Joe Cooley

Steven Giang, University of Texas at Dallas alumni, 30, of Dallas, was too nervous to talk or think on Friday morning as he waited to hear back from his first choice for a residency program on Match Day. He opted to go for a drive to ease his nerves.

When he opened the email next to his girlfriend, he said he “blacked out from excitement” after finding out he was one of six residents — of 930 applicants — selected for the Anesthesia Residency Program at UT Tyler in partnership with NorthStar.

“I just couldn’t even react,” Giang said. “I tried to give her a hug, a high-five. I didn’t know anything. We were just screaming and celebrating. It was a very happy time.”

After receiving the news, he texted his parents.

“They can be less stressed out their son finally has a job now,” Giang said.

The new residency program is supported by UT Tyler and NorthStar anesthesia faculty. After completing medical school, graduates are required to complete a four-year residency before they can become board-certified anesthesiologists. According to the Texas Physician Pipeline Mode, 58.9% of physicians who completed their graduate medical education in Texas stayed in the state to practice. The goal of this residency is to recruit and retain quality anesthesia providers in the East Texas region.

The selection process

Ninety applicants were interviewed and evaluated on interpersonal skills and board scores. Selectors also looked for students with regional ties, said Dr. Dave Warters, UT Tyler chair of the department of anesthesiology.

“We want people with regional ties, because the whole goal here is to keep people and train people here and keep people here to practice for East Texas,” Warters said.

Applicants were diverse, driven, determined and leaders in their community. Some were in sports, had served in the military or participated in philanthropic efforts, said Dr. Joe Cooley, medical director of anesthesia services at UT Health East Texas.

A need to fill the void of anesthesiologists

Across the United States, anesthesiology has seen a national shortage. In addition, it is difficult to train and recruit, Warters said. Physician anesthesiologists are leaving the field of medicine due to burn-out, retirement or COVID-19 effects. About one-third of those practicing are over the age of 57 and on average retire at the age of 62, Cooley said.

UT Tyler started its new anesthesia residency program to address these needs.

“There’s a big void and anesthesia providers everywhere, both locally and nationally,” Cooley said. “So to have a residency program here helps to fill that void.”

Training the next generation

Through the residency program, two students at a time will work in operating rooms as Warters supervises them. NorthStar will provide the majority of faculty to teach the residents, Warters said.

“Once you’re in residency, you’re already a licensed physician,” Warters said. “So you can do much more. And throughout their training, they become more and more autonomous.”

At UT Tyler’s anesthesia department, there is a core group of long-standing professionals with two decades of experience in anesthesia. Later on, Warters and other experienced faculty were brought in. The program has a good balance of clinical experience and academics, Cooley said. Now with their partnership with NorthStar, a private group, the department gets “the best of both worlds,” Cooley said.

“We have the business acumen that we can teach the residents clinically and we have the academic support and backup of the UT program,” Cooley said.

Anesthesiologists do perioperative care, evaluate patients preoperatively and put them to sleep for surgery. While the surgeon manages the operation, anesthesiologists manage the rest of the patient, Warters said.

“In 30 years, I’ve never had anybody come for surgery who didn’t want anesthesia,” Warters said. “It pretty much go[es] hand in hand. So we keep the patient comfortable and safe during the surgeries.”

Anesthesia is a popular niche residency. Last year, it came second to orthopedics in popularity for medical students applying to residencies. However there are not many spots for students, as it is very competitive. At UT Tyler, the new program is starting with just six residents. In four years, the residency program will be able to support 24 residents. This is more than other programs near East Texas, Cooley said.

“There’s only a certain number of spots for all these quality individuals… all of them are smart, all of them are diverse, accomplished and other things,” Cooley said. “But the graduate education and medicine has fallen behind number wise and so we have these quality folks, but not enough places to put them in, especially when there’s something as specific as the anesthesia, so we definitely are helping meet that need of another program starting up.”

A third of the applicants are from Texas, including areas such as Dallas-Fort Worth, East Texas, Houston and Rio Grande Valley area. Applicants had the opportunity to come tour the school for a second look and nearly one-third participated, Cooley said.

“Historically, we’ve had some trouble enticing people to East Texas,” Cooley said. “But once we get them here, they really fall in love with the community and the culture and the opportunities that East Texas provides.”

How Giang got his top choice

Giang rewrote his personal statements four or five times. He wanted his application to be perfect, as he knew it would be crucial to stand out among the 929 other applicants. For him, an important factor in choosing where he wanted to do his residency was being close to his family members, who have been an important support system.

“My top priority in my life is my family,” Giang said. “They’re everything to me. So having their support and even now having them be an hour and a half away during residency, that’s a huge deal for me.”

He came to Tyler for a second look and was able to meet faculty and tour the facilities. He said the faculty members were welcoming and felt he could be himself around them. This was another important factor in determining his top choice.

“I’ll be showing up to work and working with the faculty every day for the next four years,” Giang said. “So I knew I wanted to fit in somewhere but get to be myself [and] don’t feel like I have to fake who I am, or just be as real as it gets.”

Giang looks forward to working in an operating room as a resident and meeting his cohort. During his third year as a medical student at Kansas City University, he learned he enjoyed being in the operating room and working with his hands. Anesthesia checked all the boxes for him. He is excited to set the tone for the program and to be working in his “dream specialty.”

“It’s a very exciting day today … As a medical student, all four years of med school lead up to today — seeing if you matched and where you match,” Giang said. “And me getting my No. 1, that’s such a huge accomplishment for me.”

What’s next?

In 2025, the UT Tyler School of Medicine building will be completed. The students will train in the 30 operating rooms in the state-of-the-art building. However, the department does not rule out partnering with local hospitals in the future as the program grows, Cooley said.

“You pat yourself on the back a little bit for the work that’s been done for now,” Cooley said. “But it’s just the first step, the next step will be getting them here and this summer and acclimated to the area.”

For more information on the residency, visit https://www.uthct.edu/anesthesiology-residency/overview/.

On Match Day, UT Tyler School of Medicine welcomed a total of 73 residents and fellows who will come aboard this July.