Physician-scientist, a cappella arranger, coach, and producer

About Me

I am currently a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Neuroanesthesia group of the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at Stanford. I am also the Editor-in-Chief and Chief Technology Officer of WikiAnesthesia, a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide the global anesthesia community with a free, open-access, crowd-sourced repository of anesthesia knowledge. Previously, I was a neuroanesthesia fellow and anesthesiology resident at Stanford, and an MD/PhD student at The University of Chicago, where I also directed and sang with the a cappella group Voices in Your Head.

Recent Updates

7/1/2022: I am very excited to start in my new role as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Neuroanesthesia group of the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at Stanford.

3/1/2022: New paper: In the latest issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, our manuscript "Association Between Changes in Postoperative Opioid Utilization and Long-Term Health Care Spending Among Surgical Patients With Chronic Opioid Utilization" found that among patients using opioids chronically preoperatively, subsequent increases and decreases in postoperative opioid utilization were associated with analogous increases and decreases in postoperative health care spending.

11/9/2021: New paper: In the latest issue of Annals of Surgery, our manuscript "Association Between State Limits on Opioid Prescribing and the Incidence of Persistent Postoperative Opioid Use Among Surgical Patients" found that laws limiting opioid prescriptions were not associated with subsequent reductions in persistent postoperative opioid use.

12/1/2021: New paper: In the latest issue of Anesthesiology, our manuscript "Preoperative Opioid Utilization Patterns and Postoperative Opioid Utilization: A Retrospective Cohort Study" analyzed whether increases or decreases in opioid utilization were associated with differences in postoperative opioid utilization. While we hypothesized that a preoperative change would be associated with a similar postoperative change (e.g. increased preoperative utilization would be associated with increased postoperative utilization), we found that both decreased and increased preoperative utilization were associated with decreased postoperative utilization. Check out the paper for more details and discussion.

7/1/2021: After having completed 2 years of a postdoctoral fellowship, I am now transitioning to a clinical fellowship in Neuroanesthesia, also at Stanford.

10/1/2020: New paper: In the latest issue of JAMA Network Open, our manuscript "Association Between Preoperative Benzodiazepine Use and Postoperative Opioid Use and Health Care Costs" analyzed whether preoperative benzodiazepine use among opioid-naïve patients was associated with differences in postoperative opioid utilization. We found that preoperative benzodiazepine use was associated with both increased risk of developing long-term opioid use and increased opioid dosages postoperatively, and may be associated with increased postoperative health care spending.

6/24/2019: Today I graduated from anesthesiology residency at Stanford and in July will be starting a postdoctoral fellowship under the mentorship of Eric Sun and Martin Angst, will serve as a Clinical Instructor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at Stanford.

2/26/2019: New paper: In the latest issue of JAMA, our manuscript "Association of Overlapping Surgery With Perioperative Outcomes" analyzed the association between overlapping surgery and mortality, complications, and length of surgery. We found that among adults undergoing common operations, overlapping surgery was not significantly associated with differences in in-hospital mortality or postoperative complication rates but was significantly associated with increased surgery length.

4/3/2017: The 2017 CARA winners were announced today and I'm excited that "Feel So Bad" (an original song co-written by Shuba and I) won the award for Best Original Song for a Scholastic Group and got runner-up for Best Professional Arrangement for a Scholastic Group. Congratulations to my former group Voices in Your Head for also winning the award for the Best Mixed Collegiate Album (which includes "Feel So Bad" along with several other of my arrangements).

5/12/2016: My quality improvement project ("SEE DIFF: Screening, Education, and Empowerment to Diagnose and Isolate c. diff For the Forefront of medicine.") was selected as a winner of the University of Chicago Choosing Wisely Challenge. The project aims to reduce hospital-acquired C. diff infections through a multifaceted approach of targeted screening upon admission and clinical decision support to encourage evidence-based testing throughout a patient's hospitalization.

4/9/2016: More good news! My arrangement "Heroes Listen" was selected as the runner-up for the 2016 CARA for Best Professional Arrangement for a Scholastic group.

4/18/2015: ICCA finals results! My scholastic group Voices in Your Head competed at ICCA finals this weekend at the Beacon Theatre in New York City and took home 2nd place, losing out on 1st by only 6 points! Special congrats to Shubha Vedula who was awarded outstanding soloist at all 3 rounds of the competition (quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals). Although I was not able to perform with them this year, it was a ton of fun to arrange and help coach them through this competition season.

4/11/2015: I'm happy to report that my arrangement "Burn" was selected as the winner of the 2015 CARA for Best Professional Arrangement for a Scholastic group. The track was also selected as the runner-up for the 2015 CARA for Best Mixed Collegiate Song.

3/20/2015: MATCH DAY! I'm so thrilled to share that I will be doing my anesthesiology residency at Stanford and my intern year in internal medicine at UChicago! Although it will be difficult to leave Chicago after almost a decade, I can't wait to embark on this journey and see what exciting adventures await!

1/23/2015: I'm very excited to announce a partnership with The Vocal Company on their new a cappella songwriting initiative! Original music is one of the best ways for your group to truly find its own identity, sound, and convey exactly the message that most speaks to the heart of what the group is all about. If original songs are new to your group, it may seem risky and somewhat overwhelming to take that leap. However, it is totally doable and will absolutely prove worth it, and I'm excited to help out however I can. You can hear some samples of original songs I have written on my production page.

1/3/2015: Happy New Year! Good things have been afoot over the last few months. Interviewing for anesthesiology residency programs has been a blast. I've gotten to meet some amazing people in the field while visiting a number of really impressive programs. I'm so excited for match day! On the a cappella front, my arrangement of Burn was selected for both BOCA 2015 and Sing 11. RARB also reviewed both Burn as a single and Voices in Your Head's 2014 album, each of which were rated 5/5. Best wishes for everyone's 2015! :-)

4/26/2014: I did an interview about my arranging for the Recorded A Cappella Review Board (RARB) which was published today. Thanks so much for the opportunity (in particular Nicholas Wright, Kimberly Sailor, and Mike Marcus)! I hope people find it interesting and/or useful. Check it out here: http://www.rarb.org/features/2014/04/interview-chris-rishel/

1/19/2014: Many of my most frequently purchased arrangements are now available through an automated payment and immediate download service. Check out the arrangements page for more information (and a free arrangement!).