Our residents are strongly encouraged to participate in departmental research opportunities. To facilitate scholarly activity, you will be paired with faculty research mentors from the transitional year to the CA-3 year to help achieve your research goals. Research opportunities include case reports/presentations, quality improvement projects, and clinical trial participation, amongst others. Current research pursuits within the department include liver transplantation, cardiac anesthesia, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our residents routinely present their scholarly activities at national and regional meetings.

The department currently employs two research fellows who assist with departmental research endeavors. Additionally, the department welcomes medical students to apply for a Medical Student Anesthesia Research Fellowship (MSARF) funded by the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER). Past participating students have presented their work at the Anesthesiology Annual Meeting along with peer-reviewed publications.

Yearly academic project

As a resident, you will work on a scholarly project each year. Scholarly projects may include clinical or laboratory research, quality improvement projects, or case reports suitable for presentation or publication, Grand Rounds presentations, preparation and publication of review articles, book chapters, manuals for teaching or clinical practice, or similar academic activities. Your adviser will oversee the project and ensure that it meets academic standards.

All residents travel and present their scholarly work at the Western Anesthesia Residents Conference (WARC) on an annual basis. A generous travel stipend is provided by Mayo Clinic for conferences.

The Milde Resident Research Award, named in honor of Dr. Leslie N. Milde, a pioneering female full professor at Mayo Clinic and our former department chair, is granted to a transition year through CA-3 residents for their exceptional scholarly activity. The award's recipient is determined through a voting process held in spring, with the announcement taking place at the graduation ceremony.

Recent publications from the department

• Malan SH, Jaroszewski DE, Craner RC, Weis RA, Murray AW, Meinhardt JR, Girardo ME, Abdelrazek AS, Borah BJ, Dholakia R, Smith BB. Erector Spinae Plane Block With Liposomal Bupivacaine: Analgesic Adjunct in Adult Pectus Surgery. J Surg Res. 2023 Sep;289:171-181. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2023.03.016. Epub 2023 Apr 28. PMID: 37121043.
• Vandenberg MT, Kraus M, Misra L, Hertzberg L, Buckner-Petty S, Padmanabhan A, Tollinche LE, Milam AJ. Racial Disparities in Compensation Among US Anesthesiologists: Results of a National Survey of Anesthesiologists. Anesth Analg. 2023 Aug 1;137(2):268-276. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000006484. Epub 2023 Jul 14. PMID: 37097908.
• Harbell MW, Langley NR, Seamans DP, Kraus MB, Carey FJ, Craner RC. Deep parasternal intercostal plane nerve block: an anatomical study. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2023 Jul 6:rapm-2023-104716. doi: 10.1136/rapm-2023-104716. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37419507.
• Keim AA, Pelkey MN, Broadfoot JE, Folley TA, Kraus MB, Maloney JA, Strand NH, Misra L. Women Authorship Trends in the Highest-Impact Anesthesiology Journals from 2005 to 2021. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2023 May;32(5):592-597. doi: 10.1089/jwh.2022.0532. Epub 2023 Jan 13. PMID: 36637854.y
• Dunn T, Patel S, Milam AJ, Brinkman J, Gorlin A, Harbell MW. Influence of Social Media on Applicant Perceptions of Anesthesiology Residency Programs During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Quantitative Survey. JMIR Med Educ. 2023 Jun 29;9:e39831. doi: 10.2196/39831. PMID: 37205642; PMCID: PMC10337370.

Research presentations

Our residents are encouraged to present their scholarly projects and research pursuits at national and international conferences. Our residents routinely present at the American Society of Anesthesiology and American Society for Regional Anesthesia annual meetings. Funding for presentation trips is provided by the School of Graduate Medical Education. See Trainee compensation and benefits: Time off plans.