by Amy Nabours
The department of Anesthesiology has created a new training program, the Fellowship in Perioperative Medicine, set to launch in July. The multidisciplinary 12-month program has slots for up to four fellows, and is open to physicians who’ve completed residency in either Anesthesiology or General Surgery.
Perioperative medicine comprises the non-surgical care of patients from the time that surgery is first considered, through the perioperative period and on to full recovery. The focus is on methods to reduce risk and manage illness in the perioperative period, including surgical and anesthesia risks and complications, and risks due to accompanying medical conditions.
Matthew McEvoy, M.D., professor and vice chair for Educational Affairs in the Department of Anesthesiology, will direct the fellowship. Helping to lead the program is Adam King, M.D., assistant professor of Anesthesiology and chief of the Perioperative Consult Service.
“Perioperative medicine is an emerging multidisciplinary concept that health care reform has made an essential part of any successful perioperative enterprise,” said Andrew Shaw, MBBS, professor and executive vice chair of Anesthesiology and executive medical director of Perioperative Services at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
“Equipping physicians with the clinical, administrative, financial and research tools they will need to embrace this new discipline is a key part of VUMC’s perioperative strategy, and we are absolutely delighted to provide our full support to this innovative program of physician education.”
Instructors for the program are drawn from departments of Anesthesiology, Surgery and Medicine. Fellows will rotate through the perioperative consult service, the high-risk preoperative evaluation clinic, echocardiography, and cardiac implantable electronic device management.
“Perioperative medicine is the natural destination of the increasing collaboration between the anesthesia and procedural services,” said Seth Karp, M.D., M.A., H. William Scott Jr. Professor of Surgery and chair of the department. “This is necessary and will enable best practices to be instituted in a standardized fashion to improve patient outcomes. Through the leadership of Dr. Matthew McEvoy, Vanderbilt is and will continue to be a leader in this field.”
Professor of Medicine Joshua Beckman, M.D., M.S., is director of the section of Vascular Medicine.
“Perioperative medicine represents the highest order of collaboration at Vanderbilt, providing the expertise of many for each individual patient. The creation of this fellowship provides a focus for patient care, multidisciplinary education, research and best-practice implementation,” Beckman said.
In other news, the department’s Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Fellowship was recently accredited by the ACGME (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education). The 12-month program has slots for two fellows, and is directed by Brian Allen, M.D., assistant professor of Anesthesiology.
For more information, visit the Fellowship in Perioperative Medicine website.
