Bio

Mgbechi Ugonna Erondu, MD MFA is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor for the Department of Anesthesia, Pain and Perioperative Medicine and the Division of Quality of Life and Pediatric Palliative Care at Stanford University and is board-certified in Pediatric Anesthesiology and Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Her academic interests include the intersection between fiction writing and medical humanities, perioperative management of pediatric palliative care patients, interdisciplinary care of persons living with sickle cell disease, and equitable and inclusive global health practices.

Clinical Focus

  • Pediatric Anesthesia
  • Pediatric Hospice and Palliative Medicine

Academic Appointments

Honors & Awards

  • SPA Rising Star, Society for Pediatric Anesthesia (2023)
  • ASA Mentoring Grant Award, American Society of Anesthesiologists (2021)
  • Gold Humanism Award, Gold Humanism Honor Society (2017)
  • Writing and Humanities Program Outstanding Achievement in Creative Writing Award, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine (2016)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

  • Adjunct Member, ASA Committee on Palliative Care (2023 - Present)
  • Adjunct Member, ASA Committee on Pain Medicine (2023 - Present)
  • Member, American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (2022 - Present)
  • Member, Society for Pediatric Anesthesiology (2019 - Present)
  • Member, American Society of Anesthesiologists (2014 - Present)

Professional Education

  • Board Certification: American Board of Internal Medicine, Hospice and Palliative Medicine (2024)
  • Board Certification, American Board of Anesthesiology, Hospice and Palliative Medicine (2024)
  • Fellowship: UCSF Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship (2023) CA
  • Board Certification: American Board of Anesthesiology, Pediatric Anesthesia (2022)
  • Board Certification: American Board of Anesthesiology, Anesthesia (2022)
  • Fellowship: Baylor College of Medicine Pediatric Anesthesia Fellowship (2022) TX
  • Residency: Baylor College of Medicine Anesthesiology Residency (2021) TX
  • Medical Education: University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine (2017) IA
  • MFA, Iowa Writers' Workshop, Creative Writing - Fiction (2016)

Contact

  • Academic
    erondu@stanford.edu
    University - Academic staff Department: Anesthesia - Pediatric Position: Clinical Assistant Professor
  • Clinical (Primary)  Anesthesia Department 300 Pasteur Dr Rm H3580 MC 5640 Stanford, CA 94305 (650) 725-8544 (fax)

Additional Clinical Info

Additional Info

  • Mail Code: 5640

All Publications

  • Equity in Palliative Care: Interviews with Leaders of a Sickle Cell Community-Facing Organization Erondu, M. U., Boateng, S. ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. 2024: E644-E645

    View details for Web of Science ID 001282805300228

  • Expanding Narrative Medicine through the Collaborative Construction and Compelling Performance of Stories. The Journal of medical humanities Nash, W., Erondu, M., Childress, A. 2023; 44 (2): 207-225

    Abstract

    This essay proposes an expansion of the concept of narrative competence, beyond close reading, to include two more skills: the collaborative construction and compelling performance of stories. To show how this enhanced form of narrative competence can be attained, the essay describes Off Script, a cocurricular medical storytelling program with three phases: 1) creative writing workshop, 2) dress rehearsal, and 3) public performance of stories. In these phases, Off Script combines literary studies, creative writing, reflective practice, collegial feedback, and drama. With increased narrative competence, Off Script participants are likely better equipped to engage in more impactful health advocacy and partner with patients more effectively.

    View details for DOI 10.1007/s10912-022-09779-6

    View details for PubMedID 36690776

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC9870772

  • Palliative care, resuscitation status, and end-of-life considerations in pediatric anesthesia. Current opinion in anaesthesiology Erondu, M. U., Mahoney, D. P. 2020; 33 (3): 354-360

    Abstract

    To familiarize pediatric anesthesiologists with primary palliative care procedural communication skills and recommendations for discussions involving complex medical decision-making or advance care planning, such as discussions about resuscitation status.Recent publications highlight the benefits of pediatric palliative care (PPC) for seriously ill patients and their families, and how PPC principles might be applied to perioperative communication and decision-making. Both prospective and retrospective reports reveal improved quality of life, symptom management, and avoidance of unnecessary interventions when PPC is introduced early for a child with serious illness.Pediatric anesthesiologists will, at some point, care for a child with serious illness who would benefit from PPC. It is important that all members of the perioperative care team are familiar with primary PPC procedural communication skills and models for approaching discussions about goals of care, shared decision-making, and advance care planning. Pediatric anesthesiologists should be incorporated as early as possible in team discussions about potential procedures requiring sedation for seriously ill children.

    View details for DOI 10.1097/ACO.0000000000000860

    View details for PubMedID 32371634