Wesley Burdiek, MD, is a new faculty member at UNMC.
- Name: Wesley Burdiek, MD
- Title and department at UNMC: Assistant professor, UNMC Department of Anesthesiology
- Hometown: Silver Lake, Kansas
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, because 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, 2010-12
- Emporia State University, bachelor of science in biochemistry and molecular biology, 2012-15
- University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, MD, 2016-20
- Anesthesiology Residency, University of Kansas-Wichita, 2020-24
- Critical care anesthesiology fellowship, UNMC, 2024-25
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.