Rima Matevosian is board certified in Anesthesiology. In 1987 Dr. Matevosian joined the staff at Olive View –UCLA Medical Center. She is active in patient care and teaching residents and medical students. Dr. Matevosian’s clinical work focuses on a broad spectrum of cases requiring regional and general anesthesia. As head of the Operative Services Committee, she manages the operating room on a daily basis. She is involved in strategic planning to accommodate the ever-increasing number of elective and emergency surgery cases.

In 1989 Dr. Matevosian joined the UCLA Department of Anesthesiology faculty, where she became even more involved with resident and student education and research. She became the Anesthesiology OR Director at Olive View –UCLA Medical Center in 1995. Because of the recognition of her ability to formulate clinical practice guidelines and promote interdisciplinary collaboration, she was subsequently named Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology in 2005. She is also a member of Medical Executive Committee and Director of the Depart of Anesthesiology Performance Improvement Committee at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center. In addition to her local involvement, Dr. Matevosian is a delegate to the California Society of Anesthesiologists.

Dr. Matevosian’s academic focus has revolved around medical student education. Her primary interest is the application of science learned in the first two years of medical school into the clinical setting, using simulation as a teaching adjunct. She emphasizes the importance of interpretation of vital signs and application of basic principles of history and physical diagnosis in her simulation sessions. As one of the first simulation instructors at the UCLA Simulation Center, trained under the Founder and Director Dr. Randy Steadman, she has been serving as the Director of Medical Student Simulation since 2000. In 2000 she was also selected as advisory board member to the Acute Care College, a School of Medicine program for senior students interested in careers in anesthesiology, emergency medicine and critical care. In this role she taught simulation-based learning to the fourth year medical students enrolled in Acute Care College. She was involved in simulation-based education in other college programs as well.

Dr. Matevosian has been the Course Director for Medical Student Clerkship at Olive View –UCLA Medical School since 1990. She is also the program Director for Anesthesiology Residency at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Matevosian has been instrumental in the establishment of a regional anesthesia program at Olive View for Anesthesiology residents. She was also involved in the development of the comprehensive Anesthesia intranet site including web applications for resident and medical student training. Dr. Matevosian plays an important role in advising and teaching residents and medical students. Due to her dedication and excellence in teaching, she was honored as the Grand Marshal for the Hippocratic Oath Ceremony award at the UCLA Medical School graduation in 2001.

Among Dr. Matevosian’s publications are a co-authorship of a chapter about incorporating simulation into the medical school curriculum and a research article comparing simulation-based training to problem-based learning. She has been involved in numerous workshops, including a critical incident simulation workshop, at ASA and other national meetings.

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