Chair of Surgery, Indiana University | Director of SOQIC | Surgical Oncologist | QI, Outcomes, Surgical Education, & Health Policy Researcher | Dad/Husband
In 1912, Teddy Roosevelt was shot in chest while giving a speech in Milwaukee. He was brought to Northwestern to be taken care of by the chair, Dr John B Murphy (Murphy’s sign). We now have his original chest X-ray & patient register. Murphy exercised good non-operative judgment!
Excited & honored to be heading back to my med school & home state to serve an outstanding Department of Surgery, med school, & health system! More to come about why I’m so excited about the future of
@IU_Health
@IUMedSchool
@IU_Surgery
&
#Indianapolis
!
Karl Bilimoria, MD, (
@kbilimoria
) has been named the Jay L. Grosfeld Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery. He's a native Hoosier and proud alumnus with a passion for mentorship and expertise in developing large, innovative programs.
One of my favorite things is when one of our surgical resident research fellows has a big first-author paper
@NEJM
. Congrats,
@RyanEllis
! Perfect use of co-first author.
We do not need to select for more resilient trainees. We’ve already found them! Surgical residents have already run quite the gauntlet to get to a general surgery residency position. We now need to figure out how to support and advance them all.
#TheSecondTrial
I had the distinct honor of working in Donna’s OR today. It was her last day after *41 YEARS* as an extraordinary OR nurse at
@NorthwesternMed
!! It was always a better day when I walked in saw her in the OR. We first met during my first week of residency! She will be missed!!
One of the main findings here, backed up by quantitative and qualitative results, is that med students are not taking enough call on their clerkship and getting a realistic experience on which to pick a career specialty. That leads to wellbeing issues when they become residents.
More
@JAMASurgery
from former fellow
@KateEEngelhardt
➡️Med school experiences crucial to residency preparedness
➡️Residents feeling well prepared⬇️likely to endure burnout
➡️Realistic med school experience crucial for right career choices
@AmCollSurgeons
I was really caught off guard when seeing the email about this. I’m so humbled by this recognition: by far the most meaningful of career. Working with faculty, resident, & staff mentees is the best part of our work. Thx
@TonyYangMD
& the faculty & residents who thought to do this
Today in JAMA! National survey of surgical residents shows bullying frequent & associated with burnout, but variability between programs suggests training can be improved. Important implications for resident wellness, highlighting opportunity for
#TheSecondTrial
.
@AmCollSurgeons
Is anybody training non-intensivists and non-internists (e.g., surgeons) to take care of COVID patients, work in screening clinics, etc. May need them if regular docs get overwhelmed, sick, quarantined, or have childcare issues? Anybody have a protocol or educational materials?
#Vaccinated
! Sincere thank you to the scientists, vaccine trial participants, and the always-amazing
@NorthwesternMed
team! Please step up and get your vaccine when the time comes!
(Just wish I had been working out the guns a little more before my vaccine selfie!) 🤣
This is cool. Surgeon technical skill based on a lap colectomy video was associated with postop complications after lap colectomy AND after all other non-colon procedures done by that surgeon (particularly ones related to surgery like bleeding, leak, reop)
PLEASE do not let this
@nejm
article scare anyone away from surgery as a profession. It is the best job in the world, and I wouldn’t do anything else!! These issues are sadly in all jobs. The chance to cut and cure is amazing every single day. Join us!
Racial discrimination in surgical residency
#TheSecondTrial
@JAMASurgery
@AmCollSurgeons
➡️all 301 residency programs
➡️experienced by 71% of black & 46% Asian
➡️most commonly mistaken for another of same race or non-physicians
➡️Discrim assoc w/ burnout, attrition, suicidality
Fun night at
@BrighamSurgery
Chief Roast. Didn’t realize I would be a roast target as well, but really enjoyed & glad they gave us an idea for the FOURTH Trial - testing a totally work-from-home surgical residency training. Let’s see if
@AmCollSurgeons
&
@acgme
get behind it!😉
Our new
@NEJM
study presented today
@AmCollSurgeons
Clinical Congress
#ACSCC19
examines the association between mistreatment (harassment, discrimination, abuse) and surgical resident wellbeing (burnout, suicidal thoughts)
#MedEd
This guy right here has been in the news a lot recently. And now he was awarded the 2022
@SSATNews
Career Development Award for his research on post-discharge patient monitoring. Congrats,
@rpmerkow
! Making
@NU_SOQIC
proud!
I have never been part of a study that has resulted in so many personal emails from those who want to tell their story of mistreatment and/or burnout during training...recently or 40+ years ago. I know we can train excellent surgeons in a way that doesn’t require these issues.
PLEASE do not let this
@nejm
article scare anyone away from surgery as a profession. It is the best job in the world, and I wouldn’t do anything else!! These issues are sadly in all jobs. The chance to cut and cure is amazing every single day. Join us!
Physicians’ lounge at a standstill with
@BarackObama
speaking. We can’t bring ourselves to stop watching. We miss you 44. Not just for your policy, but the civility, intellect and positive vision that has been absent since you left us.
Hello
#MedTwitter
! My name is Sara and I’m excited to announce that I’m applying
#GeneralSurgery
for
#Match2025
I’m passionate about diversity & inclusion, education and community building! 🫶🏾
I love spending time at coffee shops, botanical gardens and art museums! ☕️ 🌱 🖼️
I love being in the OR. It is the most zen place for me. It was hard to say goodbye to the many wonderful friends in the
@NorthwesternMed
ORs after nearly 20 years. We did a lot of great work in patient care and quality/safety, & we had a lot of fun! I will miss you all greatly!
My last check in with Dave Hoyt. An amazing 10 years at the helm of
@AmCollSurgeons
! A wonderful friend & mentor who provided unwavering support & guidance for FIRST Trial, SECOND Trial, & Clinical Scholars in Residence program. We will miss having him in Chicago!
@pturnermd
I’ve been told by my wife (
@sbilimoria1
) that I’ve “gone too far” and “have a problem,” but
@NU_SOQIC
staff had the idea to get this for me a couple years ago. I finally did it. Too far? Ha! I’m only just beginning... Go Cats!
It finally arrived. Instead of a plaque commemorating his keynote at the
@AcademicSurgery
Fall Courses last month entitled “The Last Jedi,” we got Jedi
@JBMatthews
his own lightsaber & stand. Any faculty or residents visiting his office with complaints should tread lightly...
I say this every time, but no student or trainee should be discouraged from going into surgery because of these findings. Being a surgeon is still the greatest job in the world! And the profession is addressing these issues!
#TheSecondTrial
.
@AmCollSurgeons
@APDSurgery
@acgme
Thank you
@JAMA_current
for publishing our study on bullying in surgical residency! Bullying was commonly reported, but results suggest surgical training can be improved and continued focus on resident wellness is critical.
@AmCollSurgeons
#TheSecondTrial
It was great to be back in the OR for the first time at
@IU_Surgery
. Well, not the first time ever, just since the move…I remember being in that OR >20yrs ago as a med student at
@IUMedSchool
! It’s good to be back! Thanks to Cyrus for getting me through it!
@ahalpernunc
Have a step-by-step guide for writing a paper that we share with all
@NU_SOQIC
fellows and staff. Happy to share. Nothing genius, but it works. Somehow not on our website now. Need to post it somewhere.
Excited to welcome a new trainee at
@NU_SOQIC
- his name is “Fauci” (yes, seriously - kids warmed to my suggestion). Other option was Panda (the pandemic pup)
@NMSurgery
@NUFeinbergMed
Evidently this is not pronounced “E-RAS”. I was quickly corrected by two daughters. I explained that they had met Henrik Kehlet in Copenhagen and knew of the postop protocols, but they maintained a disgusted look on their face about my mispronunciation 🤷🏽
Leadership of American surgery has taken notice & is eager to address issues of burnout in surgery. Not only did
@AmCollSurgeons
&
@AmBdSurg
leaders co-author, but have funded With >200 programs enrolled, 400+ chairs & PDs demonstrated their support too!
The selfless contributions of Cliff Cho to AAS should not go unrecognized. He sought out a 3-yr term as Treasurer, knowing he would age out before he could run for Prez. Pure service. He was highly effective and fun during his tenure. THANK YOU, Cliff! Will miss our panoramas...
Introducing the
@AcademicSurgery
”Dead Presidents Society.” We are bringing together our (relatively) recent past presidents for their guidance, as our association begins to develop its new 3-year Strategic Plan for developing & inspiring young academic surgeons!
#ASCS2019
An honor to be inducted into
@AmCollSurgeons
Academy of Master Surgeon Educators with an amazing group of co-inductees. I was particularly impressed by their ability to keep a straight face when saying, “I’d like to thank the Academy...” ACS did a nice job with a virtual ceremony
Importance of Increasing Surgeon Participation in Hospital Leadership in
@JAMASurgery
. If we look for surgeons serving in executive roles beyond just CEO, the pool has expanded considerably in recent years, but certainly should be many more!
Got the chance to spend a week with our
@IU_Surgery
surgeon based in Eldoret, Kenya (Sophia Abdulhai) for the next 3 years. She is the 5th
@IU_Surgery
surgeon doing a tour here since 1996 supported by our department. A longstanding partnership with Moi University &
@MTRHofficial
Amazing news! We are thrilled for renowned researcher,
@RachelPatzerPhD
, to join us in the
@IU_Surgery
department and
@IU_SOQIC
. Looking forward to her leadership as the new CEO/president of the storied
@IUMedSchool
@Regenstrief
Institute, a leader in HSR and informatics research
Every year at the MD Anderson Advances & Controversies meeting in Steamboat, I am always grateful to see my co-fellows & their families. This year, I was also grateful for Ski Patrol…and will be grateful to orthopedic doc who puts my knee back together. [photo cred
@sbilimoria1
]
SECOND Trial now enrolling surgical residency programs seeking to improve resident wellbeing/burnout. All 320 U.S. general surgery residency programs are eligible. The trial is in partnership with
@acgme
@AmCollSurgeons
@AmBdSurg
@APDSurgery
@AAMCtoday
Very excited to welcome Tony to
@IU_Surgery
and
@IU_SOQIC
from Northwestern. Tony has deep experience in health system QI, building and leading statewide quality collaboratives, implementation science, QI training, and mentoring resident researchers! Lucky to have him
@IU_Health
!
Welcome,
@TonyYangMD
, Professor of Surgery, to the Division of Surgical Oncology
@IUmedschool
! Dr. Yang will focus on endocrine and pancreatic surgery, healthcare quality and safety research.
#IUSurgery
Last day of surg onc clinic at
@NorthwesternMed
@NMSurgery
@LurieCancer
was a bit emotional. The donuts helped! 🍩 I have been incredibly lucky to work with such an amazing team of nurses, NPs, and MAs for so many years. I will really miss this crew! Thank you! ❤️
An incredible perk of
@AcademicSurgery
is the friends you make, collaborate with, and socialize with...seemingly wherever you are in the world. Join and get engaged with the AAS today! All surgical specialties welcome!
Trust person hiring you. You can only get a few key things in writing. Most stuff can change & be changed. Good boss will look out for you.
Should get following Iin writing:
1. Salary
2. Protected time
3. Startup package (clinical/research)
And don’t negotiate for small things
Well, I think that’s a wrap. Being the
@AcademicSurgery
president was definitely a top career honor and highlight! What a great meeting last week with record attendance of >2,400! The AAS is in great hands with our outstanding officers, exec council, and members!
#ASC2020
Vaccine update: Day
#1
1. Arm soreness but no other side effects. Don’t tell Sheila as I plan to milk it on couch watching NU football
2. No signs of vaccine resulting in widespread mutations of my DNA
3 . No evidence of federal government inserting tracking devices into me
#Vaccinated
! Sincere thank you to the scientists, vaccine trial participants, and the always-amazing
@NorthwesternMed
team! Please step up and get your vaccine when the time comes!
(Just wish I had been working out the guns a little more before my vaccine selfie!) 🤣
Thrilled to have the legendary
@JBMatthews
join the annual Illinois statewide surgical conference as our keynote! An incredible talk on leadership that we will be requesting for a grand rounds one day soon for
@IU_Surgery
! “The nature vs nurture of leadership”
@uchicagosurgery
I was moved when I saw this plaque in Kenya: “constructed through assistance of THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF INDIANA”
Kenya’s
@MTRHofficial
hospital officials visited
@RileyChildrens
in Indianapolis & loved it so much that they used the same name for their mother/baby hospital.
A huge score for
@UMichSurgery
! Great choice for Thoracic Chief! And just landed first R01. While most of our old Northwestern team has moved on, so proud that they have all landed at great institutions, in important leadership roles, & continuing the research started at SOQIC
We're thrilled to have
@DavidDOdell
on board as our thoracic surgery section head. Some quick facts about him:
🧲Drawn to longitudinal nature of thoracic surgery
🏥Dedicated to expanding access to care
🇺🇸🇨🇦Dual passport holder
More about Dr. Odell here:
Congrats to
@dreskim
on leading us through the pandemic year with grace and purpose, culminating in a fantastic
@AcademicSurgery
Presidential Address that highlighted an important issue in academic surgery: better supporting female surgeons during pregnancy. A heartfelt address!
Let me clarify as some comments bother me: our students are not lazy or weak. They did a lot to get to where they are already. They didn’t see value in call (or getting realistic experience). Much of that is on us for not making it a great experience & explaining why it is needed
We were told by deans, vice deans, chairs and PDs that this is largely driven by med student responses on the LCME survey. Students didn’t like call and they said so on the survey, so call was reduced/eliminated to be responsive (and also to get better survey scores).
When I was in med school at
@IUMedSchool
,
@IU_Surgery
’s Dave Matthews was in Eldoret, Kenya building their ORs (actually helping to construct). He organized financing from Indiana donors. They named the ORs after famous local tribal leaders, except one: the “Matthews OR” 💪
Well, it is a record! Attendance for this year’s Academic Surgical Congress
#ASC20
in Orlando has already topped prior years. We are at 2,119 and climbing with 3 weeks to go! Still time to register if you haven’t yet. See you all in Orlando very soon.
@AcademicSurgery
@UnivSurg
So many goodbyes this week: this giant is heading off to
@UMichSurgery
to be Colorectal Chief. A gifted surgeon…loved by all his partners & residents. A tremendous leader of
@ISQIC1
& countless major QI initiatives at Northwestern. A career highlight to work with
@michaelfmcgee
!
Just invited to give a kickoff lecture for
@AcademicSurgery
Fall Courses on "Leadership Transitions as a Surgeon-Scientist" - Very timely! I would like to hear it rather than give it! 😉
Since I'm still mid transition, soliciting pearls of wisdom from those who did it recently
The
@IU_Surgery
Executive Council was hard at work last night discussing some exciting and challenging issues. We will have some tough work to do over the next year, but I am grateful to be doing it with this team!
@IUMedSchool
@IU_Health
@IUHealthPhys
Congratulations to
@NU_SOQIC
’s
@mehulvraval
for receiving an NIH R21 award from the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development for his project, “Safety Assessment of Perioperative Pain Medications for Children (SAPPhire)”
@NMSurgery
@LuriePedSurg
@NUFeinbergMed
Another “last”: a wonderful evening celebrating our research fellows in our backyard. They arrived early in the pandemic and adapted to the dramatic changes in how the world and our fellowship program worked. And they thrived with support from a great team of mentors and staff!💪
We're excited to launch our search for the next Chief of the Division of Acute Care Surgery/Trauma for
@IU_Surgery
. This role includes oversight of the major programs at two busy, incredible academic hospitals:
@IU_Health
&
@EskenaziHealth
in Indianapolis.
The
@IU_Surgery
Christmas on-call teams across our hospitals were all working hard and in a jolly mood! We brought some sugary treats as a small token of how much we appreciate them and recognize the time away from their families and friends is always hard. Happy holidays!
We had a FIRST Trial. So now we will have a SECOND Trial!! Another national cluster-randomized trial. Focus is on improving resident wellness & learning environment. More details this spring.
@YueyungHu
is co-PI. In collaboration w
@AmCollSurgeons
@acgme
@NU_SOQIC
#ASC2019
It worked! Our 21-component strategy to catalyze improvement in surgical quality across 56 Illinois hospitals resulted in
1. Better adherence to best practices
2. Improvement in culture of safety
3. And now - postop outcomes!
So proud of this team & friends across the state!
Journal of the American College of Surgeons (JACS)
A new JACS study found hospitals in the Illinois Surgical Quality Improvement Collaborative showed improvements in complication rates over a 3-year pilot period, highlighting the potential of surgical QI collaboratives to improve patient outcomes.
We need more of this — physicians who are doing real clinical work, or who are COVID-consumed operational leaders, being the ones speaking about the crisis. Tired of uninvolved physician pundits commenting nonstop from the sidelines (more like bleachers or concession stand)
This is what authentic leadership looks like.
@vineet_chopra
led the way on the front line and continues to guide the mission
@umichmedicine
. Now leading others by sharing on
@NBCNightlyNews
twice this week! Well done VC!!!
This had highest Altmetric score for
@JAMASurgery
2020. I frequently cite it. Our “old school” surgeons giving us incredible perspective on a career in surgery & how to find meaning in career & life. Must read!
@AmCollSurgeons
@AmBdSurg
@AcademicSurgery
Excited to announce the
@AcademicSurgery
Presidential Appointments! The future of our association is very bright!
Congrats to all! To those who expressed interest but weren't appointed, please know that these are very tough decisions. Please continue to stay involved in AAS!
Thank you
@JAMA_current
for publishing our study on bullying in surgical residency! Bullying was commonly reported, but results suggest surgical training can be improved and continued focus on resident wellness is critical.
@AmCollSurgeons
#TheSecondTrial
We are still looking for another surgical resident interested in basic / translational surgical oncology research starting July 2021 for our 2-year
@NMSurgery
NIH NCI T32 training grant.
@AcademicSurgery
@RASACS
@APDSurgery
DM if interested.
DO NOT troll a medical student through a fake account. We have no tolerance for that. Civil discussion is needed. This is not. I encourage everyone to block this fake, cowardly account and report it to Twitter.
I’ve been a lucky guy for all these years with regard to Exec Admin Assistants. First, the amazing,
@oneloveremi
, & now the fabulous Kirsty for 7 yrs. Our team would be nothing without them!! Both have now developed into talented research leaders. So proud & forever grateful ❤️🙏
I consider myself part of this intern class - we are figuring out
@IU_Surgery
together and having a lot of fun doing it! Dinners with the residents are one of my favorite parts of this role! We laughed a lot!
@IUMedSchool
@IU_Health
An entire article in
@jama_current
about how Scott Atlas caused so many deaths...pretty much the one thing you never want written about you as doc... Check out the unusual disclosure section...
Congrats to
@TonyYangMD
for this award from the Commission on Cancer! Tony does so much to advance oncologic & surgical quality at our hospital, across the system, & across Illinois. His leadership in founding the Illinois Cancer Collaborative (ILCC) has been amazing to watch!
An increasing number of surgeons are taking on health system administrative roles. Lots to consider when taking these jobs & they can be precarious! Come to
@AcademicSurgery
Presidential Session on Wed, Feb 5 at 1pm where 4 stellar surgeon leaders will share their experiences!
Apply now for 2-yr FUNDED surgical resident research fellowship at
@AmCollSurgeons
&
@NU_SOQIC
. Focused on oncology, residents interested in surg onc, colorectal, thoracic, endocrine, etc are eligible. We’ve trained >30 residnents over 15 yrs. Join us!!