PDs @ SEA
PDs @ SEA is a conversation series created for anesthesiology residency leaders, faculty, and trainees who want an honest look into the evolving world of anesthesia education. The show features Residency Program Directors from across the country discussing the decisions, challenges, and real-world considerations behind recruiting, training, and supporting residents.
Hosts Bryan and Marianne draw from their own experiences while inviting colleagues to reflect on practical issues such as changes to the interview and application process, transitions in leadership, and shifting expectations in graduate medical education. Each episode offers candid dialogue, shared lessons, and the sense of community that many program directors look for but often find difficult to access in day-to-day work.
The series includes in-depth conversations with current and former residency leaders, members of the American Society of Anesthesiologists Medical Student Component, and educators who are shaping how residents learn. Together, these discussions provide insight into how program directors think, how residency decisions are made, and how the field continues to adapt to the needs of students, residents, and institutions.
Produced by the Stanford AIM Lab on behalf of the Society for Education in Anesthesiology.
For questions, topic suggestions, or to join the conversation, email: pdsatsea@seahq.org
PDs @ SEA
Why Residency Leadership is Burning Out (And Why It Still Matters)
In this conversation, Dr. Bryan Mahoney speaks with Dr. Stacy Fairbanks about her journey through anesthesiology training, medical education leadership, and her recent transition out of the residency program director role. Dr. Fairbanks reflects on what made the work meaningful, the challenges of balancing multiple stakeholders, the evolving pressures of training in a post-COVID clinical environment, and how residency culture shapes both learning and wellbeing. She speaks candidly about burnout in the PD role, the emotional weight of mentoring residents through triumphs and struggle, and what she wishes new program directors would know before they begin. This episode offers a grounded, honest look at the realities of training the next generation of anesthesiologists and what it takes to sustain the people who lead that work.
This Episode was Originally Published December 7, 2023 on YouTube
