journal-club-style thinking.
OpenAnesthesia Podcast
Short, keyword-aligned episodes that pair with the OpenAnesthesia written summaries for board review on the go.
Societies & guidelines
Join as a trainee (often free or discounted) for guidelines, meetings, and the practice standards that show up on exams.
American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA)
Practice guidelines, standards (e.g. basic monitoring), and the primary professional home for U.S. anesthesiologists.
American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA)
Owns the certification process — read the content outlines and exam blueprints directly from the source when planning board study.
ASRA Pain Medicine
Authoritative guidelines on regional anesthesia and anticoagulation — the standard cited for neuraxial timing decisions.
SOAP
Subspecialty society for OB anesthesia, with consensus statements relevant to the labor floor.
This list is curated for education and is not an endorsement of any publisher or vendor. Editions and availability change — always confirm you have the latest edition, and check what your own program recommends and provides access to.