Nicholas G. Bircher

Nicholas G. Bircher. MD, FCCM is a Professor in the Nurse Anesthesia Program and Associate Professor Emeritus in the Department of Anesthesiology, both at the University of Pittsburgh. He completed an AB degree in Chemistry and Physics at Harvard University in 1977 on a Godfrey Lowell Cabot Scholarship. He obtained his MD degree at the University of Pittsburgh in 1981 on a Navy Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship. He then did a surgical internship and anesthesia residency both at the University Health Center of Pittsburgh. After serving from 1984 to 1988, on active duty at the Naval Hospital Bethesda, he returned to Pittsburgh and completed both Critical Care and Resuscitation Research fellowships.

Dr. Bircher began his research career in 1979 at the International Resuscitation Research Center, later renamed after its founder Dr. Peter Safar. He has over 300 scientific publications including 67 original peer-reviewed articles, 2 books, and 73 book chapters and review articles. He has lectured national and internationally on a wide variety of topics in Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Resuscitation. Current research interests include determinants of outcome in resuscitation from in-hospital cardiac arrest (Anesthesiology, March, 2019), safe and effective use of insulin infusions (Co-Chair, American College of Critical Care Medicine Task Force on Glycemic Control, 2005-present); and the application of Systems Thinking to Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (Member since 2010 of the Special Task Force on Reshaping the System of Survival for Sudden Cardiac Arrest and Fellow of the Institute of Systems Wisdom since 2014).

Teaching

Dr. Bircher served as an Assistant Professor at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, as well as an instructor in the Nurse Anesthesia Program and the Anesthesiology Residency at the Naval Hospital Bethesda from 1984 to 1988. He has taught in Pitt’s Nurse Anesthesia Program and Anesthesiology residency since 1989. He has served on Masters (Biostatistics), PhD (Experimental Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) and DPH (Epidemiology) degree committees. Dr. Bircher teaches across the curriculum with a particular focus developing the quality improvement skill set required for the Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree. As part of this effort, he works extensively with students on the statistical analysis component of their DNP projects.