Volume 14, Issue 1, Spring, 2007
Chairman’s Message
Carlos A. Pellegrini, M.D. |
To practice surgery effectively in today’s society, our graduates need to be proficient not only in their respective field, but also in disciplines that extend beyond the scope of the typical curriculum. Political events, judicial rulings, economics and even the media all impact the manner in which healthcare is provided. While we cannot add to the course requirements of our residents, we can provide them a diverse training environment in which they are challenged in matters that fall outside their formal training.
Consider, for example, that our residency program has a long history of attracting and matching with the brightest and most accomplished medical students, yet it is a far more diverse group today than it was 60 years ago. Gender, for instance, is no longer a barrier. You may recall that it was not until 1979 that our first female chief resident completed her training, and throughout the entire next decade only five additional women were graduated. When I accepted the job as Department Chairman, I promised the late Dean Philip Fialkow that I would do my best to increase the diversity of both our faculty and housestaff. According to a recent report from the American Association of Medical Colleges, only about 20% of graduates from general surgery residencies are women. We can be proud of the fact that over the last 14 years, more than one-third of our graduates have been women.
Likewise, we are committed to increasing cultural diversity. One important thing we do to facilitate this goal is to offer an eight-week sub-internship program to those international medical graduates interested in applying to our residency program. We have found that successful completion of this program prepares the applicant to more fully participate in our training program. Furthermore, the UW Multicultural Affairs Office works with the School of Medicine and community leaders to promote the academic and professional success of underrepresented students and housestaff. This diversity enriches our environment and is a mirror of our society. Perhaps most significantly, it provides us with community physicians whose backgrounds are as varied as the patient population they serve.
In this newsletter, we check in with our recent graduates and wish them the very best as they take the next step in their professional careers. As is our custom, we plan on keeping in touch with them via this newsletter, our Department directory, and various Harkins Society events, including the annual reception at the ACS Clinical Congress. Since so many of you have commented on how much you enjoy reading the Alumni Speak Out column, we thought we would invite our current chief residents to share their thoughts on their residency training as well. They bring a unique perspective because they both function as junior attendings but are still “in the trenches,” so to speak. Dr. Hiroo Takayama, who agreed to be our first guest columnist, shares his experiences of training in his native country of Japan and then here in the United States. It is a fascinating summary of different traditions and societies. We look forward to hearing from Dr. Alexander Farivar in the next issue!