Physician Educator Spotlight: David L. Stahl, MD

Name: 

David L. Stahl, MD

Title and Faculty Appointment:

Associate Clinical Professor
The Ohio State University College of Medicine
Columbus, OH
Residency Program Director
Department of Anesthesiology
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
Medical Director of Critical Care
Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and
Richard J. Solove Research Institute

Harvard College A.B. Psychology
Harvard-Cambridge Fellow
University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) M.D.
Massachusetts General Hospital (Anesthesiology Residency)
Massachusetts General Hospital (Critical Care Fellowship)

Brief Educational Biosketch:

I have a passion for challenging clinical environments and teaching complex topics. As Assistant Program Director of the Anesthesiology Residency Program at The Ohio State University, I leveraged our ABA keyword feedback to design a yearly curriculum targeted to areas where our residents had performed weakly on prior exams. As an intensivist, I have an interest in novel methods for teaching physiology including the use of simulation and technology. I designed curricula for anesthesiologists and non-anesthesiologists rotating in the ICU. As Program Director of the residency, I partnered with our undergraduate college of computer science to create REMODEL: Resident MilestOne-baseD Educational Learning. I have served on the educational track subcommittees for both obstetric anesthesiology and critical care at the ASA to curate programming for the annual meeting. The SEA has been an educational home to develop relationships with peers which have resulted in some of my most exciting projects. Finally, COVID-19 has forced our hand to creatively use technology in both educating peer anesthesiologists in critical care with the ASA CAESAR initiative, and in faculty development with the Summer at SEA program.

Society/Committee Memberships:

• Society for Education in Anesthesia Advancement of Technology in Education Committee (Chair Designee)
• Society for Education in Anesthesia Resident Education Committee
• ASA Committee on Critical Care Medicine
• ASA Educational Track Subcommittee on Critical Care
• ASA Educational Track Subcommittee on Obstetric Anesthesia
• Society of Critical Care Medicine Program Improvement Work Group
• Ohio Department of Health Pregnancy Associated Mortality Review
  

What drew you to a career in anesthesiology education?

Since medical school, I have been passionate about teaching physiology, trying to explain difficult concepts to new learners. As I developed a career in critical care, this became a natural bridge between my clinical role and education. As an intensivist who also practices obstetric anesthesiology, I have also found myself in a bridge role to teach one group about the other. I think Anesthesiologists’ positions in the clinical environment create unique opportunities to teach across traditional clinical boundaries.

What are a few facts about you people may not know?

I played water polo in both college and in England for the year after college. We welcomed our third child this year as my wife and I continue to navigate the challenge of a two-physician home!

What is your advice to an aspiring, young anesthesiologist educator?

Some of the best advice I ever received is to try on different teaching roles to see what fits: different learners (medical students through fellows) and diverse teaching settings (one-on-one, small group, large group, clinical, didactic, simulation). When you connect with the learners and settings that really spark your passion, seek out more opportunities in that space! The next piece of advice is to foster a community of peer educators. My professional friends have been a consistent source of support and motivation for my career development.