Academic Background

DO, University of New England, 2002

Postdoctoral Training

UMass Memorial Medical Center, Residency in Anesthesiology, 2003-2006
Children's National Medical Center, Washington DC, Fellowship in Pediatric Anesthesiology, 2006-2007

As I waited to have my picture taken for my new UMass identification badge, I thought back to the four other times I sat in the same office waiting to have my picture taken to identify me as a volunteer, a hospital interpreter, a medical student, and most recently as a resident.

My first experiences at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center began when I was a sophomore in high school. I spent Tuesday afternoons throughout the year transporting inpatients from their rooms to the radiology department for their studies. In college, I enrolled in the hospital's bilingual interpreter training program and provided interpreter services to Greek-speaking patients in a variety of settings throughout the hospital, including the operating rooms where I administer anesthesia today to patients of all ages. I spent several months as a medical student at the medical center on the trauma service and in the pediatric ICU before returning to complete my internship in medicine and my residency in anesthesiology.

As I progressed through my training as an anesthesiology resident, I found that the days I was assigned to take care of pediatric patients brought me the most satisfaction and rewards. Even though there wasn't a fellowship program here at UMass in pediatric anesthesiology, there was no doubt in my mind that this would be where I would like to return to practice.

Since completing my fellowship at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC, I have enjoyed my days as an attending pediatric anesthesiologist at UMass. When I meet children and their families, I feel as though I am having two separate but concurrent interactions, allaying the child's fears while informing their families of the plan of care and of course vise versa.

Sharing these experiences with residents in our training program is of particular interest to me. My clinical interests include pediatric sedation and novel uses of dexmedetomidine in the pediatric population.