From Dr. Raymond C. Roy, Professor and Chair
The Department of Anesthesiology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine is one of the top five anesthesia training programs in the United States. We consider ourselves the absolute best teaching anesthesia residency in the country. Because there is no formal ranking we present the following as evidence of our assertion:
1. Seventeen members of our department are listed as Best Doctors in America. This is one-third of our current faculty. Our Section of Obstetrical Anesthesia was the number one rated anesthesia service in a large hospital survey sponsored by Novant. This reflects our strength in the clinical arena.
2. We have just received (in 2006) our 5th consecutive 5 year accreditation of our core anesthesiology residency program from the ACGME Anesthesia Residency Review Committee. This reflects our strength in graduate medical education.
3. We have six different faculty members (4 M.D.’s and 2 Ph.D.’s) who are principal investigators on 12 major NIH grants (1 PO1, 9 RO1’s, 2 KO8’s). This reflects our strength in basic and translational research.
4. Since 1980, eleven members of our faculty have become chairs of departments of anesthesiology, most recently Dr. John Butterworth at Indiana University (2005), Dr. Richard Prielipp at the University of Minnesota (2005), and Dr. David Zvara at Ohio State University (2007). This reflects our depth and strength in faculty recruitment and leadership development.
5. The new Editor-in-Chief of Anesthesiology, the major journal of the profession, is Dr. James Eisenach, one of our faculty members. The editorial office of Anesthesiology and the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation Newsletter is in our department. The department supports one of few laboratories for the diagnosis of malignant hyperthermia in the United States. This reflects our commitment to improve the science and practice of anesthesiology.
6. Our faculty members are very active in supporting the profession: 1) two are former Directors and Presidents of the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA); 2) six are current oral board examiners for the ABA; and 3) three to seven have given refresher course lectures at the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA). This reflects how well our faculty members are perceived nationally.
7. We consistently publish 90-110 articles, chapters, editorials, reviews, and abstracts per year. This reflects our commitment to academic anesthesiology.
8. For twelve consecutive years we have sponsored one of the best anesthesia CME meetings in the country, entitled “Advances in Physiology and Pharmacology in Anesthesia and Critical Care,” at either the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia or at one of the Atlantic coast beach resorts.
We also recognize that we cannot rely on our past accomplishments and must constantly strive to improve our clinical practice, our teaching efforts, our research activities, and our service commitments.
Raymond C. Roy, Ph.D., M.D.
Chair, Department of Anesthesiology
Wake Forest University School of Medicine