President's Corner
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Women In Thoracic Surgery To further the achievements of women practicing thoracic surgery by providing mutual support and facilitating professional advancement President’s Corner Fall and funding. The WTS has 2015 Issue also planned a session during the STS entitled, “30th Year Commemoration of 3 Congratulations! the WTS: Innovations and Contributions of WTS and STS Members” with topics 4 Scanlan Traveling including: Changes in the Fellowship Demographics of the ABTS Resident’s Feature - Diplomates Since 1961, By: Jennifer S. Lawton, MD 7 Having a baby as a The Untapped Potential of resident Women as Leaders, Pioneers In 2016, Women in Thoracic and Significant Contributions Surgical Citizenship Surgery will celebrate its 30th in the Last 30 years in 10 Anniversary. Congenital Surgery, Pioneers and Significant Contributions There are so many exciting in the Last 30 years in Adult 12 Social Media Update things planned at both the Cardiac Surgery, Pioneers STS and AATS meetings in and Significant Contributions Getting to know you 2016! At the 52nd Annual in the Last 30 years in 14 - Leslie Kohman meeting of the STS in Thoracic Surgery, Mentoring Phoenix, we are fortunate Female Surgeons, and Scholarship Program to have Dr. Nora Burgess Diversity in Cardiothoracic 16 Announcements as the invited speaker at Surgery and the Future – the WTS Reception. She will What Will our Specialty Look discuss the history of the Like? At the 96th Annual 18 AATS Networking WTS. The WTS Early Riser meeting of the AATS in reception 2015 photos Session planned by Dr. Baltimore, the WTS also has Valerie Williams will focus a special session planned – Elizabeth’s Editorial on Patient – Centered Care more on this to come! 20 and Research and include Members should be sure to topics of survivorship, stop by the Scanlan booth at surveillance, and research Continued... 2 ORACLE FALL 2015 Continued... these lucky women to our reception and to the the STS meeting. The Scanlan meeting. family has generously Mentoring is vital and supported the WTS 30th year important to the future of our anniversary lapel pin (figure) specialty. By mentoring and that will be available to all sponsoring students and WTS members at the Scanlan responses of friends and residents and colleagues, booth. family members to various we not only foster many Dr. Leah Backhus and questions regarding women wonderful careers, but we undergraduate student Alexa cardiothoracic surgeons. also guarantee a bright Lowe have worked very hard We also look forward to future for our specialty and to create a video of WTS mentoring WTS scholarship for the WTS for many years to members and their families winners at the STS meeting. come. that will be displayed at the Scholarship chair Dr. Lauren I hope you will all join WTS reception at the STS. Kane has been working on us at the 30th anniversary The very entertaining video the selection process and we celebration in January at the portrays the spontaneous look forward to welcoming STS! WTS Leadership 2015 Officers Board of Directors President Jennifer Lawton Jennifer Lawton Vice President Jessica Donington Jessica Donington Shanda Blackmon Secretary/Treasurer Shanda Blackmon Virginia Litle Yolonda Colson Committee Chairs Daniela Molena Leah Backhus Mentoring Lana Schumacher Patricia Thistlethwaite Web Site Editor/Social Media Director Mara Antonoff The Oracle Editor Elizabeth David Membership Meena Nathan International Membership Kathleen Fenton and Members at Large Daniela Molena Jane Yanagawa Photo Archivist Rebecca Wolfer Iva Smolens Bylaws Vanessa Gibson Emily Farkas Scholarships Lauren Kane Tara Karamlou Program Chair Valerie Williams Lauren Kane Resident Liason Lisa Brown Industry Liaison Kristine Guleserian Historian Melanie Edwards Resident’s Forum Past Presidents Marisa Cevasco Leslie Kohman Mercedes Dullum Hannah Copeland Phyllis Edwards Margarita Camacho Katie O’Keefe Danielle Smith Jemi Olak Nora L. Burgess Elizabeth Stephens Rosalyn Scott Yolonda Colson Andrea (A.jay) Carpenter Virginia Litle FALL 2015 ORACLE 3 Congratulations to the new Diplomates of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery! Kumari Adams Svetlana Kotova Mara Antonoff Kathryn O’Keefe Lisa Brown Subhadra Shashidharan Michelle Ellis Jennifer Sullivan Puja Gaur Nicole Sydow Taryne Imai Alexandra Tuluca Karen Meekyong Kim Jennifer Worth Great work, Ladies! We are so proud of you! Congratulations to the newly elected female members of the AATS announced at the 2015 AATS Annual Meeting! Shanda H. Blackmon Joanna Chikwe Jessica Donington 4 ORACLE FALL 2015 Congenital Heart Surgery, Ethics, and Life in Central America Scanlan/WTS Traveling Mentorship Award 2015 By Dr. Laura Seese Dr. Seese is in her first year organizations to operate on brigade and the second of the I-6 training program children who need but lack in Managua, Nicaragua at University of Pittsburgh access to heart surgery. The where I was integrated into Medical Center. only issue with this lofty goal Dr. Fenton’s life as a full-time is that I had previously not international congenital At almost every residency actually seen international heart surgeon. interview day, there is at least congenital heart surgery The first portion of the trip one interviewer who will ask and thus had no evidence was spent in Tegucigalpa, the applicant to describe her that the international Honduras at an old dream job or perhaps where aspect of my dream job sanatorium that has since she sees herself in ten years. was feasible. In March of been converted into Instituto My dream job is to work as 2015, as a recipient of the Nacional Cardiopulmonar a congenital heart surgeon Scanlan/Women in Thoracic “El Torax,” an active hospital at an academic institution Surgery Traveling Mentorship for multiple disciplines in the United States where I Award and under the including pediatric cardiac will be able to independently mentorship of Dr. Kathleen surgery. Since “El Torax” partner with international Fenton, I had the pleasure of is missing several of the traveling to Tegucigalpa, key members required Honduras and Managua, for a successful pediatric Nicaragua where I cardiac surgery team, the discovered the inherent hospital relies on medical struggles of operating in brigades to volunteer their a foreign environment, the services to help the children unwavering commitment in Honduras as well as to required to treat each help train the local medical patient, and the ultimately personnel to provide care the rewarding nature of for patients with congenital international congenital heart defects. The first day of heart surgery. My two week this two-week long brigade trip was sectioned into is the pre-operative clinic separate phases the first day where the brigade’s in Tegucigalpa, Honduras cardiologists, surgeons, and where I was able to work anesthesiologist see the Laura at work as part of a medical Continued... FALL 2015 ORACLE 5 Continued... top-notch critical care team. The next portion of the hundreds of patients who trip was based in Managua, line up outside the hospital Nicaragua where I was hoping to be chosen for able to stay with Dr. Fenton one of the forty operative and be fully integrated into spots. After the patients her life as an international had been selected, I spent congenital heart surgeon. time learning about each During my time in aspect of international Managua, I scrubbed on an congenital heart surgery, atrioventricular canal repair from the preoperative and took night call with assessment, to the Dr. Hernandez, a pediatric operative procedures, to the intensivist, post-operatively anesthetic considerations to see the full spectrum of and monitoring, to the our patient's care at Salud intraoperative and post- Integral, a private hospital in Laura and Dr. Harder operative ECHO reads, and Managua. I was also able to finally the post-operative explore the differences in the non-functional anesthesia intensive care period. The types of health care delivery machines, and a single nurse entire course of a patient’s systems (i.e. private hospitals for multiple wards of post- care is much different on versus public hospital operative patients. Over time, an international stage. In systems) by operating with I found myself disheartened place of the seemingly Dr. Fenton’s colleagues at by the inequality in levels endless resources we utilize a nearby public hospital of care between the in United States, brigade- in Leon, Nicaragua. A private and public system based international surgery very striking reality for me but fortunately there are is isolated to a very narrow was that there are clear physicians, like Dr. Fenton and window for recovery time disparities in levels of care her colleagues in Asociacion and operates with limited patients receive at the Programa Corazon Abierto, resources, which makes this private and public systems in whose professional desire is surgery environment even Nicaragua. The private or fee to provide private level care higher stakes emphasizing for service system is almost for children with congenital the importance of patient identical to the health heart defects who would selection, surgeon skill, and a care received in the United otherwise not have a way States with individual to financially access to rooms, technologically heart surgery. In a country advanced operating with a challenging political rooms, electronic climate, running a non-profit medical records, and organization, like Asociacion one-to-one nursing care Programa Corazon Abierto, in the intensive care that provides free heart unit. The public system, surgery is not an easy task on the other hand, has for any of the team members post-operative patients involved and clearly requires sharing beds with each a sacrificial attitude and an other in roach infested unwavering commitment to wards, outdated the children of Nicaragua. Laura and Dr. Fenton operating rooms with Continued... 6 ORACLE FALL 2015 Continued... health systems in Nicaragua, I came to these Latin we further explored the American countries with the In addition to her work ethical implications for impression that “machismo” as a surgeon, Dr.