New Head of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care appointed at Magdeburg University Hospital
Prof. Dr. med. Robert Werdehausen brings new approaches in perioperative medicine and pain therapy as well as diverse clinical experience to Magdeburg
The Faculty of Medicine at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg welcomes Prof. Dr. med. Robert Werdehausen as the new Chair and Director of the University Clinic for Anaesthesiology and Intensive Therapy in Magdeburg from 1 July 2024. The 45-year-old succeeds Prof. Dr. med. Dr. med. sc. Thomas Hachenberg, who held the chair and headed the clinic for 23 years. This appointment will further strengthen translational research, clinical practice, student teaching and anesthesiology, pain, intensive care and emergency medicine at the University Medical Center Magdeburg.
Professor Werdehausen has over 17 years of professional experience and extensive expertise in all areas of clinical anesthesiology. His expertise includes cardio- and neuroanesthesia, pediatric anesthesia, regional anesthesia, transfusion and transplantation medicine as well as the anesthesiological management of modern surgical techniques such as robotic and fast-track surgery. He also has additional qualifications in intensive care medicine, emergency medicine, pain therapy, palliative medicine, ethics consultation and OR management. "I am looking forward to contributing to the further development of Magdeburg University Medicine, establishing new research activities in the areas of focus here and thus constantly improving the quality of medical care," explains Professor Werdehausen.
Photo: Prof. Dr. med. Robert Werdehausen is the new Chair and Director of the University Clinic for Anaesthesiology and Intensive Therapy in Magdeburg.
Photographer: Sarah Kossmann/University Medicine Magdeburg
Before moving to Magdeburg, Professor Werdehausen worked as a senior consultant and representative of the OR management at the Clinic and Polyclinic for Anesthesiology and Intensive Therapy at Leipzig University Hospital.Since February 2017, he has headed the entire Clinical Anesthesiology department there as a member of the clinic management team. He was also deputy head of the research laboratory, transfusion officer, member of the Drug Commission and worked as an emergency physician in the ground and air ambulance service.
Scientific focus and innovative therapeutic approaches
Professor Werdehausen's scientific focus is on researching the effects of local anesthetics on chronic pain and inflammatory processes and developing new therapeutic approaches to improve postoperative recovery, protect mental function and cope with pain. "My basic scientific and clinical research aims to use innovative approaches to significantly improve the prevention and treatment of chronic pain and protection against the negative consequences of surgery, such as post-operative confusion.The aim is to identify and reduce individual risk factors," he explains.
Professor Werdehausen is working intensively on the digitalization of clinical processes. "By implementing digital systems, we can significantly improve efficiency and safety, for example in preoperative evaluation," emphasizes Professor Werdehausen. He is also planning the clinical use of telemedicine in intensive care and emergency medicine in order to increase the quality and availability of care.
Promoting young talent and interprofessional teamwork
Professor Werdehausen's central concerns also include the promotion of young scientists, the expansion of clinical training and simulation capacities in Magdeburg and the recruitment and qualification of specialists for the location. "The training and career of the next generation of doctors is very important to me.I want to encourage them to get involved in research and teaching at an early stage and provide them with the best possible support along the way. At the same time, strengthening interprofessional and interdisciplinary teamwork in the fields of anaesthesiology, intensive care, emergency, pain and palliative medicine is essential and also a decisive success factor in patient care," he emphasizes.Professor Werdehausen therefore attaches great importance to modern management and the promotion of the individual skills and interests of all team members in the largest clinic at Magdeburg University Hospital.
About the person
Professor Werdehausen, born in 1979, was born in Mülheim an der Ruhr. After training as a paramedic, he studied medicine at Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, where he also completed his doctorate and habilitation.He obtained a Master of Health Business Administration (MHBA) at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg.He completed his specialist training in anesthesiology at Düsseldorf University Hospital.In April 2021, he was awarded an adjunct professorship by the University of Leipzig.His research, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), including at the Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research at University College London, has been recognized by numerous awards and publications. He is active for the German Society of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine as the first spokesman of the Scientific Working Group for Young Scientists (WAKWiN) and as the first deputy section spokesman of the Anesthesiology Section.
Background
In order to obtain a professorship at a university in Saxony-Anhalt, an appointment procedure must be carried out in accordance with Section 36 of the Higher Education Act of the State of Saxony-Anhalt (HSG LSA). Suitable candidates undergo an extensive procedure. An appointment committee made up of several experts assesses the candidate's performance in research, teaching and patient care.