My second interest lies in Surgical education. As surgeons, we are forever indebted to those before us who took the time, effort and frustration in helping us achieve a level of comfort and expertise that has allowed the practice of surgery to thrive and to expand. Surgery, as opposed to other medical specialties, cannot be learned and practiced by book or by simulation. It must be "practiced" under direct and involved supervision. It is a mentorship model with apprenticeship built into that model for the best of mentors. It is even more critical if you realize that these will be the people taking care of you and your family some day.
My current journey is one of leadership. While I have held and currently hold several leadership provisions, I hope that my future endeavors will focus on growing programs that will critically and financially analyze care models that will help to foster system growth and incremental value in patient care as we continue to figure out how we will move from volume-based to value-based services and payment. Physicians must drive this change while maintaining the integrity of the physician-patient relationship. This will be particularly challenging with new forces of technology and corporatization of medicine putting up significant barriers how we relate to our patients.
