SUMMARY
Laurence C. Torsher, M.D., is interested in continuing professional development (CPD) within anesthesia. Dr. Torsher's research is geared toward developing and refining methods of airway education as well as using simulation in education of medical students and residents and in CPD for practicing health care professionals. In addition, he is active in resident and medical student education for teamwork, safety and management of critical events.
Dr. Torsher is also active within the Mayo Clinic liver transplant group and has been an active member of the regional anesthesia practice group for many years.
Focus areas
- CPD: Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology (MOCA). Dr. Torsher is one of the founders of the Mayo Clinic MOCA course, a one-day course offered quarterly at Mayo's campus in Rochester, Minnesota, to meet the requirements of Part 4 of the MOCA program as mandated by the American Board of Anesthesiology. In addition, Dr. Torsher serves on the national committee that endorses simulation centers offering simulation for MOCA courses. He also participates in multicenter simulation trials studying the role of simulation in CPD as well as how practicing anesthesiologists manage clinical situations.
- CPD: Self-evaluation and education. Dr. Torsher is actively involved in CPD within the anesthesia community as the medical editor for the American Society of Anesthesiologists Self-Education and Evaluation project, a semiannual self-study guide based on the emerging literature of the anesthesia community. He and eight other members from anesthesia practices from across the U.S. put the product together on an ongoing basis.
- Liver transplant practice, research and education. Dr. Torsher is active in the liver transplant program as an anesthesiologist, a clinical researcher, and as an educator for residents and fellows rotated through the transplant rotation.
- Regional anesthesia. Dr. Torsher has been active within the regional anesthesia practice at Mayo for more than 10 years. He has participated in the large scale rollout of peripheral nerve blocks, the utilization of ultrasound in regional anesthesia and the education of residents in both.
Significance to patient care
Dr. Torsher's goals include making anesthesia and clinical care safer, more comfortable and more cost effective through team training, utilizing a reflective approach to practice, and acquisition of new skills and techniques. Through education and research, he works to realize these goals in his own personal practice as well as to facilitate the same for his peers and trainees.
Professional highlights
- Medical editor, American Society of Anesthesiology Self- Education and Evaluation project, 2014-present
- Editor, Advances in Anesthesia (Elsevier), 2014-present