Royal Honor for Dr. N.T. van Dasselaar

After completing his medical studies at Erasmus University Rotterdam, Dr. Van Dasselaar continued his training as an anesthesiologist at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. In 1998, he earned his Ph.D. from the same university with his dissertation titled “Quality Assurance of Anesthesiological Pain Control in the Netherlands.” In 2005, he moved from Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) to the Reinier de Graaf Gasthuis in Delft (part of the Reinier de Graaf Group), where he has held various positions.

As an anesthesiologist, Dr. Van Dasselaar has further specialized in pain management, addressing both acute pain (such as after surgery) and chronic pain (such as nerve pain and back pain). His focus is on managing pain, ensuring patient comfort during procedures, and treating complex, long-term pain conditions.

Mentoring resident physicians and other specialists

As an assistant training director, Dr. Van Dasselaar has been supporting and standing in for the chief training director since 2011 in supervising resident physicians and other specialists, ensuring the quality of the training, monitoring the learning processes, guaranteeing compliance with rules and protocols, and resolving issues within the clinical training program—often in the chief training director’s absence. In addition, Dr. Van Dasselaar has been a member of the training committee and a clinical rotator for emergency department physicians in anesthesiology since 2011.

In 2018, Dr. Van Dasselaar became a training supervisor for second-year residents in anesthesiology and pain medicine, fellows in pain medicine, and emergency department physicians. The anesthesiology residency program is offered at eight (university) hospitals in the Netherlands. Dr. Van Dasselaar serves as a training supervisor for physicians training to become medical specialists.

Systematically Improving Quality of Life

Dr. Van Dasselaar has authored numerous articles in national and international peer-reviewed scientific journals. In addition, he has given public presentations, including scientific workshops, lectures, and (poster) presentations both in the Netherlands and abroad. Furthermore, Dr. Van Dasselaar has actively contributed to the development and dissemination of guidelines, educational activities, and public outreach, with the goal of systematically improving the quality of life for cancer patients.

Dr. Van Dasselaar has been the Medical Manager of the Surgical Center since 2013. In this capacity, he is responsible for the day-to-day management of operations in the operating rooms.

Cancer Pain Foundation

In addition to the work mentioned above, Dr. Van Dasselaar has also been active in an unpaid capacity for many years. Since 2008, he has served as chairman of the Pain Research Delft Foundation, a joint initiative aimed at broadly promoting the social importance of research and education on pain and pain treatments, particularly in the area of cancer-related pain.

The Cancer Pain Foundation was established as an offshoot of this foundation, with several board members and an identical vision and mission. Since then, continuing education programs for healthcare providers and patients have been launched, and since 2015, these programs have been held several times a year at various locations throughout the Netherlands. Thanks in part to the work of the Cancer Pain Foundation, there has been an increasing focus on cancer pain in recent years. Dr. Van Dasselaar served as (vice) chair of the Cancer Pain Foundation for 12 years.

Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau

Dr. Van Dasselaar is being honored as a Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau for his overall achievements in and related to his primary role as an anesthesiologist and pain specialist at the Reinier de Graaf Gasthuis.