Faculty Bio:

Dr. Michael D. Fallacaro is Professor Emeritus at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, Virginia. He received his BSN from D'Youville College, Buffalo, New York in 1977, a BS in Anesthesia from George Washington University, Washington D.C. in 1981 and his MS and PhD in Nursing from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1984 and 1994 respectively. Dr. Fallacaro was the previous Co-Director of the Nurse Anesthesia Program in Buffalo and Chair of the VCU Department of Nurse Anesthesia for 22 years. He has authored and co-authored over 40 journal articles, book chapters, and research abstracts in publications such as the AANA Journal, the American Surgeon, the Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, and the Journal of Nursing Care Quality. Recognized as a committed academician and clinician, he has lectured across the nation on topics relating to human factors and patient safety, the anesthesia workforce, and doctoral education. In addition, his professional achievements include securing more than 2.25 million dollars in grant funding for healthcare related training and research with emphasis on the medically underserved.

Dr. Fallacaro is a two-time past Chair of the AANA Education Committee, past Chair of the AANA Foundation and past member of the New York State Board for Nursing. He currently serves as Treasurer of The Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs.

Dedicating more than half of his 40-year career as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist to anesthesia research and education, Fallacaro was honored as AANA Program Director of the Year in 1999 and in 2008 as Researcher of the Year by the AANA Foundation. In 2015, Dr. Fallacaro was chosen as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and he received the AANA Helen Lamb Outstanding Educator Award in 2020. In 2021, Dr. Fallacaro was inducted as an Honorary Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists.