Dr. Franziska Miller couldn’t wait to start her fellowship in pain management at Stanford University in California’s Bay Area in June 2024.
The German-born anesthesiologist who graduated from McMaster University’s Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine – Niagara Regional Campus was just as eager to bring that learning home when she joined Niagara Health this fall.
“I loved being here as a medical student. The region is beautiful, the people are so friendly and the nature is incredible here,” Dr. Miller says. “The hospital is also big enough but small enough to have community. That was really important to me – to have a community with the people I work with.”
As the newest member of Niagara Health’s anesthesiology team, Dr. Miller helps a department of pain management experts maintain its record of completing 100 per cent of scheduled surgeries, including general, orthopedic and obstetric procedures.
But with that one-year Stanford fellowship completed after a five-year residency at Dalhousie University, Dr. Miller also brings specialized skills that position Niagara Health at the forefront of care.
At Stanford, she learned emerging pain treatments that could one day be approved in Canada. Once those procedures are green-lighted here, she’ll be among the few Canadian physicians able to offer them immediately – no extra training needed.
“The U.S. has a lot of technology we don’t have in Canada yet. But that doesn’t mean it’s not coming here. I wanted to get a head-start on the procedures coming here one day,” Dr. Miller explains. “Stanford has so many doctors operating on the edge of innovation. It was just great to be part of it.”
“There’s a wide variety of opportunities in anesthesia to use my skills. There’s also a lot of opportunity in Niagara to help people with pain management and offer support to other providers.”
Though her training could have taken her anywhere, Dr. Miller was determined to return to Niagara, where she met her mentor, now-retired anesthesiologist Dr. George Bibawi during her studies. He showed her the advantages of working in a community hospital, including the chance to practise across many areas of care rather than be limited to a single specialty, which is often the case in larger centres.
“There’s a wide variety of opportunities in anesthesia to use my skills,” she says. “There’s also a lot of opportunity in Niagara to help people with pain management and offer support to other providers.”
She also looks forward to building community with other young physicians and her former NRC classmates she’s reconnected with since her return, who share her goal of high-quality, co-ordinated care.
Those relationships, she adds, help strengthen a multidisciplinary approach to pain management – one that incorporates psychology and nutrition, for example, alongside typical medical or interventional treatments.
“I’d like to keep people here, even if I’m not necessarily following them a long time,” Dr. Miller says. “I’m here to support and assist the community so they don’t have to travel for care.”
