Department of Anesthesiology

The Department of Anesthesiology offers a standard of education unsurpassed at the national level, fostering a supportive, close-knit relationship among faculty, residents and students.

At the Department of Anesthesiology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, our mission is to deliver exemplary, cost-effective patient care through the dedication of our vigilant physicians. We embrace the clinical and academic challenges of providing compassionate treatment while educating students of varied skill levels.

Our commitment extends to offering an unparalleled standard of education, fostering a supportive and close-knit relationship among faculty, residents, and students. We aim to create an environment that promotes outstanding research, enhancing knowledge and improving patient care.

The Department of Anesthesiology is dedicated to providing:

Exemplary Patient Care: Our department is dedicated to providing compassionate and cost-effective treatment to all patients.
Unsurpassed Education: We offer a nationally recognized educational program that nurtures well-rounded physicians, fully qualified to become diplomates of the American Board of Anesthesiology.
Supportive Environment: We foster a close-knit relationship among faculty, residents, and students, ensuring a supportive and collaborative learning experience.
Outstanding Research: Our commitment to research drives us to recruit motivated faculty of the highest caliber and support their personal development, ultimately improving patient care.

I am honored to welcome you to our department at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Hospital and Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Our department stands at the forefront of clinical excellence, innovative research, and comprehensive education, dedicated to advancing the field of anesthesiology and perioperative medicine.

Read the full Welcome from the Department Chair.

Education and Training

Training the next generation in our profession is a primary focus of our department. Anesthesiology is a fundamental advocate for patient safety, and every aspect of our instruction begins there. The vast array of clinical skills taught in our department are directed toward this goal.

Our Research

Pain management, pain pathways, cardiac aging, sepsis, diastolic dysfunction in menopause, alternatives to opioids, and perioperative care of geriatric patients are just a few of the investigational focal points of our department’s researchers. With funds from government (National Institute of Health and Department of Defense), foundation (Foundation for Education and Anesthesia Research) and industry (Boston Scientific ) sponsors and robust internal support, our faculty actively seek to advance scientific understanding of a variety of conditions in the pursuit of new avenues for therapy and treatment.

Learn more about our anesthesiology research.

Leadership

Madhav Swaminathan, MBBS, MD, MMCi

Chair

Professor, Anesthesiology

Roger Royster, MD

Executive Vice Chair

Professor, Anesthesiology

Randy Calicott, MD

Vice Chair, Clinical Operations

Associate Professor, Anesthesiology

Martina Downard, MD

Interim Vice Chair, Community and Belonging

Clinical Associate Professor, Anesthesiology

Ashish Khanna, FCCM, FCCP, MD

Vice Chair, Research

Associate Professor, Anesthesiology

John Reynolds, MD

Vice Chair, Education

Associate Professor, Anesthesiology

Sarah Kittner, MD

Director, Residency Program

Clinical Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology

T. Wesley Templeton, MD

Director, Faculty Development

Professor, Anesthesiology

James Eisenach, MD

Professor, Anesthesiology

Section Chiefs

Randy Calicott, MD

Section Head, Outpatient Anesthesia

Associate Professor, Anesthesiology

Ettore Crimi, MD

Section Head, Cardiothoracic Anesthesia

Professor, Anesthesiology

Benjamin Morris, MD

Section Head, Critical Care Medicine

Associate Professor, Anesthesiology

Jerry Clark, MD

Section Head, Inpatient Anesthesia

Associate Professor, Anesthesiology

John Reynolds, MD

Section Head, Neuroanesthesia

Associate Professor, Anesthesiology

Laura Dean, MD

Section Head, Obstetric and Gynecologic Anesthesia

Associate Professor, Anesthesiology

Robert Hurley, MD, PhD

Section Head, Pain Medicine

Associate Dean, Faculty Development

Professor, Anesthesiology

T. Wesley Templeton, MD

Section Head, Pediatric Anesthesia

Professor, Anesthesiology

Andora Bass, MD

Section Head, Pediatric Critical Care

Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology

Daryl Henshaw, MD, MHA

Section Head, Regional Anesthesia and Pain Management

Associate Professor, Anesthesiology

Dan Presutti, MD

Section Head, Multi-specialty Anesthesia

Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology

View All Faculty

Community and Belonging

The Department of Anesthesiology is dedicated to inclusion and diversity among our faculty and residents because we understand the importance of looking at patient care and research from multiple perspectives. In 2018, the Department created a committee for diversity and inclusion comprised of resident trainees and faculty members from multiple Anesthesiology subspecialties. The committee’s mission is to develop innovative ways to improve belonging for all, with a focus on diversity and inclusion efforts within our department. As a part of these efforts, department students, residents and faculty members inclusive of all backgrounds meet quarterly to discuss experiences and how to navigate the challenges of a career in Anesthesiology.

In 2021, the Department appointed a Vice Chair of Diversity and Inclusion to oversee a committee comprised of staff, trainee and faculty team members. Our departmental mission is to develop and implement community engagement that builds pathways; enhance staff, resident and faculty recruitment and retention that focuses on cultivating an inclusive workforce; dissemination/promotion of diversity scholarly efforts; and continuous education of ourselves and the larger community within and outside of the WF SOM.

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To do this, we aim to

- Create an environment where diversity and belonging is integrated into every aspect of research, education, citizenship, scholarship, service and clinical activities.

- Create a departmental culture in which diversity, community and belonging is valued.

- Develop and implement strategies for increasing recruitment and retention of a diverse workforce for the department.

- Increase awareness of implicit bias in all members of the department while developing strategies to decrease the effects of implicit bias in decision making.

- Equip the department’s workforce with the necessary skills needed to address the health needs of a diverse patient population.

- Continually evaluate and make necessary improvements to achieve the vision for diversity, community and belonging in the Department of Anesthesiology.

Technology Transfer and Commercialization

Research Focus Areas

Translation to Care

More Resources

Department of Anesthesiology

Education and Training

Anesthesiology Residency Program

Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Fellowship Program

Obstetric Anesthesiology Fellowship Program

Comprehensive Pain and Spine Medicine Fellowship Program

Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain Management Fellowship Program

Perioperative Medicine Fellowship

Critical Care Fellowship Program

Addiction Medicine Fellowship

Anesthesiology Clerkship

Critical Care Clerkship

Student Interest Group

MOCA® Simulation Course

Joint Pediatric Anesthesiology Conference

Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain Management Visiting Clinical Preceptorship

Our Research

Leadership

Section Chiefs

Community and Belonging