Brunson Teaching Day and Residency and Fellowship Graduation
By: Dr. Sara B. Robertson
Brunson Teaching Day and our departmental graduation ceremony for the residents and fellows was scheduled for Saturday, June 13, 2020, but because of COVID restrictions we had to get creative! Brunson Teaching Day highlights our graduating senior residents and their research projects that they worked on throughout the year. Each one crafted their presentation and recorded a voice-over for their powerpoint presentation. These presentations were then compiled and sent to the judges to view and score. The following were this year’s projects:
• Dr. Joshua Dibble—“ERAS Type Protocol for Spinal Surgery Using Regional Anesthesia”
Mentors—Drs. Lakshmi Kurnutala and Michelle Tucci
• Dr. EJ Carey—“Does Physician Attire Influence Patient Perception of Treatment Outcome in an Academic Outpatient Pain Clinic”
Mentor—Drs. Bill Gusa and Michelle Tucci
• Dr. Sohiel Khoshroo—“Minimal/Non-narcotic Anesthetic Protocol Development for Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Surgery”
Mentor—Dr. Lakshmi Kurnutala
• Dr. Morgan Nelson—“Perioperative Nerve Injury after General Anesthesia in the Pediatric Patient: A Systematic Review”
Mentors—Dr. Laura Cavallone
• Dr. William Smisson—“Review of Ketamine Infusion Protocol for Treatment of Chronic Pain”
Mentor—Dr. Anesh Rugnath
• Dr. Christopher Murphy—“Intraneural Sciatic Nerve Catheter Placed Under Direct Visualization: A Case Report”
Mentor—Drs. Ken Oswalt and Jennifer Barr
• Dr. Justin Hebert—“The Placebo Effect: Retrospective Review of Outcomes Following Interventional Pain Procedures that Missed the Intended Target”
Mentors—Drs. Bill Gusa and Michelle Tucci
• Dr. Joseph Leech—“Opioid Sparing Anesthesia and Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS): Protocol for Pancreaticoduodenectomy”
Mentor—Drs. Ken Oswalt, Bryan Hierlmeier, and Michelle Tucci
• Dr. Sarah Adams—“Pediatric Anesthesia Past and Present”
Mentor—Dr. Doug Bacon
• Dr. Jenna Strother—“Steady State Hematocrit in the Setting of Acute Blood Loss and Resuscitation: A HumMod Simulation”
Mentor—Drs. Michelle Tucci and John Clemmer
Drs. Loretta Jackson-Williams, Jimmy Stewart, and John Lauria all served as judges. Many thanks to the efforts of the program committee—Drs. Claude Brunson, Doug Bacon, Arthur Calimaran, and Charles Robertson.
This year’s graduation ceremony was very much anticipated because Dr. Jerome Adams, the Surgeon General of the United States and fellow anesthesiologist, was slated to be the keynote speaker. When it was decided that the ceremony would not take place, Dr. Adams was gracious enough to record the speech he was planning on giving. Watch his inspiring message in the video below!
Instead of the in-person ceremony, the chief residents for next year, Dr. William Chiang and Dr. Justin Pipkins, put together a video of all the graduating senior residents. Each one contributed their own personal video message. Dr. Joseph Leech was awarded the resident citizenship award. Along with the senior residents mentioned above, the pain fellows, Drs. Arvind Chandrashekar, Jenna Lane, Dennis Marcelo, CC Martin, and Jeremy Smitherman and the cardiothoracic anesthesia fellow, Dr. Biao Lei, were all recognized. The Chair’s faculty awards went to Drs. Duane Williamson who received the Patricia Norman Professionalism Award and Dr. Sara Robertson who received the John I. Lauria Resident Advocacy Award. Additionally Drs. Bryan Heirlemeier, Oscar Alam-Mendez, and Suwarna Anand were awarded Teachers of the Year for the Residency.
Congratulations to all our graduating residents and fellows!