Focus on Faculty
September 2007
 Patrick Kevin Boyle, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Clinical Anesthesiology
Where were you born and where did you grow up?
I was born in Raton, New Mexico and grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
When did you join the UA faculty?
July 31, 2007
Tell us about your training.
I took a non traditional track, starting out with an undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering and then going on to flight school. I trained for a year and got my wings, then moved on to specialize in anti-submarine warfare and spent three years tracking Russian submarines in the Pacific. I actually came to the University of Arizona in 1987 as an Assistant Professor of Naval Science, and began a Masters in Toxicology/Industrial Hygiene. I then decided to take a chance and apply to Medical School. I went to the Uniformed Services University Medical School in Bethesda so I could continue in the military, and graduated in 1993.
Tell us more about your nontraditional career.
I did an internship in the Naval Hospital in San Diego, Balboa and served as flight surgeon. I ended up going to Fallon, Nevada where I was essentially a general practitioner with some specialized training. We were 70 miles west of Reno and the only Level II Trauma Center. A lot of events during this time made me grow up quickly. I then returned to the residency program at Naval Hospital, San Diego. After being Chief Resident, I stayed on as a staff member until I retired as a Vice Chairman of Clinical Affairs and Staff Anesthesiologist this summer.
In February 2004 I received a page from one of my classmates who is also a surgeon. He said “We are going to Iraq.” I said, “You are kidding me!” I had two weeks to get ready. That definitely was a life defining experience!
I worked 6 miles west of Fallujah in a place called Al Taqaddum. We had a small ultrasound machine to do abdominal exams and check for trauma, and one operating room to handle these surgeries. However, isolated extremity surgeries on a busted arm or leg were handled in a tent, where we did a peripheral nerve block, performed the surgery, put an external fixature on it and then sent the patient back out. So as the result of that, I became an experienced ultrasound regionalist. Over time I developed a novel technique for using ultrasound to do peripheral nerve blocks. It allows you to actually see most of the nerves along the vessels so you can deposit local anesthetic under direct ultrasound guidance. I thought I had come onto something brand new until one of my buddies sent me a paper about doing a leg block using a similar technique.
Back in San Diego, we had a lot of kids (and they are kids) returning from the Iraq theatre with horrendous injuries that result in chronic regional pain. I was able to develop an ambulatory perennial catheter service, so we could send people home with a local infusion running in the catheter.
What kinds of professional opportunities attracted you to come to the University of Arizona?
I was at the top of the Naval system and I needed a new challenge. There was no established program here in regional pain management. So I have an opportunity to enhance the acute pain service, to develop a program similar to the one in San Diego that provides pain management outside of the operating room. I also want to develop the curriculum pertaining to acute pain management.
One of the things that I found coming here is that in military anesthesia, your experienced folks are not that experienced by civilian standards. I show up here and I’m one of the less experiences anesthesiologists. I feel like a pup again and am looking forward to learning from these guys. Also, the department is very low key, everyone is very supportive of each other and very hard working. So I saw the potential here, given the climate, the city and the potential to expand, as well as the new challenge.
What are some of your outside interests?
I became a triathlon junkie. I am not at the iron man level or the half iron level, but I have done several races and competed the Olympic distance. I will never be too fast, but I am not going to be the last guy. That is another reason why I chose Tucson, it is a highly rated triathlon setting, an awesome bike town. I have already been out riding with a nice low key cycling club and if my wife would let me, I would bike in to the office everyday, but it’s about 14 miles.
What one piece of advice you would give to today's students?
Persevere! I have learned that I have had to persevere in everything that I have done. For example, I was told I was too old to go to medical school when I was 27. I did not let it stop me. It doesn’t matter how old you are or what you are doing, perseverance is the key to success. That and get a very well rounded education. You should also find something that helps you mature as a physician, such as an international rotation. |
