Department of Anesthesiology
Welcome to the Department of Anesthesiology at Medstar Georgetown University Hospital (MGUH). Our hospital is part of Medstar Health, a healthcare network in the Baltimore Washington metropolitan area which includes 10 hospitals and is the largest nonprofit healthcare system in the mid-Atlantic region. MGUH is a 400 bed acute care teaching and research facility located in the Georgetown neighborhood of Northwest Washington, DC. MGUH is presently building a new six floor Surgical Pavilion connecting to the main Hospital to include 32 new operating rooms, new surgical intensive care units, a new emergency room, and a helipad. It is scheduled for completion in 2022.
Our department is a member of Medstar Medical Group Anesthesiology (MMGA), the exclusive anesthesia provider for Medstar Health. With nearly 400 employed physicians and advanced clinicians MMGA provides patient centered care to nine Medstar Health hospitals and three Medstar Health surgery centers.
Our department at MGUH is comprised of 30 board-certified anesthesiologists, 27 advanced practice providers (CRNAs and CAAs), 40 resident physicians, nurse practitioners (NPs), registered nurses (RNs), and office staff. We provide service to 32 anesthetizing sites in our hospital. We administer over 26,000 anesthetics per year, averaging about 100 anesthetics per day. All surgical subspecialties (with the exception of cardiac surgery which is performed at our sister affiliate, Medstar Washington Hospital Center) are represented in our patient population with especially high volumes in transplantation medicine, neurosurgery, orthopedics, general surgery, gastroenterology, otolaryngology, and plastic surgery. Our Hospital has Centers of Excellence in the Neurosciences, the Transplant Institute, Gastroenterology, and the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. In addition, we care for pediatric patients and high-risk obstetrical patients. We direct the hospital’s Acute Pain Service and provide faculty support to the Division of Critical Care Medicine.
Outside of the operating room our department plays an active role in our Hospital. We provide leadership for the positions of Medical Director of the Operating Room, Medical Director of the Post Anesthesia Care Unit, Medical Director of Presurgical Testing, Co-Director of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, Director of the Pain and Sedation Committee, and Co-Director of the Blood Management Committee.
Our four year categorical residency training program strives to develop clinical leaders and consultants in anesthesiology. Our residents rotate through four outstanding academic centers: Medstar Georgetown University Hospital, Medstar Washington Hospital Center, Children’s National Medical Center (DC), and the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. The strengths of our program include the rigor and challenge provided by our high clinical volume, the high quality daily didactics (6:30am Morning Conference), the ability of our senior (CA-3) residents to design their final year of training, and a well-established, time-tested (over 6 years) Mind Body Medicine/Wellness Program. Residents receive extensive training in echocardiography, ultrasound and regional anesthesia, simulation, perioperative medicine, and operating room management. There are substantial opportunities in education, scholarship, and research. All metrics of success are very positive including recruitment and retention of residents, board certification rates, fellowship and job placements, resident satisfaction surveys, employer satisfaction surveys, and continuous ACGME accreditation.
Our faculty is actively involved with our School of Medicine in the basic science and clinical clerkship education of our medical students. We participate in an annual lecture series, problem based learning seminars, and clinical conferences during the basic science years to prepare students for our junior and senior year hands-on clinical electives. Over the past five years we have advised, encouraged and convinced over 100 of our students to make anesthesiology their career choice. In addiiton, we have faculty members with appointments in the Department of Pharmacology, and the Department of Physiology and Biophysics.
Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) is an internationally recognized academic medical center whose missions of research, teaching, and patient care are carried out with a strong emphasis on community outreach and the Jesuit principle of cura personalis – care for the whole person. More than 400 scientists and physicians conduct cutting-edge biomedical research on more than 300 clinical trials on-site. Basic science and translational research emphasize the neurosciences, child health and development, cardiovascular-kidney disease, infectious disease, and cancer. Last year GUMC research attracted 120 million dollars in sponsored research, the majority coming from federal government grants.
The School of Medicine, School of Nursing, School of Health, and the Biomedical Graduate Program are consistently in US News and World Report’s best graduate school rankings.
Russell T. Wall, M.D.
Chair, Department of Anesthesiology
MedStar Georgetown University Hospital
Professor of Anesthesiology and Pharmacology
Georgetown University School of Medicine