Department Well Represented at Upcoming MARC

March 26, 2008

Several of our residents will be making presentations at the upcoming Midwest Anesthesia Residents Conference (MARC) in Indianapolis, Indiana. This year’s MARC runs from April 4th through 6th. Here is a list of the participating residents and their presentations:

Aranda, Aldo: Myoclonus Following Electroconvulsive Therapy  

Beckmann, Katharina: Anesthesia For A Gravid Patient With Microinvasive Carcinoma Of The Cervix

Hecimovich, Daniel: Phosphorylation Of Caveolin-1 Contributes To The Mechanism Of Oxidant-Induced Lung Vascular Hyper-Permeability

Herskovic, Joshua: Troubleshooting An Intrathecal Morphine Pump  

Jakstys, Rima: Protective Effect Of Dexmedetomidine On LPS-Induced Lung Injury In Mice

Kim, Frances: Perioperative Concerns In Albuterol Inhaler Ingestion

Koshy, Ruben: Anti-Inflammatory Effect Of Ropivacaine In Acute Lung Injury

Krishnamoorthy,Vijay: Laser Airway Surgery In An Awake Patient

Liszka, Michelle: Vitrectomy Complicated By Contralateral Vision Loss Secondary To Unintentional Bilateral Retrobulbar Anesthesia 

Nixon, Heather: Coring Of Medication Vials Due To Equipment Changes - Methods To Ensure Patient Safety

Nyman, Charles: Awake Intubation With McGrath Videolaryngoscope In A Patient With Ankylosing Spondylitis

Oswald, Sarah: 36 Week Pregnant Female Undergoing Combined Caesarean Section And Thyroidectomy After Awake Fiberoptic Intubation

Premo, Alison: A Patient With Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis

Ruehlmann,Sebastian: Drug Administration Safety In Anesthesia: Why A ""Near-Miss"" Matters

Tovsky, Stan: Conformational Fingerprinting Of Ace: Clinical Application For Sarcoidosis

Woods, Darrick: Record-Keeping For The Left-Handed Anesthesiologist


Study Selected One Of 2007’s Best by Anesthesiology Editors

March 23, 2008

A collaborative study between our Department and the Departments at Stanford University and the University of South Carolina was recently selected by the editors of the journal Anesthesiology as one of 2007’s top dozen published in the journal. Co-authors included faculty members Charles Laurito, M.D. and Effrossyni ‘Gina’ Votta-Velis, M.D., and resident Geanine Pirc, M.D. The editors cited the top twelve for meeting the journal’s mission “to advance the science and practice of perioperative, critical care, and pain medicine through the promotion of seminal discovery.”

The review of the top dozen can be accessed here:

2007 in Review: A Dozen Steps Forward in Anesthesiology

The original article is here:

Antihyperalgesic Effect of a Recombinant Herpes Virus Encoding Antisense for Calcitonin Gene–related Peptide


Introducing The Graduating Class of 2012

March 20, 2008

We are proud to welcome and introduce our newest residents, the graduating class of 2012:

Lincoln Arbogast - Chicago Medical School
Christopher Baker - Louisiana State University School of Medicine
Stuart Connell - University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas SW Medical School
Myroslav Harasym - Ross University
Jenifer Huelsbusch - University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine
Aaron Reynolds - Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine
Luz Rojas - University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine
Michael Sikora - University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Sarita Singeetham - University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas SW Medical School
Maninder Singh - The University of Toledo College of Medicine
Robert Welton - University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine
Juan Woo - University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas SW Medical School


Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) Funds Proposal by David Mayer, M.D.

March 17, 2008

Dr. Mayer's Education and Training application, entitled Facilitating Patient Safety in the Operating Room through Resident Handoff Training, was selected by the APSF Scientific Evaluation Committee for funding. The goal of the project is to create an instructional training module to facilitate successful hand-off communications among anesthesia residents in the operating room. The project, with Bernard ‘Bud’ Pygon, M.D. as co-principal investigator, was one of only nine selected by APSF for funding.


David Schwartz, M.D. Named Permanent Head

March 12, 2008

David Schwartz, M.D., who has been interim head since May 2007, has been offered, and has accepted, the position of permanent Department Head of Anesthesiology, effective on June 2, 2008.  The title is contingent on approval of the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois


Chief Residents for 2008-2009 Named

March 11, 2008

Dr. Sebastian Ruehlmann, Dr. Alison Premo, and Dr. Charles Nyman have been named Department of Anesthesiology Chief Residents for the 2008-2009 academic year. Our congratulations to each of them.


The University of Illinois at Chicago Offers Unique Patient Safety Course


The University of Illinois at Chicago's medical school trains medical students on medical errors, patient safety and risk reduction strategies. The school has also incorporated communication skills training on full disclosure of medical errors to patients and their families when they occur as well as the value of rapid apology, "benevolent gestures" and the promise to learn from the mistake by implementing the necessary changes so the error hopefully never happens again to another patient. A number of patients help with the education and training programs.

According to a Chicago Tribune Sunday front page article from August 2007, the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine's approach to patient safety education and full disclosure of medical error training is incorporated into the medical student curriculum:

"UIC's medical school last fall became the first in the U.S. to incorporate patient safety instruction in all four years of training. The curriculum culminates in a two-week course on patient safety."

UIC is now nationally known for its comprehensive error disclosure program, and the university's medical school has created a curriculum to train future doctors how to recognize and deal with mistakes."

David Mayer, MD
Associate Dean for Curriculum, College of Medicine
Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology
Co-Director, Institute for Patient Safety Excellence
University of Illinois at Chicago

Timothy McDonald, MD, JD
Professor, Anesthesiology and Pediatrics
College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago
Associate Chief Medical Officer for Safety, Risk Management and Quality
University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center