The mission of the Department of Anesthesiology is threefold: providing patient care, teaching medical students, residents and fellows, and conducting research. Delivery of anesthesia for adults and children at six different institutions sets the standard of care in southeastern Wisconsin. This also creates an educational environment for housestaff and medical students that utilizes a variety of learning activities. Core training is based on one-on-one instruction with faculty and guided hands-on experience. The didactic educational program of the department consists of case discussions, lectures, journal clubs, keyword exams, and visiting professorships. The Department also utilizes adult and pediatric patient simulator training and oral examinations to prepare residents for the board certification process. Special workshops are offered on an annual basis and include Anesthesia Machine, Trauma, Airway Management, amongst others. Residents are assigned faculty mentors with whom they meet semi-annually to review their performance and offer guidance for improvement and choice of future career goals. Chief Residents meet with housestaff and chairman to review the training program and examine areas for potential improvement.
Faculty in the Department of Anesthesiology conduct basic and clinical research. These investigations have been well funded through NIH, VA, American Society of Anesthesiologists, and American Heart Association grants. Our Department ranks fifth in NIH funding among all departments of anesthesiology in the United States. Basic research in cardiovascular, respiratory, and neuropathophysiology and pharmacology is conducted in a large number of laboratories housed at the Medical College of Wisconsin and the VA Medical Center. The Department has received both a NIH Training Grant and a Program Project Grant to study cardioprotection afforded by certain anesthetic drugs against ischemia and reperfusion injury. Additional NIH funds are devoted to exploring mechanisms of chronic pain and unconsciousness. Clinical investigations of cardiovascular disease, autonomic nervous system, and drugs used to treat patients during anesthesia and in the intensive care unit have provided evidence that has altered the practice of anesthesiology. Faculty of the Department have been leaders in shaping the future of our subspecialty.
David C. Warltier, MD, PhDProfessor and ChairmanDepartment of Anesthesiology