The Department of Surgery and Duke University Hospital (DUH) teams welcomed home one of their own this week from a six-month deployment with the U.S. Army.
Amy Alger, MD, FACS, a surgeon at DUH, recently returned to Duke after her service overseas and was welcomed back with a celebration.
“As a prior active duty surgeon, I have great respect for those who serve and always want to make sure Duke Surgery is seen as a good place for such great people to work."
-Allan Kirk, MD, Chair of the Department of Surgery
Eleanor Nelson, the special events coordinator for the department, helped organize the event with Cynthia Shortell, MD, chief of staff. Nelson said she wanted to make sure that they welcomed Alger back to the country and to Duke.
“Dr. Alger not only cares for patients as a trauma surgeon here at Duke, but she also cared for patients during her service,” says Nelson. “We wanted to recognize her and make sure everyone knew that she went above and beyond for Duke and for her country.”
Alger said she felt honored by the reception.
“It’s never easy transitioning back into civilian life after a deployment,” she says. “However, seeing everyone at the reception reminded me how fortunate I am to work with such supportive and caring colleagues here at Duke.”