Johns Hopkins’ reputation for outstanding medical care is well-known throughout the world, and research led by our faculty is regularly featured in the news. But what’s not as readily apparent to the public eye is our exceptional programs to train both future and current surgeons—the education component of Johns Hopkins’ tripartite mission of teaching, research and patient care. In the early months of this year, our department has already demonstrated our commitment to this mission by offering a variety of training opportunities. For example:

• In February, our team hosted the Inaugural North American Airway Collaborative Symposium on Advanced Surgical Techniques in Adult Airway Reconstruction, a one-day event featuring 10 lectures and panels by 23 faculty members from Johns Hopkins and other medical institutions.
• In April, our department hosted the third International Tracheostomy Symposium, a two-day event that not only offered training for physicians in tracheostomy care, quality and safety, but also featured a patient and family session. Twenty-five national and international speakers participated.
• Last year, Johns Hopkins head and neck surgeon Wayne Koch began leading a new fellowship at Mbingo Baptist Hospital in Cameroon. The fellowship is training doctors in the advanced surgical techniques that are an essential part of our specialty. With only one other similar program in all of Africa, this fellowship is filling a vital need, training surgeons who can effectively provide these services across the continent.

By helping to educate current and upcoming surgeons, we’re improving medical care now and in the future.

David W. Eisele, M.D., F.A.C.S.