James (Jim) G Cain, MD, MBA, FASA, FAAP, FAAP, DABA, DABA-Peds, DABA-CCM

James G. Cain, MD, MBA, FASA, FAAP, D.ABA, D.ABA-Peds, D.ABA-CCM, is Professor and Chair of Anesthesiology at the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville. An adult and pediatric anesthesiologist, intensivist, educator, innovator, and physician leader, Dr. Cain has dedicated his career to providing exceptional care for patients and families, advancing clinical innovation and scholarly discovery, developing people and high-performing teams, strengthening systems of care, and advocating for initiatives that improve patient outcomes and advance the specialty of anesthesiology.

Since joining UF in 2023, Dr. Cain has worked alongside an exceptional team to continue advancing the Department of Anesthesiology’s missions of clinical care, education, research, innovation, and service. His leadership has focused on recruiting and supporting outstanding faculty, expanding clinical programs, encouraging scholarly discovery, and fostering a culture built on collaboration, professionalism, continuous improvement, and well-being. The department’s faculty include nationally recognized clinicians, educators, researchers, and leaders contributing locally, nationally, and internationally through patient care, education, investigation, quality improvement, innovation, and advocacy.

A central focus of Dr. Cain’s leadership is educating and supporting the next generation of anesthesiologists. The UF Jacksonville Anesthesiology Residency Program attracts outstanding applicants from across the country and provides exceptional clinical experiences, dedicated mentorship, and opportunities to participate in research, quality improvement, innovation, and scholarly work. Through initiatives including Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt training, residents develop skills to analyze systems, improve care delivery, and lead meaningful change.

Dr. Cain’s approach to medicine and leadership was shaped by lessons in service, teamwork, responsibility, and perseverance learned from his family, athletics, and upbringing in Port Jervis, New York. Early experiences as a newspaper carrier, restaurant manager, lifeguard, and instructor reinforced the importance of preparation, accountability, teaching, teamwork, and taking pride in every role. These lessons became foundational to his belief that successful organizations are created when individuals work together toward a shared purpose.

A Jesuit education at the University of Scranton, where he competed as a collegiate wrestler, strengthened his commitment to service, discipline, teamwork, and developing others. He earned his medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh, where working in the laboratory of Peter Safar, MD—a pioneer in anesthesiology, resuscitation, critical care, and emergency medicine—inspired his interest in caring for patients during their most vulnerable moments and improving systems of care.

After completing an internal medicine internship at Yale, Dr. Cain completed anesthesiology residency and advanced fellowship training in adult and pediatric cardiac anesthesiology and critical care medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Harvard Medical School. Mentors including Warren Zapol, MD, further shaped his commitment to innovation, discovery, and advancing patient care.

Throughout his career, Dr. Cain’s work as an educator, innovator, and leader has remained grounded in his role as a practicing physician. He has cared for some of the most critically ill and medically complex adult and pediatric patients, with clinical expertise spanning cardiac anesthesia, critical care medicine, transplantation, trauma, complex surgical care, difficult airway management, regional anesthesia, and acute pain medicine. Working within highly specialized multidisciplinary teams shaped his appreciation for collaboration, communication, and bringing together diverse expertise to provide exceptional care for patients and families.

Dr. Cain has consistently focused on identifying important clinical challenges and developing practical solutions to improve care. Early in his career, he collaborated with Andrew Kofke, MD, to develop and implement an innovative anesthetic approach using remifentanil for patients undergoing electroconvulsive therapy who had difficulty achieving adequate therapeutic seizures with existing techniques. He later became an early contributor to evolving applications of dexmedetomidine, studying its use in complex pediatric cardiac patients and educating clinicians nationally on its potential roles in challenging clinical situations.

His commitment to questioning assumptions and advancing practice has continued throughout his career. Recent scholarly work has examined changes in airway management as videolaryngoscopy has transformed clinical care, as well as quality improvement opportunities identified through clinical practice, including initiatives focused on improving obstetric anesthesia outcomes.

Dr. Cain’s commitment to developing people extends beyond clinical innovation. While at the University of Pittsburgh, he served as Chair of the Anesthesiology Residency Clinical Competency Committee and helped lead implementation of competency-based education during the national transition to the Milestones framework. This experience strengthened his approach to mentorship, assessment, feedback, and creating educational systems that support professional growth.

His work with the International Trauma Anesthesia and Critical Care Society included collaborations focused on global trauma education and systems development, including efforts supporting the growth of the Latin American Trauma Anesthesia and Critical Care Society. These experiences reinforced his belief that meaningful progress occurs when people with different backgrounds, expertise, and perspectives collaborate around a common goal.

Seeking a deeper understanding of how people, organizations, and systems succeed, Dr. Cain earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business through an international executive program with colleagues from Brazil, Czechia, India, and the United States. Learning alongside professionals across countries, cultures, industries, and disciplines broadened his perspective and further shaped his approach to leadership, collaboration, and building effective teams.

Dr. Cain applied these principles throughout his career by developing clinical programs, strengthening teams, and improving systems of care. At Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, he served as Director of Transplant Anesthesiology and Director of Perioperative Medical Services, helping advance pediatric transplant services and contributing to perioperative planning for a new children’s hospital. Through an international partnership with Hospital Cardioinfantil in Bogotá, Colombia, he helped support development of a pediatric solid organ transplant program by hosting multidisciplinary training in Pittsburgh and later working alongside transplant surgery and critical care colleagues in Colombia.

Dr. Cain was later recruited to WVU Medicine as Senior Vice Chair of Anesthesiology and Director of Pediatric Anesthesiology to help expand pediatric anesthesiology, perioperative medicine, and systems supporting the growth of children’s services. He served as part of the core leadership team involved in designing and developing the new WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital and became its inaugural Chief of Anesthesiology. As part of the children’s hospital leadership team, he participated in statewide outreach efforts to understand community needs, strengthen partnerships, and help create a more connected system of care.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, recognizing the risks faced by healthcare professionals involved in airway management, Dr. Cain collaborated with his Chief Anesthetist to develop a risk-stratified staffing approach designed to protect vulnerable clinicians while maintaining essential patient care. This work was published nationally in *Anesthesiology*. During the national intravenous fluid shortage, he collaborated with colleagues from UF and UNC to develop practical utilization guidance that was implemented across health systems and shared broadly through emerging educational platforms, reaching more than 12,000 clinicians.

Across institutions, Dr. Cain has authored numerous academic works, delivered hundreds of invited presentations, and served in leadership roles advancing anesthesiology at the state, national, and international levels. He served as President of the West Virginia State Society of Anesthesiologists and as a member of the Board of Directors for both the West Virginia State Society of Anesthesiologists and the Pennsylvania Society of Anesthesiologists. He represented both states within the American Society of Anesthesiologists House of Delegates, serving as an alternate delegate and delegate while contributing to discussions shaping anesthesiology practice, advocacy, patient safety, and healthcare policy. He also served as President of the Trauma Anesthesiology Society and the International Trauma Anesthesia and Critical Care Society, reflecting his longstanding commitment to advancing the specialty through service, education, collaboration, and advocacy.

Throughout his career, Dr. Cain has remained guided by the belief that great organizations are built by developing and supporting people. Among his greatest professional rewards has been creating environments where faculty, residents, CRNAs, CAAs, and staff feel valued, achieve excellence in their chosen paths, find fulfillment in their work, and advance anesthesiology while improving care for the patients, families, and communities they serve through clinical excellence, innovation, education, discovery, and advocacy.

Outside medicine, Dr. Cain enjoys spending time with family, running, outdoor activities, travel, music and the arts, and cheering on the Florida Gators.