Anita Mathew, MD

Residency: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Medical School: University of Illinois at Chicago

“I feel enormously lucky to be part of the SLCH family for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, the program emphasizes a good working relationship with the attendings. I love the jovial and supportive nature of all of the pediatric anesthesia attendings. It is rare to go a morning lecture without someone telling a lighthearted joke and the room erupting with smiles. I definitely feel that the program gives priority to the fellows in terms of case experience and procedures, and our program director ensures that our interests in particular areas are met. We are continuously encouraged to excel in research and quality improvement and are provided time outside of the OR to do so. Though pediatric anesthesia has always appealed to me, I did become interested in pain management during residency. As soon as our program director found this out, he put me in contact with several pediatric pain faculty. Ample opportunities to excel in pain research and clinical care were provided. Our pain service provides several regional anesthesia techniques that I never encountered during residency including scalp, erector spinae, superficial cervical nerve, and superzygomatic maxillary nerve blocks. I feel very confident that I will leave fellowship having a strong foundation in perioperative pain management in the pediatric patient. I am a proud Chicagoan, so it is hard for me to admit that I love St. Louis. It has the perks of a trendy city without the annoying crowds or lines. I’ve been enjoying living in the Central West End which is an easy walk to work, with a lot of surrounding food options. I didn’t know many people in St. Louis before moving here, and fortunately the Washington University/SLU area creates a big community of young professionals. It has only been a couple of months since moving here and I’m already considering staying!”