Welcome to the Department of Anesthesiology

J. Jeffrey Andrews, M.D.
R. Brian Smith Endowed Professor
and Chair

Welcome to the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio (UTHSCSA). Since my joining the Department as Chair in November of 2006, I am more enthusiastic than ever about the present and future of our Department. In meeting our missions of teaching, research, and clinical service, we are training some of the finest anesthesiologists in the world, engaging in cutting-edge research, and providing outstanding patient care. We are poised as never before to become one of the leading Anesthesiology programs in the country.

We currently have 51 residents in our 4-year program. We filled our 2008-2009 entering class on Match Day with 12 outstanding candidates whose average USMLE Part I score is 218 and average Part II score is 231. Our faculty members are fully committed to providing every learning opportunity for our residents, and that is reflected in the statistics as well. Our 2006 graduating class had a 100% pass rate on the ABA written examination, and we are justifiably proud of this. We also have an ACGME-accredited fellowship in Pain Medicine under the leadership of Somayaji Ramamurthy, M.D.—an internationally recognized expert in pain management. With an anticipated increase in complement, our fully multidisciplinary pain medicine fellowship program can now accept six fellows per training year beginning in July 2008.

Our research mission is gaining new prominence as we aggressively search for a Vice-Chair for Research. I have set up a multidisciplinary advisory board to assist the Department in expanding and focusing its research initiatives, and in recruiting a top-quality, renown physician scientist to lead these efforts. With the anticipated Clinical and Transitional Science Award (CTSA), the University and our Department are poised for many new collaborative research projects.

The Department’s clinical service has expanded significantly in recent years. For example, in the 2007 reporting year, 16,105 anesthetics were provided at University Hospital, and 4,750 anesthetics were provided at the Audie L. Murphy Memorial VA Hospital. With the addition of the Medical Arts and Research Center (MARC) which is planned to open in 2009, we will be providing clinical services in six separate venues. Frankly, our clinical staff of 46 anesthesiologists and 18 nurse anesthetists provide outstanding patient care. I am proud to report that seven of our faculty members were voted by their peers this year as among the top doctors in San Antonio. And, I am very proud to announce that we are recognizing one of our most distinguished former faculty members—Dr. William H. Hadnott II—with an endowed chair in his name.

Please take a few more minutes to review our pages on this website detailing our programs and initiatives. Whether you are a prospective student, patient, or faculty member, I am sure you will agree with me that we are in an exciting and productive era for the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Texas.