Department Spotlight: Anesthesiology

Anesthesiology is the featured department this quarter.

By Saurin Shah, M.D.

The department of anesthesiology includes 23 clinical faculty, 12 residents, 47 advanced practice providers, and a support and administrative staff of seven people. We are a small academic department consisting of skillful clinicians, innovative educators and excellent researchers who strive to provide excellent patient care, share knowledge and train the next generation of anesthesiologists and anesthesia providers.

The department provides a full range of services for inpatient and outpatient care, including ambulatory anesthesia, cardiovascular anesthesia, critical care medicine, general and trauma anesthesia, obstetrical anesthesia, non-operating room anesthesia, pediatric anesthesia, acute and chronic pain management, regional anesthesia and preoperative anesthesia evaluation.

Our mission is to:

  • Provide excellent patient care
  • Educate and train clinicians
  • Investigate new ideas
  • Support professional growth and development
  • Create a culture of mentoring and collaboration

Education

Our residents continue to excel in the clinical and educational arenas. Under the leadership of our residency program director, Carol Ann Diachun, M.D., our residents continue to achieve board scores above the national averages. In addition to excellence in the classroom, many of our residents have published and presented their scholarly activity at prestigious national and regional conferences. Much of the success of the program is due in large part to a highly skilled and supportive faculty. This past year alone, seven of our faculty were recognized as exemplary teachers:

Research and clinical initiatives

Over the past year, members of our department have worked with others at UF Health to improve acute pain management and HCAHPS scores. Under the leadership of Matthew Warrick, M.D., and Alberto Ardon, M.D., our acute pain service has grown to offer a wide variety of services and has greatly impacted overall patient satisfaction. This clinical initiative has laid the groundwork for multiple publications and research.

The department of anesthesiology strives to be a leader in our health care system. We are committed to our community through our clinical work and educational efforts. Over the next five years, our vision is to transform a clinically excellent department into one of the top small academic departments in the country — renowned not only for clinical service, but also for education and research.