U.S. Army Major Robert Fabich, DNP, CRNA, was the 2020 recipient of the Acute Surgical Pain Management (ASPM) Fellowship “Outstanding Achievement Award,” presented at Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia’s Commencement ceremony in December.

Fabich currently serves as the Chief of Anesthesia at Bassett Army Community Hospital at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska. Prior to that, he was part of 102nd Forward Surgical Team deployed to Syria, supporting U.S. troops on their final push against ISIS.

“Robert has done some outstanding work in the field of acute surgical pain management,” said Bill Johnson, DNAP, CRNA, Director of the Fellowship and DNAP Completion program, during the award presentation. “During his deployment, he participated in more than 600 trauma cases, making him the busiest deployed anesthesia provider in the combat theater.”

Fabich began the MTSA Fellowship in 2018 but had to leave the program for his deployment. After returning to the U.S., he re-enrolled in the Fellowship and completed the program in 2020.

“Robert has presented internationally on topics of acute pain management. He most recently presented at the World Congress of Nurse Anesthetists in Glasgow, Scotland, while enrolled in the Fellowship. His military decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal with a Combat Device, and Expert Field Medical Badge. He supports the local community in Fairbanks by volunteering with the local fire department as an EMT and a firefighter,” Johnson said.

Fabich used his war-time experience to publish three case studies, with the help of several colleagues, that were circulated in the journal Military Medicine:

• A Novel Use of the Erector Spinae Block in the Austere Environment (co-authors: Sharrod Greene, DNP, CRNA; Currie Tighe, BSN, RN; Rebekah Devasahayam, MD; and Tyson Becker, MD, FACS)
• Definitive Management of a Traumatic Airway: Case Report (co-authors: Benjamin T. Franklin, MD, and Nicholas Langan, MD)
• Rare Use of Posterolateral Thoracotomy in an Austere Environment (co-authors: Rebekah J. Devasahayam, MD; Currie A Tighe, BSN; and Tyson E. Becker, MD)

“There’s no other program that’s as cutting-edge when it comes to acute surgical pain management and ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia as MTSA’s program. It’s above and beyond anything I experienced in my initial CRNA education. Dr. Bill Johnson does an amazing job with the amount of content that has gone into the program. As a bonus you have the opportunity to learn and interact with some of the heavyweights of regional anesthesia in our profession,” Fabich said.

“I’d like to thank Fellowship faculty such as Bill Johnson, John Edwards, Dan Nash, Stace Dollar, Patrick Myer and others. Each one of them taught me something that I’ve been able to apply in my practice or teach to another colleague. Because of the instruction they gave me, they’ve affected the lives of service members across the United States and the world,” Fabich added.

Prior to joining the Army, Fabich received his BSN from the Military College of Vermont Norwich University, He was accepted into the United States Army Graduate Program in Anesthesia Nursing (USAGPAN), and earned his DNP from Northeastern University. A native of Bedford, N.H., he is married to his wife Rebecca of 11 years.

About the Outstanding Achievement Award

Recipients are selected by MTSA and the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) to receive the Outstanding Achievement Award, which includes a $1,000 cash prize. The award is based on a Fellow’s ability to:

• contribute to the clinical expertise and scholarship in acute pain management;
• advance the scope of nurse anesthesia practice;
• develop innovative acute surgical pain management approaches that contribute to safe and effective patient care;
• inspire other nurse anesthesia providers in the profession;
• interact collegially with all health care providers to positively impact the image of nurse anesthesia; and
• participate in community affairs, legislation and organizations that affect and advance nurse anesthesia practice.