Megan Rolfzen, MD, a resident in the UNMC Department of Anesthesiology and CRANE Scholar, has published an article in Anesthesiology, the specialty’s top journal.
“For a resident to publish research in Anesthesiology is extremely rare, and the article was chosen as the cover feature and has an accompanying editorial,” said Andrea Dutoit, MD, the resident program director for the UNMC Department of Anesthesiology, congratulating Dr. Rolfzen on her achievement.
“This is an incredible accomplishment for a resident,” Dr. Dutoit said. “To be able to excel clinically as a resident yet also find time to do meaningful research and publish in our specialty’s leading journal is beyond impressive and a reflection of her incredible work ethic.”
The article, titled “Best Practice Alerts Informed by Inpatient Opioid Intake to Reduce Opioid Prescribing after Surgery (PRIOR): A Cluster Randomized Multiple Crossover Trial,” tested the hypothesis that a decision-making tool in electronic health records guides clinicians to prescribe fewer opioids following inpatient surgery. The publication represents the culmination of five years of effort of multiple individuals at multiple institutions.
Dr. Rolfzen said that as a trainee with relatively little exposure to clinical and translational research, she became interested in this subject through her mentor, Karsten Bartels, MD, PhD, the UNMC Department of Anesthesiology’s Robert Lieberman Endowed Chair and Vice Chair of Research.
She also said she was interested in researching opioid prescribing because it is particularly relevant to the cultural moment, as the United States continues to outpace other countries regarding opioid prescribing at patient discharge. “As perioperative providers, we are ideally placed to play a role in shifting this paradigm,” she said.
Dr. Rolfzen said that as physician anesthesiologists seek to add value to patient care, there is an opportunity to formulate perioperative care plans and identify high-risk individuals who would benefit from transitional pain management care.
“Our work is an example of executing a pragmatic trial design that permitted prospective randomization of more than 20,000 patients with a waiver of consent,” said Dr. Bartels. “This methodology is relatively new and a great example of the future of clinical trials for certain research questions that otherwise cannot be answered.”
Dr. Bartels said that success in research, or any complex endeavor, takes a strong work ethic, enthusiasm and grit, all traits that Dr. Rolfzen exemplifies.
Dr. Rolfzen said she is appreciative of the Careers in Research and Anesthesiology in Nebraska (CRANE) Scholar pathway that has provided dedicated time and structured mentorship to conduct research. Her future plans include completion of the cardiothoracic fellowship program and pursuing a career as a clinician-scientist.
“It is a great honor and privilege to be a part of the multi-institutional team that made this happen,” Dr. Rolfzen said. “My role is listed as first author, but that is supported by a conglomerate of experts who imparted knowledge, guidance, and patience.”
Executive vice chair of UNMC’s Department of Anesthesiology, Mohanad Shukry, MD, PhD, said the department is committed to developing and mentoring clinician-scientists.
“We have the talent, mentors, environment and the resources to accomplish this goal,” said Dr. Shukry. “Dr. Rolfzen is a great example of what our department can accomplish and we are very proud of her hard work and achievement.”