Every summer, the Johns Hopkins Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine bids an emotional farewell to its graduating residents and fellows at the annual Graduation Dinner. Then, without missing a beat, the entire department celebrates the exciting arrival of the newest class of anesthesiology residents and fellows. It is a very busy time. The initial weeks of training are carefully choreographed by the Residency Director Deborah Schwengel and her support staff to provide the maximum amount of mission critical information to the new arrivals before they begin a series of rotational assignments known as “blocks.” Full Story >>

Dr. Steven Cohen was recently awarded the "Order of Military Medical Merit," a lifetime military award which recognizes excellence and promotes fellowship and esprit de corps among Army Medical Department (AMEDD) personnel. Membership in the Order denotes distinguished service which is recognized by the senior leadership of the AMEDD, and is signified with the presentation of a sterling silver medallion on a maroon ribbon. Full Story >>

Like many anesthesiology residents, Jim Rothschild routinely requests blood products for surgery cases. He’s also witnessed how units of blood sometimes must be thrown away before they get to the patient, because they sit for too long at room temperature. Busy house staff typically have little time to tackle such problems—more commonly taken on by nurses, administrators, managers and physician leaders. But this year, Rothschild and a half-dozen other residents at The Johns Hopkins Hospital have been working to find a solution to blood waste. The opportunity to work on this project is the result of a revamped residency program in Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine (ACCM) that sets aside two days a month when residents have no patient care duties—a rare approach that is the brainchild of program director Deborah Schwengel. While some of that time is spent in board exam preparation, a journal club and simulation exercises, a significant portion is devoted to quality and safety-improvement efforts. Full Story >>

When the USNS Comfort docked off the coast of Haiti, the large medical team onboard included Johns Hopkins Pediatric Anesthesiologist Dr. Robert S. Greenberg and Nurse Anesthetist Jennifer Pease. Moved by the magnitude of the disaster they saw unfolding, the two clinicians leapt at the opportunity to join the Johns Hopkins CEPAR Go Team and participate in the US Navy’s "Operation Unified Response," part of a global relief effort to deliver food, water, medical, and shelter assistance to the Haitian people. Full Story >>

Dr. Dolores Njoku has been selected as the 2011-2013 recipient of the William F. Rienhoff, Jr., M.D. Scholar Award. The Rienhoff award is presented bi-annually and includes a monetary prize for excellence in the perioperative sciences. Dr. Njoku follows in the footsteps of Dr, Peter Pronovost , who received this award in 2002. Discussing the honor of the award, Director John Ulatowski recently noted, “Dr. Njoku is a rising star and a woman who is balancing a basic science career, clinical work as a pediatric anesthesiologist and serving on the diversity council for the university among other humanitarian efforts.” Full Story >>

In the wake of Johns Hopkins' success in virtually eliminating intensive-care unit bloodstream infections via a simple five-step checklist, the safety scientist who developed and popularized the tool warns medical colleagues that they are no panacea. "Checklists are useful, but they're not Harry Potter's wand," says Peter Pronovost, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a patient safety expert. "The science needed to best develop focused, unambiguous and succinct checklists for medicine's thousands of diagnoses and procedures is in its infancy, and there can be unintended consequences of reliance on simple tools." Full Story >>

Dr. William Merritt M.D., associate professor of anesthesiology and head of the liver transplant anesthesia team at Johns Hopkins since 1987, recently received the Distinguished Service Award from the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS) at their annual meeting, this year in New York City. He is one of the five original founders of the Society, served as its first Secretary/Treasurer, and was President of the ILTS from 1999-2001. Full Story >>

In a troubled economy, raising $11 million dollars for a start up is no small feat, but researcher Dr. Dan Berkowitz from the Johns Hopkins Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine has done just that. Arginetix, a Lutherville biotech company of which he is a Scientific Founder, is developing small molecule inhibitors of the enzyme arginase for the treatment of endothelial dysfunction, including pulmonary arterial hypertension, atherosclerosis and asthma. In other words, drugs that could someday treat cancer, asthma and high blood pressure. Arginetix hopes to test its drugs with human clinical trials in the next two years, and if the company is acquired by a large pharmaceutical company, these new drugs may be available to patients within 5-6 years. Full Story >>

Critical care researchers are turning attention to what they believe is a treatable complication developed by many who spend days or weeks confined to an ICU bed: debilitating muscle weakness that can linger long after hospital discharge. “Patients who develop muscle weakness while they’re critically ill do much worse,” says Robert D. Stevens, M.D., associate professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine, neurology, neurosurgery and radiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “They have higher mortality, their stay in the ICU is prolonged, their stay in the hospital is prolonged. They incur serious costs. Some of these patients in the long run remain weak and are unable to resume physical activities as before.” Full Story >>