Surgery Training and Education
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Surgery Special Events
The Department of Surgery hosts a number of special events throughout the year to share new advances in surgery, honor faculty and alumni, celebrate residents who are embarking on their surgical careers, raise funds for programs and new initiatives, and set strategic goals for the future of the Department.
Department-Sponsored International Symposia
In 2008, the Department of Surgery and NewYork-Presbyterian
Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center inaugurated the First World
Congress on Interventional Therapies for Type 2 Diabetes
under the direction of Dr. Francesco Rubino, Chief of the
Department's Gastrointestinal Metabolic Surgery Section. The
comprehensive, multidisciplinary forum brought together nearly
1,000 leading international experts in diabetes care and public
policymakers, with panels led by some of the world's most
authoritative scientists and clinicians in the field. The Second
World Congress on Interventional Therapies for
Type 2 Diabetes was held three years later in March 2011.
In August 2009, the William Randolph Hearst Burn Center, directed by Dr. Roger W. Yurt, and the New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation co-sponsored the 21st Annual World Burn Congress, which was held for the first time in New York City. Organized by the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors, the conference was attended by nearly 900 burn survivors and their families, firefighters, veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and specialists in burn treatment - the largest attendance to date. Speakers discussed the medical and psychological challenges of a severe burn injury and the psychological and social support needed for recovery.
Named Lectureships
The Department of Surgery
has established several named
lectureships, bringing in speakers
from around the world for
special educational programs.
In 1969, the annual Benjamin
S. Park, Jr., M.D. Visiting
Professor Lectureship was
inaugurated as a memorial to
Dr. Park, a 1968 graduate of
the general surgery residency program, who
was killed in a helicopter crash during a rescue
mission while serving in Korea in 1969. Each year, some
100 faculty, residents and alumni come together to commemorate
Dr. Park through a special grand rounds. The
Preston Wade Visiting Professor Lectureship, begun
in 1974, reflects the importance of surgical expertise in the prevention and the treatment of trauma.
After Dr. Wade's death in 1982, this lecture became a memorial to his life and contributions. The Peter C. Canizaro Visiting Professor Lectureship was created in 1983 recognizing the importance of surgical education. In 2002, the Department established the annual Hassan Naama Memorial Lectureship to honor Dr. Naama, who died suddenly in 2001 soon after completing his general surgical residency at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell. The visiting lectureship is traditionally delivered by a past chief resident of our General Surgery program or by a Weill Cornell Medical College medical student who has embraced a career in surgery. In 2009, the Department launched an International Lectureship to stress the importance of international collaboration in medical education and surgery.
Outreach to Alumni
Several programs take place during the year that infuse a sense of collegiality among alumni of the Department of Surgery's exceptional residency and fellowship training programs. Every March, following the annual Benjamin S. Park, Jr., M.D. Visiting Professor Lecture, faculty, alumni and residents come together for the Benjamin S. Park, Jr., M.D. Black-Tie Banquet Dinner to share an evening of recollections and friendships.
Each October, many surgical alumni, faculty and friends of NewYork- Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, Weill Cornell Medical College and The Methodist Hospital-Houston gather at the American College of Surgeons host hotel for our Annual Alumni Reception. The reception is co-hosted by Dr. Fabrizio Michelassi; Dr. O. Wayne Isom, Chair of Cardiothoracic Surgery, NewYork- Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center; Dr. Barbara Lee Bass, the John F. and Carolyn Bookout Chair, Department of Surgery, The Methodist Hospital; and Dr. Alan B. Lumsden, Professor of Surgery, Methodist DeBakey Heart Center, The Methodist Hospital.
Every June, the Department of Surgery hosts a
Graduation Dinner to celebrate the graduation of its
chief residents. These residents join
a distinguished cadre of alumni.
Most of them go on to subspecialty
surgical fellowships around the
country at prestigious institutions
or pursue fellowship training at
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital's
two campuses.
Fundraising Events
The Annual Golf Tournament serves as an important fundraiser for the Department of Surgery. Since its inception in 2002, the golf tournament has raised nearly $600,000 to support surgical education and research, including the Department's Skills Acquisition and Innovation Laboratory, named lectures and resident presentations at medical conferences.
In February 2011, the Department of Surgery hosted a fundraising dinner to salute famed singer Maestro Andrea Bocelli at Le Cirque in New York. The reception raised funds for a documentary entitled The Art of Medicine. The film will emphasize the importance of compassionate, humane and personalized medical practice as an art form to relieve suffering in an age when technology and societal changes can sometimes intrude in the patient-physician relationship.
Every Fall, Dr. Fabrizio Michelassi, along with Dr. Herbert Pardes, President and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, and Dr. Antonio M. Gotto, Jr., Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean, Weill Cornell Medical College, hosts a recognition Reception and Dinner for Donors and Friends to express the Department of Surgery's deep appreciation for their support and ongoing commitment. Since 2004, donor contributions have exceeded $38 million, enabling the Department to undergo facilities renovations and growth in its clinical services, educational programs and research initiatives.
Department of Surgery Retreats
Shortly after joining Weill Cornell as Chairman of the Department of Surgery, Dr. Fabrizio Michelassi initiated an in-depth assessment of the state of the Department. More than 65 personnel from the Department, NewYork- Presbyterian, the Physician Organization and Weill Cornell Medical College participated in what was termed the AIMS Process. The participants collaborated on the development of recommendations that would address challenges and delineate opportunities in the areas of academic organization, clinical operations, clinical program development, surgical education and surgical research. The review led to the Department's first faculty retreat under Dr. Michelassi's leadership in November 2004. The Aims Process laid the groundwork for progress in the Department, further enhanced by biannual faculty retreats that continue to this day. Areas of focus have evolved alongside the Department's own advancement, with topics that have included strategic research development and initiatives in quality and patient safety.
