Chief’s Message: This is the Moment – transitions, partnerships and lessons from summer reading.

This week we had another busy week at Duke Heart as we prepared for our new fellows and residents to join us while we continued our celebrations of the fellows finishing their training.  Find some photos of our interventional fellow graduation dinner here – where we are lucky to continue to train the next generation of cardiovascular leaders – in this case in the field of interventional cardiology.  The dinner and celebration were a testament to our faculty and the leadership that helps train and support these fellows education.  We are excited to see their next steps in their career.

Additionally, we welcomed colleagues from Red Cell Partners to help us consider and build the future of CV care and beyond as we work to imagine systems to bring data to life for our patients. We had a robust meeting with our health system leaders and the Red Cell to envision how we can work to bring AI and transformative access to therapies to improve the workflow and operations of our practice and improve cardiovascular health of our community, state, and country.  The speed of change in the way data and information will be brought to our clinicians is quite substantial and we are lucky to have the commitment of such an important partner and a health system looking to innovate.   A photo from that meeting is included here.  The next 12 months provide us with a clear moment and opportunity to help transform the CV health care and research enterprise as we lean in and learn how to better deliver CV care and discover the next therapies in a sustainable model.  Over the coming weeks we hope to crystalize this opportunity and come back to our entire community to engage in working to innovate care and research.

Dean Klotman also gave her state of the union speech this week for the school of medicine.  As always it was impressive how many in the school and health system have stepped up to meet these challenging times by increasing ways in which we collaborate, develop new ways to do research, and develop systems to support our trainees and faculty.  The talk especially highlighted our administrative professionals and leaders that have helped moved the school, departments, and divisions quickly to meet this need.  Perhaps most encouraging from the discussion was the numerous examples (with several in heart) of teams innovating and making an impact through discovery of new ways to do things to improve health.

Finally, I provide the next summer reading review – “Healing Children: A Surgeon’s Stories from the Frontiers of Pediatric Medicine” by Dr. Kurt Newman.  I was lucky enough to meet Kurt as we kicked off our Made for This philanthropy campaign – and he was nice enough to give me a copy of his book.  The lessons from the book, a compelling and quick read, seem even more timely this time of year.

The book opens with Kurt sharing a story from 40 years ago working as a third year medical student in Nobel Prize winner and Duke Cardiology Faculty member Dr. Bob Lefkowitz’s lab.  He shares how he felt a thyroid mass while looking in a microscope and knew that he had thyroid cancer – and through his care at Duke as a medical student – resolved to become a surgeon.  He shares the stories of his care and observations as a patient going through the system then and as a physician caring for children for years to come.

In fact, “Healing Children” is a compelling narrative that offers an insider’s perspective into the world of pediatric surgery from the viewpoint of Kurt – even questioning and sharing a heartfelt exploration of the challenges and triumphs in treating young patients and their families. It is both a memoir and a manifesto advocating for the importance of specialized pediatric care at many points throughout the book.  Even more pertinent to our times, Kurt presents the strength of mentoring from Dr. Randolph early in his career, the lessons of system and quality improvement by looking standardize the operative care, and multiple stories and lessons on the strength of multi-disciplinary care in the outcomes of pediatric patients.

Through many of these narratives, he highlights the unique medical, emotional, and ethical challenges faced when treating children. He seamlessly weaves his personal experiences with broader discussions on healthcare policy and the need for dedicated pediatric resources.  At a time that Duke and UNC are working to build the Children’s Hospital of North Carolina – this is a timely memoir on the work at Children’s National Hospital.

Key Themes:

The Unique Nature of Pediatric Care: Kurt Newman emphasizes that children are not just small adults; they require specialized care tailored to their physical and emotional development. He argues for the necessity of pediatric-trained surgeons and facilities, underscoring how such specialization leads to better outcomes.

The Emotional Impact of Pediatric Surgery: The book delves into the emotional roller coaster experienced by both families and healthcare providers. He shares poignant stories of hope, despair, and resilience, giving readers a glimpse into the human side of medicine.

Advocacy for Pediatric Healthcare: A significant portion of the book is dedicated to advocating for better healthcare policies and funding for pediatric research. He calls for systemic changes to ensure that children receive the best possible care, highlighting the disparities that exist in access to pediatric specialists.

The Interdisciplinary Nature of Pediatric Medicine: As noted through various anecdotes, he illustrates the collaborative nature of pediatric care, involving surgeons, nurses, therapists, and families. He stresses the importance of teamwork in achieving successful outcomes for young patients.

Impact of Philanthropy and Leadership.  Dr. Newman shares how he learned from a key donor who had a child cared for by their team.  He is pushed to move this vision forward and learns how to effect change and eventually become CEO and lead Children’s Hospital of Washington.

My Take Home Message:

This is an engaging and meaningful read to see and hear the stories of specific patients that Dr. Newman cared for and how it impacted his thoughts and actions to lead a multi-disciplinary team at Children’s Hospital of Washington.  There are many analogies to the care we provide for cardiovascular patients – and his lessons on how to improve and move towards the community from a surgical center are quite relevant today.  I personally found his voice, the stories, and ability to translate those to larger lessons in health care both impactful and important for our health care work today.  If you get a chance – you can take a bit of time and hopefully find some meaning in this book from a past Duke Medical Student.