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In October 2015, Doctor Edward Cornwell the third, the surgeon
in chief at Howard University Hospital delivered the first
grand rounds lectureship in honor of Doctor Levi Watkins,
a pioneer in both cardiac surgery and civil rights.
After the lectureship, he sat down with Dr. Robert Higgins,
the surgeon-in-chief at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.
As past presidents of the Society of Black Academic
Surgeons, both Dr. Cornwell and Dr. Higgins discuss
the important role SBAS plays in encouraging African American
surgeons and medical students to pursue academic careers.
>> You're part of an organization, the Society of
Black Academic Surgeons, which we both have near and
dear to our hearts and Levi was a member of.
Can you talk to
me about the Society of Black Academic Surgeons and
its role in the future as we lead American surgery?
>> If you look at SBAS today through its first 25 years 1989
to 2014, you see it's important for diversity of another court
because of the plight of quote, unquote, black males in America.
The numbers throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s who successfully got
through high school, interested in the sciences,
successfully got through college, got through pre-med,
got into medical school, graduated medical school,
got into surgery, trained in surgery.
All those blips for a whole host of social reasons
that tripped up black males, led to an interesting
dynamic in the academic surgery, particularly among blacks.
The cause of racial diversity, which SBAS was formed for,
is spring boarded by gender diversity.
And so you see now, as SBAS celebrates its first
woman president, Patricia Turner, you see that SBAS and
the things that it has promoted is the similar sort of things
that you would see over the years in the 90s and
2000s at King Drew and at Howard.
Howard I can tell you since the first woman graduated
the surgical residency in 1976 has trained over 65 women.
A lot of residencies don't keep that statistic but
I'm sure as a percentage it is probably at the very top of
residencies in this country.
And that's because as, residents of color choose to apply
to Howard, a greater percentage of those are being women.
And so we see the same thing at SBAS.
We see the issue of gender diversity now being
promoted through SBAS as much as the issue of racial diversity.
And as we do that and we become the more complete society as it
relates to gender diversity,
just as we did through the earlier generation in racial
diversity, I think the same observation is gonna take place
that when I was at Hopkins, we had Hopkins residents black and
white presenting at the society of Black Academic Surgeons.
Hopkins faculty of all ethnicities,
presenting at the Society of Black Academic Surgeons.
I think we're going to see the inclusiveness as a theme and
for any of those of us, such as yourself and myself, who have,
as part of our responsibility, searching high and low, for
the best and the brightest to train, to educate as students,
to train as residents, and to recruit as faculty.
We're going to see that that attitude promoted
by individual institutions and
as a whole by SBAS is going to be a great resource.
Networking, approaches to where we might find the best and
brightest and expanding opportunities.
So that also, I think, is something Levi would smile upon.
We've come a long way, but we still have a ways to go.
>> Fantastic, so as you think about your time as a member of
SBAS, can you relate what your fondest memory is, or
what the high point has been?
>> I think probably the first thing that comes to mind is
2004, the year I was president.
And I was quite anxious and thrilled to be president
the year that the meeting was in Washington DC.
So there I was at my native Washington DC.
Levi was there.
Dr. Lafall, the man who was, after my own father,
the most influential man in my own career was there.
And have an opportunity to deliver the presidential address
and I called it the advantage of disadvantage.
And how I would come to SBAS, I would come
to the National Medical Association Surgical Section.
And I get there and I would be sitting holding court
with Claude Organ for 45 minutes.
We would talk about the next grant,
the next paper what's your work on.
And I said many of my colleagues never had such an opportunity
for face time and individual discussion as I had
coming through SBAS and through the NMA Surgical Section.
And I used, again, that experience to tell folks
about leadership in its different styles.
Two of the more important supporters of my career,
Claude Organ and Julie Freischlag,
who succeeded Dr. Cameron, who recruited me to Hopkins as chair
of the department of surgery here at Hopkins for ten years.
She inherited me and was a great supporter of mine.
And yet, her and Dr. Organ had two totally different styles.
Dr. Organ, when you'd see him, he'd say, shake your hand, and
he'd have that mischievous grin on his face, and
he'd say you sure look well rested.
And only in our type A, work ethic driven profession of
surgery is that not a compliment.
>> [LAUGH] >> You'd be, I was on call
just the night before, I jumped on the plane Dr.
Organ, you would be, he knew he could make you feel
uncomfortable by telling you how well rested you looked.
Fast forward, Julie Freischlag becomes my surgical chair.
We had a busy urban level one trauma center,
as the chief of trauma I'm taking trauma call.
And Julie would always say, you okay?
You look tired.
And finally I had to tell her and say, Dr.
Freischlag I haven't been on call for three days.
These bags under my eyes aren't going anywhere.
I earned those bags.
I'm fine.
And I would always point that out.
I'd sit there with three women that always worried
if I was working too hard.
My wife, my mother, and my chair.
And so Julie Freischlag who was worried about if everything's
okay, worried about you,
her style of leadership was important in my career.
Dr. Organ's style of leadership, a totally different
diametrically opposed similarly important in my career.
Diversity of approach and yet
they're both extremely effective and important in my career.
>> Fantastic,
finally we really appreciate you taking the time to reflect.
But what advice would you have for young residents and
faculty about the value of being a member of
organizations like the Society of Black Academic Surgeons.
>> I think residents in that part of their career,
when they're trying to find their way,
if you were to say one of the most important things, for
them, to make the right decision in their career?
Networking, and role modelling.
And SBAS is about networking and role modeling and
it unequivocally is one of the most important
meetings that I've gone to, sine 1989 I've missed only two.
Both for very personal family reasons that I couldn't avoid.
I've been at every other Society of Black Academic Surgeons
meeting.
And it's evolved to the point where I meet someone and
I say how come I don't know you?
That's what it was like the first 15 years.
Now the fact that I have residents of color coming from
every place where I never met is just a new thrill to meet them.
And it's not at all unusual for me,
not to have known or to see these people before.
And so it's been extremely important for
me both at the early developmental phase of my crew,
we're not still in training.
And even now, as I like you are a past president in seeing
the next generation of folks coming through,
I get the same warmth about it that I got then.
>> Well fantastic, it's clear by your reflections today,
by your grand rounds, by your presence,
that we're lucky to have you as a member of our extended family.
And as a leader in American surgery,
we look forward to great things as we train the next generation
of surgeons.
Thank you for your reflection and your time.
>> Well, thank you, Bob.
But let me just say your appointment to this position of
chair is historically important, tangibly important,
and symbolically important.
So there's a whole new group of people that are going to be
thrilled and inspired by you, so Levi, come to the hymn.
Come back to where we began.
Levi would be smiling.
>> Well, I think of the concept best
>> Yep.
>> Thank you. >> All right, great, thanks.
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