SBUMC PHYSICIAN RECEIVES 2008 TEACHER RECOGNITION AWARD FROM INTERNATIONAL ANESTHESIA RESEARCH SOCIETY
Dr. Christopher J. Gallagher, Author, Residency Program Director, One of Only Two Awarded
STONY BROOK, N.Y
., October 24, 2008 – Christopher J. Gallagher, M.D., Associate Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology at Stony Brook University Medical Center, is the recipient of the 2008 Teaching Recognition Award for Achievement in Education
from the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS). The award was one of only two Achievement in Education awards given worldwide by the IARS, a society made up of 15,000 physicians and other health professionals in anesthesia-related practices.
For the past 20 years, Dr. Gallagher has trained Anesthesiology Residents, written extensively on clinical and research anesthesiology topics, including as the author of numerous books on anesthesiology, and has become an internationally recognized expert in simulation education, a key component for medical student and residency clinical skills training. By definition, the Teaching Recognition Award for Achievement in Education recognizes such broad accomplishments and outstanding career contributions by senior faculty.
“Dr. Gallagher’s enthusiasm and energy to teach exceed anyone else whom I have interacted,” says Peter S.A. Glass, M.B., Ch.B, Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology. “He does not lecture, but rather makes people want to learn, one of the many signs he shows as an exceptional teacher.”
As Residency Program Director in Anesthesiology at SBUMC, Dr. Gallagher has enhanced education by developing interactive training, built board review courses based on hundreds of questions he devised, and created many clinical simulation training modules from which students gain hands-on knowledge of diseases and conditions in emergency and operating room scenarios. His work as Medical Director of the Clinical Skills Center has infused dozens of scenarios in which students have commented they find challenging, enjoyable and fascinating. One example, experienced by SBUMC residents, medical students, and other physicians in the region, was titled “Imaging the Unimaginable: The Terrorist Next Door Scenario.”
“I try to make all lessons fun, with humor, and put myself in the shoes of residents and fellows and start teaching,” says Dr. Gallagher. “I take it one step further. After you have taught, go home, sit down, and write a book about the topic so others can learn as well.”
Drawing from his SBUMC and national and international training in simulation education, Dr. Gallagher published Simulators in Anesthesia in 2007. He also authored Anesthesia Unplugged in 2006. Dr. Gallagher’s most recent work, published this month, Board Stiff Three: Preparing for the Anesthesia Orals, is the third volume in a series of books directed at reviewing for the American Board of Anesthesiology board examination. He is involving faculty and students in the writing of the next edition of the popular Board Stiff series.
As a winner of the IARS Award, Dr. Gallagher will receive $15,000 ($5,000 to the recipient, $10,000 to the SBU School of Medicine to be used for education in anesthesia). He will receive public recognition at the IARS Annual Meeting Awards Ceremony in San Diego in March 2009.
The IARS, founded in 1922, fosters progress and research in all phases of anesthesia. With a worldwide membership of 15,000, the IARS develops continuing medical education activities to disseminate current, state-of-the-art basic and clinical research data, as well as the newest advances in all areas of clinical anesthesia care.
The mission of the Department of Anesthesia at Stony Brook University Medical Center is to provide first rate care for patients requiring anesthesia services, teach the next generation of anesthesia providers, and help develop the field and science of anesthesia. The Department cares for more than 20,000 patients annually and graduates approximately 10 residents per year.
