Twenty-nine residents and fellows said farewell to faculty members and one another at Friday night’s graduation ceremony for the University of Colorado Department of Surgery.
Held at the Denver Art Museum, the event was a night of gratitude, fond memories, and excitement for the future.
Among the 2024 graduates was general surgery resident Anna Gergen, MD, whom presenter Nicole Christian, MD, assistant professor of surgical oncology and associate director of the surgery residency program, described as humble and kind. “Throughout the challenges of residency, Anna brings genuine care to her colleagues,” Christian said.
Gergen, who will remain at the CU Department of Surgery for a cardiothoracic surgery fellowship, thanked Christian, as well as Richard Schulick, MD, MBA, chair of the Department of Surgery, and Mark Nehler, MD, director of the surgery residency program, for “always having our back and making us feel heard.”
Gergen also thanked her husband, her mentors in cardiothoracic surgery, and the attending surgeons she worked with during her residency.
“You taught me to embrace vulnerability and gave me the confidence to know it’s more than possible to be an amazing surgeon and an amazing mother,” she said.
Looking back
Residents and fellows thanked parents, spouses, and other family members, as well as faculty members and their fellow trainees, as they each took a brief moment in the spotlight to commemorate their years of hard work in the CU Department of Surgery.
“It seems like just yesterday we started our intern year,” general surgery resident Jamie Hadley, MD, who will soon begin a fellowship at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, told her fellow graduates. “I couldn’t imagine a better group to go through this journey with.”
General surgery resident Amanda Louiselle, MD, whom Christian described as “the most single-minded resident I have ever had the pleasure of working with,” urged her fellow residents to always remain true to themselves.
Attendees enjoy dinner at the graduation ceremony.
“Don’t let anyone dim your light, and remember you got here because of who you are,” she said.
In addition to general surgery residents, the ceremony recognized departing graduates in surgical specialties including plastic and reconstructive surgery, trauma and acute care surgery, pediatric surgery, and urology.
The list of graduating urology residents includes Xavier Gervaise Glover, MD, whom Granville Lloyd, MD, urology program director, said has been “an unrelenting voice for goodness, kindness, and compassion for our residency.” Glover will remain in Colorado to work as a urologist for AdventHealth.
Recognizing excellence
The ceremony also included the presentation of several awards for research, scholarship, and professionalism, including the J. Cuthbert Owens Award for Excellence in Teaching and Patient Care, which was awarded to Megan Adams, MD, associate professor of transplant surgery.
“Megan is a beacon of positivity whose influence extends far beyond the confines of the operating room,” Nehler said.
The Bartle Faculty Teaching Award was presented to Shane McNevin, MD, visiting associate professor of GI, trauma, and endocrine surgery.
“He is always finding opportunities to teach on the fly,” said departing resident Heather Carmichael, MD. “He makes sure the chief residents are learning the details of clinical practice, and he encourages them to achieve independence.”
Leela Mundra, MD, a plastic and reconstructive surgery integrated resident who is going to Boston to become the aesthetics fellow at Harvard University’s Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, summed up the feelings of every graduating resident when she thanked the surgery faculty members “for the opportunity to learn and grow, and for always believing in me.”
