Scientific research has been the primary guide regarding my career choice. Curiosity that extends past our textbooks and other didactic material will reveal invaluable information about how the specialty operates, how clinical research is practiced and the common pitfalls encountered, and how exerts in the field communicate with each other about their innovative findings. Through my research experiences during medical school, I was exposed to the reality of perioperative clinical encounters and realized that I would be the strongest patient advocate through a career in anesthesiology.
#tbt to the 2015 American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) conference in San Diego. As a pediatric anesthesiology fellow, I was very generously given the opportunity to speak at the Young Investigators conference about our work regarding intraoperative epidural infusions for pain control at the University of Washington.
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We explored the relationship to patient-reported pain scores and opioid use in the recovery unit after surgery. In a subsequent analysis, we found that in compliant cases (e.g. infusion was started before the patient came out to the recovery room), there was an association with decrease opioid use in the recovery room. Of course, this coincided with other institutional protocols, such as Early Recovery After Surgery (ERAS).
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Eventually, we published our study regarding process improvements to improve compliance in Anesthesia & Analgesia. .
https://journals.lww.com/anesthesia-analgesia/Abstract/publishahead/Process_Optimization_and_Digital_Quality.96561.aspx
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I strongly encourage anybody having presented a poster to push forward for consideration for publication. Given the increasing number of submissions and decreasing research funding, manuscript publication has become a challenge for everybody.
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HOWEVER, there are several time-tested strategies you can employ to really give yourself the best shot. Contact me to learn more!
Aalap Shah, MD, is a board certified anesthesiologist, specializing in general adult and pediatric anesthesiology.
