Academic Background

M.D., Albany Medical College, 1991

Postdoctoral Training

Albany Medical Center, Residency in Anesthesiology, 1992-1995

Having recently joined the staff here at UMass, I have thrown myself into many projects.  My first initiative has been to input the quality improvement data into a computerized database.  My goal is to have statistics on such events as reintubations, cardiac arrests, episodes of nerve damage, and cancellations.  As Director of Patient Safety, I help review and write departmental policies and collect all complications as well as chair the department’s Patient Safety Committee.  I also enjoy organizing and moderating Morbidity and Mortality Grand Rounds (QICC – Quality Improvement Case Conferences) where those complications are presented by the residents.  I have been to many conferences in Massachusetts on patient safety and bring back new things which I learn.

My other major area of interest is obstetric anesthesia.  I love talking to the patients and using my voice and relaxation techniques to reassure them during their labor or cesarean section.  While the difficult airways and frequent OB emergencies are challenges, I love teaching the residents both information from the textbook as well as clinical pearls I have learned over the past fifteen years.  I like to give lectures, tutorials, oral exams and journal articles to the residents especially in these areas.

In my free time I am a mother of two young daughters.  I like playing tennis, hiking, camping, canoeing and writing non-fiction (memoirs and personal essays) and poetry.  I live in Hudson with my husband and daughters.