Why Iowa: From Our Residents

Hometown: Kenosha, WI

Medical School: Medical College of Wisconsin

Hobbies: I love working out at the gym and lifting weights, spending time with my wife and baby girl (Ariella), and playing PC games with friends after a long day of work

Fun Fact: My younger brother and I are nerds for PC gaming and have built our own PCs together from scratch!

Why Iowa: I am originally from the Midwest and enjoy the friendly, neighborly attitude that most people from around here give off. Both my wife and I are Midwesterners, and our families are all in Wisconsin, so we wanted to stay close by to make traveling back home less of a hassle. When I interviewed , I was so impressed with the camaraderie of the anesthesia residents (even through Zoom since I interviewed during the COVID era) that I knew that this was the group I wanted to join. Since being here, I can say that the faculty are great to work with and have a lot to teach from experience that I have integrated into my training. Iowa City is a great city to have things to do if you are looking for a night out due to the undergraduate population being prominent in the downtown area but is also very family oriented for those who have kids or are thinking of starting a family during their time in training. My wife and I have been enjoying our time together in the city and now that we have a new addition in the form of our daughter, Ariella, we are loving the family friendliness of the city as well!

Hometown: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Medical School: Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine

Hobbies: hiking, calligraphy, people watching from my apartment

Fun Fact: I have perfected the “stern mom voice” during the last two years. It works great in special situations in the hospital.

Why Iowa: Two qualities that stand out for our program here: awesome people and excellent clinical training. The impressions I had during my interview day about the comraderies here have held true. I have made great friends in residency, not just in my class but in the others as well. The seniors are truly patient, knowledgeable, and helpful, especially during the transition from intern to CA-1 period. I am also proud of our resident lounge which is always full of board games, coffee, and snacks. I am definitely guilty of staying there for too long after work, one of the “lingerers” for sure. Besides making friends, we also have great trainings. The residents deal with diverse and complicated cases daily with a lot of early autonomy. One of the unique features in the training here is that we start all subspecialty rotations during the CA-1 year. I have plenty of time to decide on my fellowship choice and prepare for the application.

Shelby Bloomer, CA-3, Chief Resident of Education

Hometown: Sioux Falls, SD

Medical School: University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine

Hobbies: I love going to dance workout classes at the rec, going out for food and drinks with friends around Iowa City, going to concerts, and spending time outside!

Fun Fact: I am the oldest of 5, so I grew up with lots of little siblings running around. As a result, I love working with kiddos, and I will be staying at Iowa for fellowship in Pediatric Anesthesiology!

Why Iowa: In my fourth year of medical school, I actually matched at a different program. While I really appreciated my first two years of training at that program, I found myself constantly comparing my experience to the residency program at Iowa and missing Iowa City a LOT. First and foremost, this program provides EXCELLENT clinical training in a fun, supportive environment. The hospital system at UIHC also places a tremendous focus on education, evidence-based practice, and patient-centered care—a fact that I had previously taken for granted. Iowa City itself is also incredible. As a small Midwestern college town, the culture here is very open-minded, well-educated, and diverse in nature. There are always fun events going on (Block party, Pride weekend, tailgating, etc.), but it’s also such an easy place to live, with short commutes, minimal traffic, good cost-of-living, and “Midwestern nice” vibes. I am so grateful that this program was able to accept me as a transfer resident, and I am ecstatic to be back in Iowa City, hanging out in the best resident lounge in existence!

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Anesthesiology Residency Program

From Our Faculty

Clinical Associate Professor of Anesthesia

Hometown: Faridabad (Haryana), India

Medical School: Gujarat University, B. J. Medical College in Ahmedabad, India

Residency: Internship and residency in Anesthesiology at B. J. Medical College, residency in Anesthesiology at Cleveland Clinic

Subspecialty/Areas of Interest: Neuro-anesthesia, General Anesthesia

Hobbies: Plant mom here! Cooking, Travelling, DIY Art projects

Fun Facts: One of my fusion recipe's was published on a food website, so I do publish outside of work! Ages ago in residency while clubbing, I randomly featured in the Entertainment Section of a Newspaper (when they existed, and people actually read them), I am not a bad dancer-next morning was fun answering all the questions about what I was doing the night before!

Why Iowa: I have a lot of good things to say about Iowa and UIHC. This was my first job after residency, and I have been here ever since, even after 10 years! Excellent residency program, clinically, academically and an extremely cohesive and supportive group of peers, leadership and faculty. One of the biggest perks- short driving distances to almost anywhere including work or other day to day activities. Iowa City is a university town that comes alive in summer and plenty of winter activities in and around the area. Safe, diverse and inclusive enough to raise a family, with an excellent school district from elementary to high school and fun for the single at heart.

Clinical Associate Professor of Anesthesia

Associate Program Director, Anesthesia Residency Program

Division Director, Cardiothoracic Anesthesia

Fellowship Program Director, Cardiothoracic Anesthesia

Hometown: Racine, Wisconsin

Medical School: Medical College of Wisconsin

Residency/Fellowship: Residency and Fellowship at University of Chicago

Subspecialty: Cardiothoracic

Hobbies: Hiking, Camping, Skiing, Sailing, Scuba Diving

Fun Fact: The first time I ever went scuba diving with my (future) wife, I had an equipment issue and ran out of air at a depth of 70 feet. I was a total novice. But fortunately my wife was a trained dive instructor. I'm glad she was with me, because she lent me her extra regulator and we were able to surface safely together. Now I keep her around for all my dives...and I bought my own equipment instead of renting from sketchy dive shops.

Why Iowa: My wife and I are both physicians. We had lived in Chicago for a decade and were looking to plant roots somewhere and start a family. University of Iowa was a fantastic option for us. This is a world-class hospital that has the resources and opportunities to propel our academic careers. But furthermore, it exists in a smaller city with great schools and affordable housing. Perfect for raising a family. We love it here!

Clinical Associate Professor of Anesthesia

Hometown: Salem, Tamil Nadu, India

Medical School: Kilpauk Medical College in Chennai, India

Residency: Internship in Anesthesiology, Kilpauk Medical College; Senior Resident in Anesthesiology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), FRCA in Specialty Training in Anesthesiology, The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, Anesthesia residents at University of Iowa

Fellowship: Pain Medicine Anesthesia at University of Iowa

Subspecialties: Chronic Pain Medicine, Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain

About Me: I was born and brought up in the southern part of India where Sikhism (my religion) was a huge minority. I have trained in anesthesia in 3 different continents, and this has given me very unique opportunities, perspectives and experiences that have enriched me as a physician and as a person. I derive most joy from the fact that whether I am practicing OR anesthesia, Acute pain management or chronic pain management, there is a human being on the other end whose life and function we can impact significantly by doing things right. A sincere thank you from a patient who feels that you have helped them is a reward that is to be cherished and experiences such as this over my career have kept me going.

Why Iowa: I chose Iowa for my residency because I genuinely felt during the interview that this was a place that I can very easily fit in. Everyone was super nice and the relationships between the residents and resident/faculty relationship on display was phenomenal. I loved my time training here and never really considered looking for a job elsewhere. Iowa City is the perfect place to live - it has great diversity, a great educational environment for your kids to grow and thrive in, a top-notch hospital system, affordable cost of living, passionate yet very well-behaved college sports fans, the WAVE (the best tradition is college sports.), very low level of crime. In short it is very easy to live a satisfying life in this city.

Clinical Associate Professor of Anesthesia

Associate Program Director, Anesthesia Residency Program

Fellowship Associate Program Director, Pediatric Anesthesia

Co-director of medical student anesthesia rotations

Director of Pediatric Acute Pain Service (CHAP)

Hometown: Manitowoc, WI

Medical School: Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, WI

Residency/Fellowship: Anesthesia Residency at University of Washington, Pediatric Anesthesia Fellowship at Seattle Children’s Hospital/University of Washington

Subspecialty: Pediatric Anesthesia and Pediatric Regional Anesthesia/Acute Pain

Hobbies: Taxi driver (Just kidding but I feel like one a lot of the time driving my 4 kids and sometimes their friends around to various activities, spending time with my family, reading, and watching all the activities my kids participate in—travel baseball, travel basketball, school football, basketball, track, dance, art shows, piano recitals, I'm sure I'm forgetting something!

Fun Facts: We have a covid dog because our lives weren't busy enough with 4 kids. Luna is a miniature Bernedoodle and she's a bit crazy but awesome!And I was actually born at the University of Iowa Hospital when my mom was an internal medicine resident here! My parents moved to Wisconsin when she finished (I was about 13 months old). And my youngest was born at the University of Iowa Hospital.

Why Iowa: "Why NOT Iowa?" It's a wonderful place to live and to raise a family. The community can't be beat. My husband and I are both from the Midwest and we wanted to live in the Midwest when we were looking for jobs. We feel like we landed in the best spot!

Clinical Associate Professor of Anesthesia

Fellowship Program Director, Pediatric Anesthesia

Hometown: Guestrow - Germany

Medical School: University of Rostock - Germany

Residency: UTMB in Galveston, TX,

Fellowship: Texas Children's Hospital Houston, TX

Subspecialty/Areas of Interest: Pediatric Anesthesia

Hobbies: Lawn care, Kayaking,

Fun Facts: Grew up in former East Germany when it was still under communist rule; Got married on an Elephant in India

Why Iowa: Great program, excellent schools, strong family values and the best wrestling team - Go Hawks!

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Anesthesiology Residency Program

From Our Graduates

Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Fellow at the University of Iowa

The pursuit of a career in medicine is not a journey anyone individual can achieve on their own. A lot of folks have put forth effort to help me get to where I am today. I'm immensely grateful to my wife and family, my health, and all the staff at the University of Iowa. Having completed residency training at the University of Iowa's Department of Anesthesia, I feel prepared to transition from trainee to attending physician. If I had to complete residency training all over again, I would choose the University of Iowa again!

Cardiothoracic Anesthesia Fellow at the University of Michigan

If given the choice, I would choose Iowa again. Between the clinical experience and the people that make up the department, Iowa has everything I had hoped for. Iowa does a great job of coupling a broad and diverse clinical experience with faculty who do an excellent job of facilitating a laid-back environment that still pushed me to grow into a well-rounded anesthesiologist through an appropriate level of graded clinical autonomy. Having been through the training program, I feel thankful, knowing that I have built life-long connections with both faculty and co-residents who will continue to be great resources as I move forward in my career!

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Anesthesiology Residency Program

From Our Colleagues

Anesthesia ASC Lead Technician

My role involves preparing and maintaining anesthesia equipment and assisting the Anesthesia residents/staff during procedures. I have the privilege of interacting with Anesthesia residents daily, and it's always a rewarding experience. Their dedication to patient care and eagerness to learn is truly inspiring. Their ability to stay calm under pressure and make critical decisions is always commendable. I'm proud to be part of this team and look forward to many more positive experiences.

Chief CRNA and Assistant Chief CRNA

We appreciate our phenomenal group of anesthesia residents. We enjoy the collaboration and camaraderie when caring for our perioperative patients. The combined dedication to overall patient care is evident in our teamwork.

Cashier, 6th floor Perioperative Cafeteria

I am the person the anesthesia residents all come to for food and drinks. Sometimes just to stop and say hi. I really enjoy interacting with each and every one of them on a daily basis and getting to know them on a more personal level.

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Anesthesiology Residency Program