The George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences is pleased to announce that Jeffrey Berger, MD, MBA will serve as chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine.
Since August 2018, Berger has served in this role in an interim capacity. With his appointment, Berger becomes just the 5th chair of the department, founded in 1947, and he will be recommended to M. Brian Blake, PhD, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs, for the Seymour Alpert Endowed Chair in Anesthesiology.
The department is composed of over 90 board-certified anesthesiologists, critical care intensivists, and pain medicine physicians in addition to over 50 advanced practice providers, residents and fellows at both GW Hospital and Children's National Hospital. Berger will continue to promote clinical excellence, foster discovery science research, and develop innovative educational programs. Berger plans to lead the department through collaboration and professional development of anesthesiology faculty, recruitment and retention of promising academicians, and data-driven oversight of clinical operations.
"I am thrilled that Dr. Berger will serve as the chair of this department whose faculty are some of the best in their specialties and who have made important contributions to the field. His vision, coupled with his drive for innovation and excellence, will serve him well as he leads the department in the years ahead, building on the department's historic strengths and fostering strategic growth in all aspects of the department," said Jeffrey S. Akman, MD, vice president for health affairs, Walter A. Bloedorn Professor of Administrative Medicine, Dean of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
From 2008 to 2015, Berger was the program director for anesthesiology at GW. While in this leadership position, he developed an international elective in Quito, Ecuador, a four-year categorical training program, and a novel resident-as-teacher experience. In 2014, Berger was appointed associate dean for graduate medical education (GME). Under Berger's leadership, GW GME transitioned to the next accreditation system, programs expanded by 14 positions, and institutional "commendation" was awarded by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Berger partnered with Jehan El-Bayoumi, MD, founding director of the Rodham Institute, to introduce See the City you Serve, and he coordinated stakeholders to select and implement the MedHub resident management system. His efforts were recognized with the Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award in 2016.
"As an innovative and motivating leader, Dr. Berger is committed to high-quality care for our patients. We are pleased that he has taken on the role of chair and are confident that he will lead the department to academic and clinical preeminence," said Robert E. Kelly, MD, CEO, The GW Medical Faculty Associates.
In addition to his various leadership roles at GW, Berger has taken an active role in developing greater efficiencies at GW. He initiated the replacement of pagers and the adoption of the TigerConnect smartphone application for all GW faculty, residents, and fellows. He also developed the GW Quality Improvement Platform, a web-based software revolutionizing categorization of institutional efforts in quality improvement.
"Dr. Berger has a long standing commitment to providing the highest quality, evidence-based care to our patients. I look forward to the continued positive impact of his leadership on patient care, safety and quality at GW Hospital," says Kimberly Russo, MBA, MS, Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director of GW Hospital.
Before joining the faculty at GW, Berger was associate residency program director and assistant professor of anesthesiology at New York University Langone Medical Center, where he was awarded the prestigious Rovenstine/Capan award in 2006 and the Distinguished Educator honor in 2007.
He is a Fellow of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), an elected member of the Academy of Anesthesiology, and an elected member with appointment to the Education Advisory Board of the Association of University Anesthesiologists. Berger serves on an ASA taskforce centered on anesthesiology workforce research, he is in his third term on the Board of Directors of the Society for Education in Anesthesiology, and he is president emeritus of the District of Columbia Society of Anesthesiologists.
Berger has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters and abstracts. He is co-editor for both Anesthesia Board Review, Part I: Basic and Anesthesia Board Review, Part II: Advanced and is associate editor for the Manual of Clinical Anesthesia, 2nd Edition from McGraw Hill and Lippincott publishers respectively. Berger serves as director for an Oakstone online continuing medical education course entitled Comprehensive Review of Anesthesiology. He is an associate editor of the Journal of Graduate Medical Education, and co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Education in Perioperative Medicine, both PubMed-indexed journals.
Berger completed his internship and anesthesiology residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital — Weill Cornell Medical Center. He received his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and his Master of Business Administration from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. He received his Bachelors of Science from the University of Michigan.
"It is an honor to lead such a talented group of faculty, advanced practice providers and staff, many of whom I have collaborated with as trusted colleagues for years. As we aim to build a preeminent Department, I look forward to embracing the challenge of delivering on an ambitious vision for the future of GW Anesthesiology," said Berger.
Berger assumed the role of chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine in January 2020.
