Newswise — Brian D. Sites, MD, MS, has been selected to serve as editor-in-chief (EIC) of the journal Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine after the retirement of EIC Dr. Marc Huntoon at the end of the year.
Dr. Sites is the medical director of the Acute Pain Medicine Service at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH. He also serves as director of orthopedic anesthesiology, directory of the Center for Learning and Professional Development, and vice chair of research in the department of anesthesiology. An active member of and volunteer for the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA) for many years, Dr. Sites resigned from his position on the ASRA Board of Directors in September to take on the EIC role.
Formerly an executive editor of the journal, Dr. Sites has begun transitioning into the new role under Dr. Huntoon’s guidance, who has served as EIC since 2006. Under Dr. Huntoon’s leadership, the journal has expanded from 6 to 12 issues per year and now places at 5 among 31 journals in the Anesthesiology Impact Factor Category, according to Clarivate Analytics.
“I am deeply honored to become the editor-in-chief of this prestigious publication,” Dr. Sites said. “Marc nurtured us through several key initiatives including the expansion of chronic pain publications, new sections, a dynamic and diverse editorial board, and the publication of major clinical practice guidelines.”
Dr. Sites has several plans in place to expand the journal to adjust to an ever-changing field of medicine.
“The fields of acute and chronic pain medicine are evolving at a dramatic pace, with nearly an endless set of new patient populations, procedural techniques, image guidance modalities, and therapies,” he said, adding that RAPM will always embrace high-quality investigations across a wide spectrum of methodological approaches.
Dr. Sites’s plans include an increasing focus on population health and social policy. “Research investigations that are powered to explore outcomes such as functional status, quality of life, cancer survival, death, cognitive decline, sustained opioid use, health-care resource utilization, escalation of care, and development of chronic pain are in immediate need,” he said. Expanded social media efforts and statistical analyses also play a role in his future vision.
Dr. Sites received his medical degree from Brown University School of Medicine as well as a master’s in clinical and health services research from The Dartmouth Institute. He performed his residency and was chief resident at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, and he has taught at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth since 2002, achieving the level of professor of anesthesiology and orthopedics in 2015. He also serves as the associate dean of continuing medical education at that institution. He has served on the RAPM Editorial Board since 2004 and is a reviewer for a number of other journals including Spine, Anesthesia and Analgesia, and Anesthesiology. He is a frequent national presenter and author of several book chapters and 75 peer-reviewed articles. He lives in Lebanon, NH, with his wife and four children.
Founded in 1975, Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine is currently published by BMJ and can be accessed at www.rapm.org.
ASRA is a professional membership society of more than 5,000 physicians, scientists, and other healthcare professionals in more than 60 countries. Its mission is to advance the science and practice of regional anesthesia and pain medicine to improve patient outcomes through research, education, and advocacy. Learn more at www.asra.com.