Surgery News - December 2007 - (Page 5)

DECEMBER 2007 • SURGERY NEWS 5 THE THE E Teaching Surgeons the Art of Innovation BY JANE ANDERSON Else vier Global Medical Ne ws hy leave surgical innovation to chance? Can we study, understand, and teach it? That’s what is being done through the Biodesign Surgical Innovation program at Stanford (Calif.) University, where surgeons are paired with engineers and business majors to learn to innovate in a productive, methodical fashion. The 5-year-old program, led by Dr. Thomas M. Krummel, is intended to teach surgical residents the process of innovation that will lead to the next generation of surgical techniques and tools. “The progress and innovation in surgery have made everything we do now possible, but the environment i n n ov a t o r s grew up in and thrived in has changed, and makes innovation more difficult. SurTHOMAS M. geons are so KRUMMEL, M.D., FACS busy just running on a treadmill trying to get things done, they don’t have time to make things better,” said Dr. Krummel, professor and chair of the department of surgery at Stanford who also is an ACS Fellow and a member of the Society of University Surgeons panel that has been developing a position statement on surgical innovation. The program is a 2-year fellowship during which surgical residents work with engineering and business students, learning how to identify real clinical needs and then develop a prototype tool to fill those needs, he said. They gain an understanding of the regulatory process and how to raise funds for device development. A 2-month “boot camp” program features team-building activities, allowing the engineers to teach the surgeons, and vice versa, Dr. Krummel said. Then, the team has 2 months of clinical immersion, when students look for an unsolved problem. “We encourage them to gather a list of 200 problems they see in the hospital, and ask them to prioritize and analyze [those problems],” he explained. Eventually, those 200 problems are winnowed down to a handful of workable ideas that the fellows focus on for the next 6 months. “They learn the core skills of working through the problem, talking to the experts, [and by] modeling and prototyping,” he said. They also take a biodesign project course and work to develop a business plan. In the second year, some students W enter business-plan competitions or pursue start-ups, Dr. Krummel said, while others might do a venture capital or large company internship, or take a masters of science in bioengineering. Currently, there are 9 surgical residents in the program along with 30 non-physicians. There are a variety of devices in the pipeline; in fact, “3,500 patients here have been treated with inventions and devices from the program.” he said. As part of the selection process, Dr. Krummel and his colleagues quiz applicants on their experience with innovation. “We like to see a track record of innovation. But it’s not clear that our surgical residencies promote and encourage that.” Between 60 and 80 candidates “from all walks of life” applied last year for the program, and Stanford has had a steady increase in the number of applicants each year, he said. 20/20 / 0/20 V SION O SIO SION IO But he doesn’t believe the program can make an innovator out of someone who just doesn’t have the talent and mind-set for it. “[We] try to identify those who have aptitudes for this,” he said. “We don’t think we teach it as much as develop it. Our best bet is to select the right group.” ■ http://www.surgitel.com http://www.surgitel.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Surgery News - December 2007

Surgery News - December 2007 Contents Breast Radiation Boost Cuts Cancer Recurrence Mortality Soars in Some Patients With Respiratory Distress New Codes Promote Alcohol Screening New Ideas News From the College: Quality Standards General Surgery: Helping Hand Trauma: Spleen Protocol

Surgery News - December 2007

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