AHN Department of General Surgery 2020 Resident Graduation Celebration

AHN Department of General Surgery 2020 Resident Graduation Celebration Honoring: Nicholas Bailey, MD Benjamin Cragun, MD Richard Cheek, MD Ashley Hill, MD Matthew Shaheen, MD Guirguiss Tadros, MD June 26, 2020 LeMont Restaurant A Message from the Program Director and Chairman On behalf of Dr. Thai, Chair of Surgery, Associate Program Directors Drs. Chen, Nelson and Noorbakhsh and myself, we welcome you to the 2020 Annual General Surgery Residency Graduation and Celebration! We are proud of our Graduating Chiefs who like everyone has experienced unique challenges over the past several months. However it does not distract from the overall experience of growth as a surgeon for Nick, Rick, Ben, Ashley, Matt and Guirguiss. I have known each them since I arrived five years ago to Allegheny. We have witnessed each truly take their own path to becoming surgical leaders, which is our residency program hallmark. We will continue to build a program of progressive independence and surgical care excellence upon their shoulders. Congratulations to each of you for the years of hard work and devotion to the Art of Surgery. Our best, Ngoc Thai, MD, PhD, FACS Alan Murdock, MD, FACS Jennifer Chen MD, FACS William Nelson MD, FACS Matthew Noorbakhsh, MD, FACS Schedule of Events 7:00 pm: Cocktails and Hors d ’Oeuvres 7:45 pm: Dinner 8:00 pm: Graduation Ceremony Introduction and Welcome Ngoc Thai, MD, PhD – System Chair of Surgery Alan Murdock, MD – Program Director Recognition of Graduating Interns Brian Chen, MD Sefali Patel, DO David Habib, MD Aaron Price, DO Nick Lombardi, MD Kevin Schulte, DO Conor Maxwell, DO Paige Tannhauser, MD Eric McLaine, DO Tiffany Wilkins, MD Recognition of Incoming Interns Presentation of Awards: (Please see last pages for award explanations) Dee Award Lester A. Dunmire MD Award John H. Goodworth MD Award Joseph C. Young MD Award WOW Award Crystal Apple Award – By Intern Class Arthur I. Murphy Jr. Teaching Award – By Chief Residents Surgery League Award – by William Nelson, MD Presentation of Chief Residents: Nicholas Bailey, MD - By William Nelson, MD Richard Cheek, MD – By James McCormick DO, FACS, FASCRS Benjamin Cragun, MD – By Matthew Noorbakhsh, MD Ashley Hill, MD – By Jennifer Chen, MD & Ari Reichstein, MD Matthew Shaheen, MD – By Allan Philp, MD (via Zoom) Guirguiss Tadros, MD – By Matthew Noorbakhsh, MD Closing Remarks and Thank You Nicholas Bailey, MD Bio Dr. Bailey was born in Ypsilanti, Michigan. After completing undergraduate studies in Biochemistry at the University of Michigan, where he worked as an autopsy assistant and a death scene investigator, he moved to Huntington, West Virginia to attend medical school. His passion for anatomy and physiology drove him to pursue a career in the field of General Surgery. He is excited to be staying here in Pittsburgh to start his surgical career surrounded by his mentors and co-residents. He would like to thank Dr. Bill Nelson for being a great educator and friend, as well as his father Mark, his mother Tina, and his partner Stefanie for their endless support. What‘ s Next? Dr. Bailey is joining the AHN faculty at Western Pennsylvania Hospital to carry on the tradition of teaching residents. Richard Cheek, MD Bio Born and raised in the South, Rick attended the University of Georgia for his undergraduate education. He then received his medical degree from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. From there, he completed a preliminary surgery internship at UCLA, before ultimately landing in Pittsburgh for residency. Rick would like to thank his parents, Susan and Dick, his brother Austin, his sister Allie, and his girlfriend Rebecca for their continued love and support throughout these many years. What’s Next? Dr. Cheek will be joining a general surgery practice at Mary Washington University in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Benjamin Cragun, MD Bio Dr. Cragun grew up in northern California, and attended Brigham Young University where he received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. From there he joined the inaugural class at Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. He began general surgery residency at Allegheny General Hospital in 2014, and was lucky to take a year without clinical duties to conduct clinical research with the trauma surgery group. He would like to thank the many surgeons that have shaped who he has become as a surgeon, for their patience, and for caring enough to teach. He would like to thank his parents and friends for their limitless support. Most of all, he would like to thank his wife, Mary, for helping him survive residency, with daily decompression sessions, and for helping him achieve the best work-life balance. She truly is the most amazing person in the world. What‘ s Next? Dr. Cragun will be starting a fellowship in Trauma, Critical Care, and Acute Care Surgery at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Ashley Hill, MD Bio Dr. Hill was proudly born and raised in Punxsutawney, PA. She is the first member of her family to graduate from college and earned her MD from Penn State College of Medicine. She joined the Allegheny Health Network for residency, becoming the Academic Chief during her final year. She would like to thank her grandma, mom, and sister for their unconditional love and support during this journey, and especially her fiancée, Ola, for her patience, sacrifice, and energy to make every day better. She would also like to thank all of the attendings for their commitment to education, mentorship, and for representing what it means to be a great surgeon. Finally, she would like to thank her fellow residents for their friendship and devotion to our program. What’s Next? Dr. Hill is heading to Geisinger Health System in Danville, PA for a Colorectal Surgery fellowship. Matthew Shaheen, MD Bio Matthew K. Shaheen was born the 4th of 6 kids and grew up in Troy, MI. He was a three sport captain in Cross Country, Wrestling, and Track in high school and continued his running career with the running club at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He received a bachelor’s degree at U of M in Biophysics, and then graduated alongside his brother at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, before ultimately starting General Surgery Residency with us at Allegheny Health Network in Pittsburgh. Dr. Shaheen would like to say to his fellow residents that despite his many complaints over the years, he found great joy in taking calls with them. There is something special about receiving a call about a major patient emergency, one so important that you drop everything you were doing to focus on fixing that one problem. These situations force you to utilize and rely on each other and put life outside of the hospital into perspective. He greatly enjoyed following the patients that he operated on, and also taking on the critical care of the sickest patients in the region. “I wanted to do surgery so I could take people’s problems and fix them, simple as that. I will miss doing that on a daily basis here with all of you, these things are what has made all of the struggles worth it.” Dr. Shaheen would like to thank all the residents, both past and present, who taught him and worked alongside him these past five years, the attending physicians who put years of training into him, his parents, Anita and Ken, who have always been incredibly supportive, his best friend and girlfriend Gabriella who has been by his side through the ups and downs, and the days of doubt the past three years, and God for guiding the way. What’s Next? Dr. Shaheen will heading to William Beaumont Hospital System in Detroit for a Plastics and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship. Guirguiss Tadros, MD Bio: I’m originally from Alexandria, Egypt. I graduated from the University of Alexandria School of Medicine in 2006. I did Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency there before moving to the United States. It was a great challenge and I had to face many obstacles in order to match as a foreign graduate but I did it. I started off at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center as a Surgical Critical Care Fellow then did my first three years of General Surgery at Lincoln Medical Center, the Bronx, NY. I finally joined AGH as a PGY-4 resident and became the chief of quality care during my final year at AGH. I would like to thank all the faculty at AGH for their teaching and support during the past two years of my training. It was definitely challenging to join a residency program as a PGY -4 resident, however I am very thankful for everyone’s welcoming attitude and eagerness to teach. What’s Next? Dr. Tadros will be joining the University of Maryland Medical Center as a Vascular Surgery Fellow. THANK YOU! The graduating chiefs would like to thank all the faculty members and staff for your dedication to teaching and your mentorship. We realize that teaching residents is hard and that it would be considerably easier to just do it yourself. Thank you for your patience, your time, your knowledge, and sacrifices you have given to this program. We would especially like to thank the residency leadership, Drs. Murdock, Chen, Nelson, and Noorbakhsh who have been instrumental in providing an appropriate learning environment. We recognize the time and stress that is required to make our residency run smoothly, and thank you for putting up with us. We also want to thank Dr. Thai for his dedication to improving the department. He has been a great example and a wonderful leader. Chiefs Oral and Poster Presentations and Publications Richard Cheek Publications: • Cheek R; Scholz S.

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