Editor's Note: To celebrate the American Society of Anesthesiologist's Physician Anesthesiologist Week, January 26 – February 1, we will examine the recent leadership of our physicians to shape patient care, education and research in our institution.
The department’s pediatric anesthesiology division has had a productive year of academic work acknowledged at a national level, promotions for two physicians, recruitment of two fellows to join the faculty and the establishment of a non-ACGME-accredited pediatric cardiac anesthesiology fellowship.
Twelve department pediatric anesthesiologists and two fellows attended the Society of Pediatric Anesthesia and American Academy of Pediatrics meeting in Houston on March 15-17, 2019. During this meeting, three papers authored by division faculty were cited during presentations from other institutions:
- During a pro and con panel discussing early tracheal extubation for children with transposition of great arteries, one panelist cited a paper first-authored by Joby Varghese, MBBS, as the only current academic work on this topic. During the discussion, Division Chief Mohanad Shukry, MD, PhD, took to the mic to share knowledge gained in the division. "Our division is well-known internationally on this topic," Dr. Shukry said.
- A paper first-authored by Jessica Goeller, DO, on osteogenesis imperfecta studies one of the largest OI patient populations in history. This paper was referenced during a pediatric pain medicine breakout session. "We are one of the biggest centers for OI management in the country," said Dr. Shukry. "People come from all over the world to be treated here, and we frequently share our protocol with other facilities."
- Jane Kugler’s, MD, paper on a special protocol for managing craniofacial patients was recognized. UNMC was touted as a leading center for management of blood loss, transfusions and pain management in patients undergoing craniofacial surgery.
Additionally, several problem-based learning sessions were led by our faculty and fellows during this and other national meetings throughout the year.
"I think that’s a testament to who we are and what we are trained to do," said Dr. Shukry.
The division’s former pediatric anesthesiology fellowship director, Andrea Dutoit, MD, was promoted to department residency program director. Her promotion took effect beginning academic year 2018-19. At that time, Michelle LeRiger, MD, took over as fellowship director.
Both 2018-19 fellows, Brittany Brown, MD, and Kunal Sualy, MD, joined the department as faculty following their fellowship. Dr. Sualy will continue to mostly practice at Children’s Hospital. Dr. Brown will split her time between Children’s Hospital and UNMC where she will join the anesthesiology transplant team, which previously did not have a pediatric anesthesiologist.
The division also grew by establishing a non-ACGME-accredited fellowship in pediatric cardiac anesthesiology. All elements are in place to begin the fellowship, and recruitments for a fellow to begin in 2020 is underway.
"If you look at our mission of clinical care, education and research, you’ll find that we are exceeding expectations," Dr. Shukry said. "As a division, we are competing with ourselves first. We are not just competing for regional success, we are competing to be a top 10 program in the country."