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Department of Surgery News and Stories

Education

Education

Residents and Fellows Bid Farewell at Department of Surgery Graduation Ceremony

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.  


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date June 17, 2024
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Research    Education

Surgery Residents Present Research Findings at 10th Annual Symposium

The extensive range and depth of research endeavors spanning the University of Colorado Department of Surgery was showcased at the 10th annual Research Symposium on May 20.


Author Hannah Kelly | Publish Date May 29, 2024
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Education    GITES

CU Department of Surgery Adds Colorectal Fellowship Program

A new colon and rectal surgery fellowship program at the University of Colorado Department of Surgery will provide aspiring colorectal surgeons with an additional year of training as they prepare for their surgical careers. The CU program, which was approved this year by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), will be part of the match process this summer and plans to welcome its first fellow in 2025.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date April 30, 2024
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Research    Education    Trauma    GITES

CU Surgery Residents Win Big in Western Trauma Association Paper Competition

Two residents from the University of Colorado Department of Surgery took home top honors in the resident paper competition at the annual meeting of the Western Trauma Association, which took place February 25 through March 1 in Snowmass, Colorado.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date April 09, 2024
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Education    Fellowship

CU Fellowship Program Trains APPs for Careers in Surgery 

Jamie Shatz went to school to become a physician assistant (PA), but once she graduated, she knew she needed more training to pursue the job she really wanted: a surgical PA.  


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date October 17, 2023
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Research    Education    Equity Diversity and Inclusion

Eliminating Biases Through a Holistic Review Process for Residency Candidates 

Though many medical residency programs have begun using holistic review to evaluate candidates — a process that looks at qualities such as leadership, research aptitude, and volunteerism to get a more well-rounded view of an applicant than grades and test scores can provide — some administrators are still wary that a holistic process may not result in a qualified candidate pool.  


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date October 06, 2023
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Education    Community

CU Surgery Faculty Members Urge Training Programs to Consider Young Parents 

Their work developing a set of guidelines for the general surgery residency program in the University of Colorado Department of Surgery led faculty members Nicole Christian, MD, MSCS, and Shannon Acker, MD, to write an editorial on how important it is for surgery training programs to support the young parents in their ranks. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date August 18, 2023
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Education    Community

Graduation Ceremony Recognizes Departing Residents and Fellows From the CU Department of Surgery 

The tears flowed almost as freely as the thank-yous at Friday night’s graduation ceremony for residents and fellows in the University of Colorado Department of Surgery.  


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date June 13, 2023
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Research    Education   

Surgery Residents Share Research at Annual Symposium 

From analyzing the effects of social vulnerability and health disparities on postoperative outcomes to mitigating the effects of trauma to evaluating new treatment modalities for pancreatic cancer, the research presented at the annual University of Colorado Department of Surgery Research Symposium on May 22 posed a plethora of new possibilities for patient care.  


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date May 23, 2023
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Research    Education    Diversity    Clinical

Celebrating CU Department of Surgery Women

Each year, since 1987, the President of the United States has issued a proclamation designating the month of March as Women’s History Month. It is significant that the leadership of our country recognizes the importance of reaffirming the historical accomplishments of women with this annual proclamation.

Generations of women have endured hardships, exclusion, and discrimination and despite these challenges have furthered equity and equality in our communities. As a nation, we have made great strides in medicine, technology, social justice, and much more through their unwillingness to surrender their dreams and goals.

We would like to take this time to highlight a few of the great women and their work in the CU Department of Surgery. 


Author Department of Surgery | Publish Date March 01, 2023
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Research    Education    Students

From COVID-19 to Opioids: Medical Students Highlight Studies Completed Through Summer Research Program

In the course of her research, Jamie Burke, a student in the University of Colorado School of Medicine, learned that at least 50% of patients surveyed at a safety net breast surgical oncology clinic were uncomfortable interpreting their own medical results.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date December 16, 2022
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Education    Fellowship    Burn

New CU Burn Surgery Fellowship Condenses Two Years of Training Into One 

The University of Colorado Department of Surgery recently received accreditation for a new burn surgery fellowship that will allow aspiring burn surgeons to enter the field faster. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date December 07, 2022
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Education    Fellowship

Coaching Program Helps Surgical Interns Through Their First Year of Residency 

During his first year as a resident in the University of Colorado Department of Surgery, Ali Lilo, MD, felt the pressure. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date December 06, 2022
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Education    Community    Public Health

Decades-Long Public Health Partnerships in Nepal Supported by University of Colorado Colleagues

It wasn’t his first stroll through a teeming Kathmandu market, his first taste of momos, or even his first view of the Himalayas that weaved a piece of his heart into the fabric of a country 12,000 miles from his Denver home.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date October 05, 2022
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Education    Faculty    Surgical Oncology

Robotic Curriculum Trains General Surgery Residents in Cutting-Edge Technology 

Camille Stewart, MD, assistant professor of surgical oncology in the University of Colorado School of Medicine, is leading general surgery residents on valuable training with new robotic surgical equipment that is becoming more and more common in the world of medicine. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date July 01, 2022
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Education    Community    CU Medicine Today    Cardiothoracic Surgery    Fellowship

International Collaborations Bring Rwanda’s Only Cardiothoracic Surgeon to Colorado

Before Maurice Musoni, MD, completed his surgical training in South Africa, his home country of Rwanda had no cardiothoracic surgeon.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date June 14, 2022
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Education    Community

Department of Surgery Honors Graduating Residents and Fellows for Dedication During Challenging Times

The graduating physicians honored Friday at the University of Colorado Department of Surgery Resident and Fellow Graduation navigated portions of their training during an unprecedented time. The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered not only surgery schedules and overall hospital operations, but the landscape of health care.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date June 13, 2022
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Research    Education    Community

General Surgery Residents Present Broad Range of Research Findings at Annual Symposium

Through analyzing post-operative outcome data for more than 5.5 million patients, Helen Madsen, MD, found that patients who are overweight or obese are at increased risk for post-operative infection, blood clots, and renal complications.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date May 25, 2022
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Research    Patient Care    Education    Community

Online Assessment Tool Helps Predict ICU Need Following Surgery

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, intensive care unit (ICU) beds were in limited supply, and the pandemic only exacerbated this growing concern. Since the pandemic began, ICU resources have been in such demand that clinicians across the United States and world have struggled to meet the need.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date May 24, 2022
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Research    Education    Community    Cardiothoracic Surgery

Medical Student Wins Award for Presenting Paper about Surgical Training Tool

It’s not unusual for students to enter medical school with ideas about paths they’d like to pursue in medicine. Those ideas can evolve over time as they delve into course work and clinical rotations, but the initial interests that guided them to medicine in the first place can be significant.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date May 20, 2022
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Research    Education    Community    Vascular Surgery

Business Studies Help Surgery Resident Plan for a Career that Incorporates Areas Beyond Health Care

The skills that Ryan Gupta, MD, learned during his master of business administration (MBA) studies aren’t necessarily the skills usually associated with vascular surgery: how to understand financial statements, how to conduct market research, how to make difficult decisions about resource allocation.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date April 15, 2022
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Education    Community    Faculty    Vascular Surgery    Cardiothoracic Surgery

Nurturing a Passion for Medicine that Was Born in the Midst of War

Almost a decade into his medical career, amid the daily traumas of war, Mohammed Al-Musawi, MD, began to love his job.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date March 22, 2022
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Research    Education    Community    Students

New Research Shows that Surgical Training Tool Significantly Improves Residents’ Ability to Practice Essential Skills

A tool designed to help surgical trainees practice skills such as knot tying, suturing, vascular and bowel anastomoses, and other techniques has helped eliminate barriers to simulation resources.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date March 16, 2022
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Education    Community   

CU Department of Surgery’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee Continues Its Work 

The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee in the CU School of Medicine Department of Surgery (DOS) has made great strides over the past year, working toward the department’s goal of becoming the most diverse, equitable, and inclusive department of surgery in the country by 2030.  


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date March 08, 2022
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Research    Education    Students   

Medical Student Receives Grant to Help With Cannabis Study

Emma Lamping, a second-year student at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, has received a $5,000 “Emerging Scientist Award” from the Institute of Cannabis Research in Pueblo, Colorado, for her work on a research study comparing postoperative pain medication requirements and surgical outcomes after major abdominal surgery for the treatment of cancer between daily cannabis users and nonusers of cannabis.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date January 06, 2022
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Research    Patient Care    Education    Community    Faculty

Supporting Surgeon-Scientists in Research to Find New and Better Ways of Caring for Patients

For the 50 years of his career, Ernest Moore, MD, a distinguished professor of surgery, has been eager to go to work ­­– not just caring for patients or the challenges of the operating room, but for the myriad paths of research he has pursued since he was an undergraduate.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date December 20, 2021
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Research    Education    Community    Trauma    GITES

CU School of Medicine Surgery Residents Take First, Second Place in Trauma Paper Competition

Two general surgery residents at the University of Colorado School of Medicine — Margot DeBot, MD, and TJ Schaid, MD — placed first and second, respectively, in the District 8 regional competition for the 2022 American College of Surgeons’ Committee on Trauma Paper Competition in early December. DeBot and Schaid are both T32 NIH research fellows in the CU Trauma Lab.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date December 17, 2021
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Research    Patient Care    Education    Community

CU Department of Surgery Top Stories of 2021

The University of Colorado Department of Surgery's commitment to improve every life was spotlighted numerous times by faculty, staff, trainees, and students throughout 2021.


Author Department of Surgery | Publish Date December 16, 2021
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Innovation    Patient Care    Education    Community    Transplant Center

National and Regional Need for Organ and Tissue Donation Remains Strong

Empower Field at Mile High in Denver seats about 76,000 – a huge space with the population of a small city when filled to capacity.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date December 15, 2021
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Education    Community

Confronting Misogyny and Sexism in Medicine Begins with Awareness and Listening

For many women in the medical field, the common pressures associated with the profession – long hours, emotional toll, work/life balance – can be magnified by the added experiences of misogyny and sexism. From making less than their male colleagues to seeing people express surprise that they are the doctor, women’s experiences can be fraught and frustrating.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date December 13, 2021
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Education    Community    Transplant Center

CU Surgeon Inspires the Next Generation of Women Surgeons

As the American Medical Association’s Women in Medicine Month concludes today, the University of Colorado Department of Surgery shines a spotlight on Elizabeth Pomfret, MD, PhD, chief of the Division of Transplant Surgery and the Igal Kam, MD, Endowed Chair of Transplant Surgery.


Author Khushnuma Damkevala | Publish Date September 30, 2021
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Patient Care    Education    Community    Vascular Surgery

New Vascular Surgery Residency Program Allows Residents to Focus on Surgical Specialty for Entire Training

The traditional path for surgeons after they’ve completed medical school is a five-year general surgery residency followed by a two-year fellowship in an area of specialization. Even for surgeons who choose their specialty in medical school, this has been the most common training path.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date September 10, 2021
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Research    Education    Students

Second Annual Medical Student Summer Research Program Offers Mentorship and Hands-On Research Experience

Of all the lessons she learned during the eight-week Medical Student Summer Research Program (MSRP), Rose Castle, a rising second year at the University of Colorado School of Medicine who is interested in pursuing general surgery, drew her main takeaway outside the operating room.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date August 10, 2021
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Education    Community   

Viral Tweet Puts Surgery Resident in the Spotlight

Matthew Bartley, MD, MS, has gone viral (as in trending in the world of social media).


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date July 01, 2021
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Research    Patient Care    Education    Community

Department of Surgery Celebrates 2021 Graduates

The University of Colorado School of Medicine Department of Surgery hosted its Resident and Fellowship Graduation at Denver Botanic Gardens on June 11.


Author Valerie Gleaton | Publish Date June 16, 2021
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Innovation    Education    Community   

Medical Students Help Create Surgical Training Tool to Meet Local and Global Needs

On May 19, 2021, more than 20 medical students from the University of Colorado School of Medicine, along with a handful of residents, fellows, and faculty members from the Department of Surgery, gathered in the home of Yihan Lin, MD, MPH, a cardiothoracic surgery fellow.


Author Valerie Gleaton | Publish Date May 27, 2021
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Research    Innovation    Education

Research Symposium Highlights Impactful Projects Across the Department of Surgery

The depth and breadth of the research happening across the Department of Surgery at the University of Colorado School of Medicine was on full display in Monday’s eighth annual Research Symposium. Sixteen residents — eight from clinical and health services and eight from basic and translational research — presented papers on topics ranging from salvaging tissue in patients with frostbite to how shock can affect someone with a traumatic brain injury. The event was held virtually due to the pandemic.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date May 26, 2021
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Education    Community    COVID-19   

Navigating Through the Pandemic

As they look back on one of the most challenging years in their medical careers, members of the Department of Surgery at the University of Colorado School of Medicine remember the low points — the crowded emergency rooms, the delayed surgeries, the deaths from the disease — but they remember some high points as well.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date March 24, 2021
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Education    Community   

Johns Hopkins Director of Surgery Speaks at CU Surgery Department’s First DEI Lecture

“Diversity and inclusion in medicine can save lives.” That was the message from Robert Higgins, MD, MSHA, director of the Department of Surgery and surgeon-in-chief at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.


Author Department of Surgery | Publish Date February 25, 2021
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Education    Community   

Resident Recounts Her Son’s NICU Battle in Essay for New England Journal of Medicine

As a resident in the Department of Surgery at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Heather Carmichael, MD, was accustomed to the emotional remove doctors have from their patients. The distance that allows surgeons to cut into someone without hesitation or to deliver bad news without falling apart.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date February 19, 2021
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Research    Education   

Medical Student Presents Research at Academic Surgical Congress

Eighteen physicians, residents, and medical students from the University of Colorado School of Medicine presented on their research this week at the Academic Surgical Congress, an annual convention hosted by the Society of University Surgeons.


Author Department of Surgery | Publish Date February 05, 2021
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Education    Community    Plastic Surgery

Department of Surgery Makes Diversity, Equity and Inclusion a Priority

The racial reckoning occurring in America in a year that saw the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and others touches nearly every aspect of society. From corporate boardrooms and HR departments to police forces and universities, assumptions are being questioned and priorities reexamined as we are reminded of the inequities that still exist for people of color.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date December 14, 2020
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Education    Community

Spotlight on 2020 General Surgery Graduates

June 8, 2020 marked the graduation for general surgery residents within the Department of Surgery at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, residents, family, friends, faculty and staff gathered together virtually to celebrate the completion of their programs and present awards.


Author Shelly Lange | Publish Date June 11, 2020
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Department of Surgery In the News

CBS News

Colorado College Student Looks To Pay It Forward After Liver Donation

news outletCBS News
Publish DateJuly 10, 2024

You could say a miracle happened for Quinn Hanrahan of Steamboat Springs, a college student who had been on a liver transplant waitlist for three days when a donor came through for her. At age 14, doctors noticed her body had started to attack her healthy liver and they couldn't stop it. 

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Denver 7

Children’s Hospital Colorado’s New Spanish-Speaking Pediatric Surgery Clinic Is Breaking down Barriers

news outletDenver 7
Publish DateApril 13, 2024

Jose Diaz-Miron, MD, assistant professor of pediatric surgery has made it his mission to make healthcare more approachable for families in Colorado by launching a Spanish-speaking pediatric surgery clinic. It's the first of its kind in Colorado.

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American College of Surgeons

New Technologies, Approaches Help Surgeons Maximize the Use of Transplant Organs

news outletAmerican College of Surgeons
Publish DateApril 10, 2024

“Being more aggressive with donor offers and looking at marginal donors can help get people organs more quickly and reduce death on the waitlist,” said Jordan Hoffman, MD, FACS, associate professor of surgery and surgical director of heart and lung transplantation at the University of Colorado.

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UCHealth

Screening for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Recommended for Men Over Age 65, Especially for Men Who Have Smoked

news outletUCHealth
Publish DateFebruary 28, 2024
A one-time ultrasound screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm for men over 65 has been shown to reduce the risk of rupture by about half.
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