Photo: Patricia L. Turner, MD, Anne Akwari, MD, JD, and Lola Fayanju, MD, MA, MPHS
Last month, the Duke Department of Surgery was honored to host Dr. Patricia Turner, Department of Surgery, University of Chicago, as a guest Grand Rounds speaker. Dr. Turner’s Grand Rounds talk focused on leadership for surgeons, including strategies to incorporate different models of leadership that play to individual strengths. Throughout her talk, Dr. Turner shared what she learned as a resident through her training with Dr. Claude Organ, former president of the American College of Surgeons, and the influence that Dr. Organ had on her as her mentor.
“We were excited that Dr. Turner accepted our invitation to present the annual Claude Organ Lecture that was awarded to Duke Surgery again this year,” says Dr. Bradley Collins, Associate Professor of Surgery, Division of Abdominal Transplant Surgery. “Her talk on leadership was timely. Already an accomplished leader in surgery on the national level, I am excited to see what the future holds for her.”
“Dr. Turner is a leader in American surgery,” says Dr. Lola Fayanju, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology. “She has a thoughtful, strong, yet vulnerable approach to leadership.” Dr. Fayanju says that Dr. Turner has been a tremendous help to her personally as a mentee in the Society of Black Academic Surgeons.
Dr. Turner is director of the Division of Member Services at the American College of Surgeons and a clinical associate professor of surgery at the University of Chicago. She is actively involved in post-graduate educational reform and has served as past president of the Surgical Section of the National Medical Association, president of the Society of Black Academic Surgeons, and chair of the AMA Council on Medical Education.
