Wesley Burdiek, MD, is a new faculty member at UNMC.
Hometown: Silver Lake, Kansas
Title and department at UNMC: Assistant professor, UNMC Department of Anesthesiology
How I became interested in anesthesiology: I had fantastic mentors that were anesthesiologists, and I seemed to get along with the personalities of anesthesiologists. I originally wanted to be an internist as I enjoyed hospital medicine, but desired to have some procedural skills as well. Once I found out there was an option to do procedures and critical care with anesthesiology, I was hooked.
Education:
- Coffeyville Community College, associate of science (2010 – 2012)
- Emporia State University, bachelor of science in biochemistry and molecular biology (2012 – 2015)
- University of Kansas School of Medicine – Wichita, MD (2016 – 2020)
- Anesthesiology Residency, University of Kansas – Wichita (2020 – 2024)
- Critical care anesthesiology fellowship, UNMC (2024 – 2025)
Medical interests: Critical care, extra corporeal life support, mechanical circulatory support devices, medical education
Professional Memberships: American Medical Association, International Anesthesia Research Society, American Society of Anesthesiologists, Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists
How I fell in love with anesthesiology: I very much enjoy the OR workflow and the wide variety of cases; every day is different. Seeing real time physiology and intervening to acutely correct derangements or pain is rewarding.
Three things people may not know about me:
- I was a college athlete – a left-handed pitcher at community college before focusing on medicine.
- I have three kids – one during each phase of my medical education/training.
- My wife and I are high school sweethearts.