|
Happy Halloween!
Surgical Notes
From the Chair
|
|
|
Colleagues,
I am deeply appreciative of the effort all of you put into helping our patients have a great experience at VCU Health. Innovation in surgery, teaching and learning new techniques improve the care we provide. The interactions from the time they call to make an appointment to follow up account for the personal touch that all of you do so well. I have received many letters from patients and families saying just that. A high level of patient satisfaction does lead to better outcomes. Thank you for all you do.
Sincerely,
|
|
|
Christine B. & David E. Cottrell Surgical Innovation Laboratory
|
|
Christine and David Cottrell designated $1,000,000 to name the
Christine B. and David E. Cottrell Surgical Innovation Laboratory
in the Department of Surgery for the VCU School of Medicine.
Martin Mangino
, PhD, Professor and Associate Chair for Basic Research writes of this incredible gift, "I am absolutely thrilled with the gift and the willingness of folks in our community to help develop innovation, teaching, and research in surgery and the surgical sciences. The generous gift from the Cottrells serves to jump start our plans to develop a sustainable multifunctional laboratory space in the Department of Surgery that will foster 21
st
century innovation and research in the surgical management of disease."
The lab serves a valuable purpose for the VCU Department of Surgery, serving as a recruitment tool to attract key faculty to the institution, enticing residents and fellows to train at VCU and participate in research, as well as providing an environment conducive to exploring surgery’s newest frontiers and fostering industry and interdisciplinary partnerships.
Dr.
Vigneshwar Kasirajan
, Stuart McGuire Professor and Chair, continues, "
We are deeply appreciative of Christine and David Cottrell for their generous gift to support innovation and entrepreneurship in Surgery. These funds will be used to develop a Surgery Innovation Suite at Sanger."
|
|
|
Advanced Surgical Skills for Exposure in Trauma
|
|
With this, VCU Health is now the only medical center in central Virginia to be able to teach ASSET to residents, fellows, surgeons, and the community. Congratulations Trauma team!
|
|
|
American College of Surgeons
|
|
Congratulations are due to Drs.
Stefan Leichtle
and
Alan Rossi
, FACS, Assistant Professors with the Division of Acute Care Surgical Services, as they were inducted into the American College of Surgeons.
Founded in 1913, the
American College of Surgeons
aims to improve surgical care through the implementation of higher standards for surgical education and practice. To be inducted, surgeons must first go through a stringent review process where their education, training, qualifications, and ethical conduct are rigorously reviewed.
Once approved, inductees join the ranks of over 80,000 members from across the globe.
Congratulations, Drs. Leichtle and Rossi!
|
|
|
25th Anniversary of Donate Life America
|
|
On Wednesday October 25th, faculty, staff, volunteers, and patients joined together to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Donate Life America. Dr
.
Marlon Levy
,
David M. Hume Professor and Chair of Transplant Surgery, spoke at the dinner, hosted at the Jefferson Hotel and sponsored by VCU Health.
“Donate Life America and Donate Life Virginia, our state affiliate, both headquartered in Richmond, have for decades been critical partners in organ donor education and awareness," states Dr. Levy. "Through their efforts, registries in each of the 50 states are now able to be queried to identify potential organ donors. More that 135 million Americans are currently registered with these databases."
"
The shortage of organs from donors continues to be the greatest single impediment to being able to effectively treat the organ-failure patient with life-saving and life-extending transplants. The gap between supply and demand simply continues to grow, highlighting the need for comprehensive educational and outreach efforts."
To learn more about organ donation, click
here
.
Also check out the VCU Hume-Lee Transplant Center
here
.
|
|
In late October, we here in Surgery celebrated one of our very own, Natasha Clingempeel, Nurse Practictioner with the Division of Bariatric and Gastrointestinal Surgery, for being the recipient of the August 2017 DAISY award.
Originally established in 1999, the
DAISY award
,
designed to recognize and honor incredible nurses and the "super-human work [they] do for patients and families every day," has grown to include over 2,700 healthcare facilities in all 50 states. One of those is the VCU Health System.
"Being a daisy award winner, you have to be exemplary and expert in your practice as well as compassionate," states Deb Zimmerman, VP and Chief Nursing Officer. Natasha, the first NP to receive this award across the entire Health System, clearly possesses those qualities and more.
Congratulations, Natasha!
|
|
The
Hume-Lee Transplant Center
recently made news after utilizing robotic surgery techniques during a living donor kidney transplant. The patient, Jerry Samford, needed a kidney and found a donor in his own nephew, Jason McNary.
Dr.
Chandra Bhati
, Assistant Professor with the Division of Transplant Surgery performed the robotic surgery on McNary to remove his kidney, while just next door, Dr.
Adrian Cotterell
, Associate Professor, stood ready and waiting to transplant the kidney into Samford's body.
Now, the uncle-nephew duo are recovering and are even closer than before.
To read more of this incredible story,
click here
.
|
|
|
11th Biennial Symposium on Pediatric Urology
|
|
The 18-year-old symposium hosts uropediatric experts from around the world. This year's event was held in the AACD Amphitheater in Sao Paola, Brazil.
|
|
Nicholas Thomson, PhD
Assistant Professor
Acute Care Surgical Services
"I have been in the field of clinical forensic psychology for a number of years, as a researcher and a clinician. I graduated with my Ph.D. in Developmental Psychopathology from Durham University in England, which is where I taught abnormal psychology, and led the forensic psychology program. Alongside my teaching, I ran a psychotherapy private practice and conducted research for nonprofits and government programs. My research aim is to expand on what we know about risk factors for violent behavior from a biopsychosocial perspective. A more well-rounded approach to understanding violent behavior will better inform violence prevention and intervention programs. My role at VCU is to conduct research, and evaluate and gain funding for the Injury and Violence Prevention Program. I am looking forward to meeting you all and being part of the team!"
Welcome, Dr. Thomson!
|
|
|
New Department of Surgery Grants, October 2017
|
|
|
FP00005719_AW (
Levy, PI
) 08/16/2017 - 08/15/2020
Shire Pharmaceutical Development, Ltd.
A Multicenter Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Cinryze for the Treatment of Acute Antibody-mediated Rejection in Patients with Kidney Transplant
1R21TW010439 (
Jayaraman, PI
) 09/15/2017 - 06/30/2019
Fogarty International Center/NIH/DHHS
Evaluating the Quality of Prehospital Emergency Care in Kigali, Rawanda
|
|
|
Abstracts are being solicited for the 19th Annual Rao R. Ivatury Trauma Symposium to be held on Friday March 23, 2018.
Hosted by the
Center for Trauma and Critical Care Education
& the
Division of Acute Care Surgical Services
, this event will feature
nationally recognized speakers and local experts discussing current issues throughout the trauma system, including pre-hospital, emergency, critical care, acute care, and rehabilitation.
Abstracts are due December 15th
.
|
|
VCU is rolling out a new performance management process as part of the Great Place: HR Redesign, allowing for meaningful performance evaluation, with goals linked to strategic priorities and clear expectations. This customized process is designed to respond to concerns regarding performance management identified in the Great Place Initiative Survey. The new performance management process and accompanying software, called Talent@VCU, are being implemented as we speak.
To learn more about the new program and its requirements, please plan to attend (if you haven't already) an informational session on
November 10th at 1:00PM in the West 16 Conference Room
, where Jessica Carey will walk through details and expectations.
Note that
GOALS ARE DUE IN THE SYSTEM BY DECEMBER 1, 2017
so it's of utmost importance that VCU employees and their supervisors are aware of these changes.
Electronic access to the guidelines and user guides are available at
this link
.
|
|
|
A Department of Surgery Halloween
|
|
|
On Tuesday October 31st, Department of Surgery faculty and staff donned their best costumes and celebrated Halloween in style!
With games, snacks, and of course a photo booth, the winner of best costume was then chosen!
After the final vote by our very official costume committee, this year's winner was...
Olivia the Dalmatian!
|
|
|
|
|
Thanks everyone for attending!
Answer to the Halloween Riddle? How do you fix a jack-o-lantern? With a pumpkin patch!
|
|
Thank you to everyone for your participation in the Annual Billing Compliance training!
Your dedication to compliance is appreciated!
|
|
|
WISDM Professional Development Seminar
Wednesday November 8, 2017
12:00pm - 1:30pm
KMSB 104/105
|
|
Lunchtime Learning: Effective Listening, Conflict Negotiation, & University Resources
Wednesday November 29, 2017
12:00pm - 1:30pm
MMEC 3-101
|
|
|
Department of Surgery | Virginia Commonwealth University | (804)828-7874 | surgweb@vcu.edu
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
