Interviewed by Brenda Dickinson
Dr. A. Michael de Rosayro planned to stay at the University of Michigan for a year, and ended up staying for 20! After completing his medical education in England, he was an Instructor at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden for a year, and then was a Consultant Anaesthetist at Nottingham-shire Health Authority for a year. In 1978, Dr. de Rosayro joined the U-M Department of Anesthesiology for a year long position as an Instructor, to start a section of obstetric anesthesiology in C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. After that year he was asked to stay on as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, and as Assistant Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He ran the obstetric anesthesiology section for three more years, until he was appointed as the Director of the Multidisciplinary Pain Center. He directed the growth of the center for 16 years and his retirement from the U-M Department of Anesthesiology last June came after 20 years of dedicated service.
Dr. de Rosayro was appointed as the Director of the Pain Clinic in the Department of Anesthesiology in 1982, and in 1986, when the center’s name changed he became the Director of Coordinated Chronic Pain Program/Multidisciplinary Pain Center. As Director, he fostered the establishment of a 12-month pain fellowship in 1992. In 1997, the American College of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accredited the fellowship. There are currently five fellows trained each year. In addition to training Anesthesiology Department residents, Dr. de Rosayro also directed training for residents from Psychiatry, Internal Medicine, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation on a regular basis, and a four-week elective in pain management for medical students. Over the years, Dr. de Rosayro oversaw other interdisciplinary ventures such as the formation of a joint clinic with Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the VA Medical Center, and establishment of a satellite clinic at the University Center for Specialty Care in Livonia, Michigan.
Dr. de Rosayro became a Clinical Associate Professor of the Department of Anesthesiology in1986 and was named the Robert B. Sweet Clinical Instructor of the Year in 1988. He was the Director of Obstetric Anesthesia from 1978 to 1991, and Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology from 1980 to 1998. Dr. de Rosayro gave regular lectures to staff, residents, nurse anesthetists and medical students in the De-partment of Anesthesiology. He lectured OB residents and medical students in the Department of Obstetrics, and he was a Clinical Skills Instructor at the U-M Medical Center. He served on the Chairman’s Executive Committee in the Department of Anesthesiology, the Clinical Competence Committee, and the Referring Physician Communications Medical Staff Implementation Work Group from 1983 to 1989.
Dr. de Rosayro has become the Medical Director of the Pain Clinic at the Munson Community Health Center in Traverse City, Michigan. Terri Dewyer, Clinical Department Assistant, expressed her feelings about the years she worked with Dr. de Rosayro: “During the 17 years I worked with de Ro, he was an inspiration to myself and others. He had a way of always treating people with respect no matter what their position. His wisdom and knowledge in training the residents and fellows was evident in his receiving the Robert B. Sweet, M.D. Clinical Instructor of the Year Award. His leadership and mentoring skills are without a doubt what enabled those around him to excel and prosper. His dedication and willingness to provide service to his patients goes without saying. He was well respected and admired by all. His expertise in pain management has made him well known throughout the country. He has a humorous and fun side that bodes well with his more serious attributes. He demonstrated love and dedication to his family, his wife Lesley, and daughters Juliette, Michelle and Kate.”