The education division is an integral part of our department, consisting of approximately 100 trainees at any given time. Before medical students officially join the department, they benefit from multiple opportunities hosted by our curriculum team. This team—led by Lee Ann Riesenberg, Ph.D., R.N., CMQ, and Victoria Elison, M.S. (pictured right), and supported by Carol Anne Hopper, MPA (pictured right); Ted Barco, EdS, MAEd, M.A.; and Diane Vakakes—is pivotal in developing and implementing programmatic objectives for medical students, residents, and fellows.
Shaping Education
The curriculum team serves as the primary contact for medical students interested in anesthesiology, providing support opportunities from organizing Student Interest Group in Anesthesiology (SIGA) informational panels to coordinating medical student rotations.
“Medical students come to me interested in anesthesia and then can get connected to didactics, gain experience, and start to love the field,” Hopper shares. “We are able to provide a structured learning environment to ensure really consistent education.”
Students from the UAB Heersink School of Medicine are introduced to the department through a four-week anesthesia rotation—led by Paul Piennette, M.D., who also serves as theSIGA faculty lead—which exposes them to several subspecialties within our facilities. Our department’s involvement with medical student education extends beyond our institution, offering opportunities each year for visiting students to rotate at UAB. (This competitive process is reserved for students considering UAB for the next step in their training.) Additionally, the curriculum team invites students to network with faculty members and industry leaders through events such as community service projects and research endeavors.
Didactic Curriculum
Integral to our department’s mission, the curriculum team delivers, enhances, and monitors didactics for residents and fellows, with Stacy Wade, M.D., CMQ, as the didactic curriculum lead. Weekly Anesthesiology Grand Rounds and morning clinical conferences are key components of our continuous medical education and essential for advancing clinical care.
Being a physician is more than just working in an operating room; it involves continuous education to improve patient outcomes and push medicine forward. The team provides crucial administrative support for the core program’s Clinical Competency Committee. The committee, led by Blake Norman, M.D., CMQ, monitors our trainees’ development and provides support for various training components, such as the anesthesiology Simulation Program.
Creating Research Opportunities
The curriculum team collaborates with Brant Wagener, M.D., Ph.D., to integrate research opportunities into the educational experience. Through the Resident Mentored Research Experience Track (RMRET), led by Wagener, Elison, and Hopper, residents are encouraged to engage in bedside-to-bench-tobedside research, fostering a culture of curiosity and innovation.
In addition to RMRET, the Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) Program is another opportunity for residents to pursue additional training to enrich and refine their expertise. This program, led by Vice Chair for Education Susan Black, M.D., includes competitive leadership and research tracks that take place concurrently with residency training.
It provides funds and protected time, as well as other support, to set LEAD scholars on the path to becoming not only outstanding anesthesiologists, but also accomplished leaders.
The curriculum team embodies the conjunction of our three pillars (education, patient care, and research) and ensures that our trainees are well equipped with the knowledge, skills, and opportunities to excel in their careers and contribute meaningfully to the advancement of medical science. The combined efforts of the curriculum team, alongside the resident and fellowship teams, support the department’s education faculty leaders to provide the knowledge and skills necessary to train the next generation of anesthesiologists.
“The dedication and hard work of our curriculum team are integral to the success of the education mission for our students, residents, fellows, and faculty,” Black says.
Pictured above: Our residents benefit greatly from the time and commitment that the curriculum team dedicates to their medical education. From left to right: Erin, Katz, M.D.; Allison Johnson, M.D.; and Connor Bartow, D.O.