Department of Surgery
What is your hometown?
Born in McPherson, Kansas to a B-52 pilot and his wife. In a blizzard.
When did you join the UI faculty?
September 13, 2004.
How/when did you become interested in science and medicine?
I heard you got to make LSD in my advanced placement chemistry course when I was a junior in high school. Sounded like fun. It was just a rumor.
What interested you to pursue a career in medicine?
The urea counter current. In nursing school, I just couldn’t understand why the body would produce a compound that was toxic, and it had to excrete. When I asked my pathophysiology instructor, she responded, “You don’t have to know that. It’s not on the test.” When I mentioned this fact to a friend, who was a medical student, he told me I should go to medical school where I could take exciting classes like neuroanatomy. So I did.
Is there a teacher or mentor who helped shape your career?
Dr. John Batdorf, a retired surgeon in Las Vegas, who was a surgeon in Viet Nam, and was the old-time trauma, burn, orthopedic, hand surgeon. When I was a resident, he took the time to teach me to do it right the first time and
listen to your patients.
Dr. Bill Schwab, the Trauma/Acute General Surgery/Critical Care Director at University of Pennsylvania, has been a great mentor and friend since he was my trauma fellowship director. He taught me intellectual rigor, critical thinking, and to always take the moral high ground. He set, and maintains, the bar for personal and professional integrity.
How or why did you choose the UI?
The people at the university and the hospital gave me such a feeling of integrity and dedication to doing the right thing, I felt very welcomed. Dr. Pat Kealey, interim surgery department chair, is the kind of guy you want to work for. My personal interests and professional goals seemed to fit in with the UIHC way of life.
What kinds of professional opportunities or advantages does being a faculty member at Iowa provide? What about challenges?
The University of Iowa is such a well-known institution, that being from Iowa is a plus wherever I am. The patient care, research opportunities, academic camaraderie, and support from all levels of my department are outstanding.
Challenges arise when I am on service and it’s so busy that I don’t have time to attend to some of the paperwork that comes along, the management issues that might arise, and making sure I have some personal time to take care of myself.
Please describe your professional interests?
My main professional interests are:
1. issues surrounding methamphetamine abuse: patients, family members such as kids who are also exposed, and first responders such as volunteer firefighters and law enforcement professionals who might be exposed.
2. those issues of burn and trauma resuscitation like abdominal compartment syndrome diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.
3. necrotizing fasciitis.
4. international outreach for burn care under the auspices of the American Burn Association/Health Volunteers Overseas.
What are some of your outside interests?
Running, downhill skiing, fixing up my 100 year old house, hanging out with my dog, reading, classical music, playing the piano.
Do you have an insight or philosophy that guides you in your professional work?
1. Just do it.
2. I use the “family rule” e.g. if this particular patient was your family member, what kind of care would you recommend to them?
3. Have fun.
If you could change one thing about the world (or the world of medicine/science), what would it be?
In the perfect world, all those in need would have access to health care.
What is the biggest change you've experienced in your field since you were a student?
Technology has come to health care. I remember the first pulmonary artery catheter I saw. It was inserted by an attending cardiologist with an entire room of people watching. It seemed to me that the face of patient monitoring would change, and it has. The other big change has been laparoscopic surgery, a technology not being used except in laboratory animals, when I was a surgery resident. Now, robotic surgery seems to have limitless potential for the future.
What one piece of advice you would give to today's medical students?
Explore all your options; don’t be dissuaded by naysayers who tell you that the best days of medicine and healthcare are over. Find a job that you like and you’ll never “have to go to work” again.
President Skorton named 2005 as the "Year of Public Engagement." In what ways are you engaged with the greater Iowa public?
In conjunction with others from UIHC/IPRC, I have submitted a grant to FEMA that examines some of the risks and effects of methamphetamine on Iowans, including children and first responders around the state. Other research involves problems associated with the resuscitation of patients with large burns.
One of my main interests is medical missionary work. Currently I am working with the American Burn Association and Health Volunteers Overseas to establish a burn center in Zambia. The college and UIHC have been very supportive in this endeavor. Under the auspices of the ABA/HVO, we are aiming to establish other burn centers around the world.