1. Dr. Song, you are world-renowned successful
plastic surgeon. What was your motivation to become a doctor and did you face
any significant troubles or obstacles during your physician life?
- Like many Korean/American children, growing
up to be a doctor was a cultural goal, however, I was more interested in
classical studies, political science and literature. Then in 11th grade science
class, I was introduced to a Vascular Surgeon who gave a riveting presentation
and what he showed was transformative for me. The vascular anatomy and the
ability to bypass areas of occlusion with donor vein and suture blood vessels
together left an indelible image in my mind. I always enjoyed building models
and using my hands for intricate work and the ability to do intricate work
while saving a person’s life or limb resonated with me. At that moment, I felt
I had to pursue a career in medicine. I enrolled in the highly competitive 7
year undergraduate/ medical school program at UCR/UCLA and didn’t quite realize
that out of 385 people accepted to start, only 24 would actually graduate from
medical school. This highly competitive world was new to me and it was then
that I questioned my desire to be a doctor. The long nights of studying and
intense competition made it difficult for me to see the final goal of being a
doctor. I also minored in classical studies and at one point contemplated
changing my career path to pursue the classics. In the end, the pull of a
career in medicine was strong and I graduated medical school from UCLA and
matched into general surgery at The University of Chicago. This was a period of
intense growth and focus as I trained in an era prior to the 80-hour workweek.
Like many residents at that time, there were weeks where I worked in the
hospital well over 120 hours and slept very little, but being in the operating
room was a natural fit for me. These are hurdles everyone training to be a
doctor has overcome and are not unique to me.
2. You’ve become the president of American
Society of Plastic Surgeons as the first Asian American physician. Can you say
a few words on being elected and share your vision and goal as a leader of
group?
- It is an incredible honor to be elected as
president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. It is the largest
society of plastic surgeons in the world and the clear voice of our specialty.
I take pride in being the first Asian/American president, and feel a great
sense of responsibility to represent our specialty as a Korean American. We
have a strong agenda during this year to further educate the public on what it
means to be a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon and a goal of engaging the public
further via social media. I’m active on Twitter (@ DrDavidSong) and Instagram
and feel that Social Media is an important and powerful tool when used
correctly to educate and share with the public the importance of what we do as
Plastic Surgeons. Cosmetic surgery is what the public mostly thinks of when
discussing plastic surgery and we are clearly the sine qua non of Cosmetic
Surgery, but Plastic Surgery encompasses so much more. We take care of patients
with congenital deformities, like cleft lip/palate, burn victims, hand trauma,
reconstruction after cancer and much more. Plastic Surgery is in essence a
field of innovative problem solving and remains one of the last specialties
that solve problems all over the body. I hope to broadcast this message with
clarity during my year as president.
3. All parts of clinical process should be
difficult and careful but communicating with patient must be particularly
difficult. What is the most important aspects when you communicate with
patients and how do you manage your communication with them?
- Accurate and empathic communication is the
fundamental building block of a successful doctor patient relationship. For me
I take great pride in engaging with my patients and treating each and every
patient as if they are a member of my family. Once a doctor keeps this mindset,
then communication becomes enriched and patient care is enhanced. Surgeons
often are not perceived as the best communicators and for me I always wanted to
change that perception as a resident. Given the ever increasing pressures and
time constraints on doctors today, it is difficult to maintain this personal
touch, but not impossible. All my patients have direct access to me as I give
out my email and cell phone. This sense of knowing that they can always reach
me is comforting to them and helps me to be proactive with any possible issues
that may arise. To me, this equates to the best personal care possible in this
new era.
4. We’ve learned that your research interests
focus on outcome improvement in lumpectomy and mastectomy reconstruction and
you are involved in several clinical trials exploring advancements in these
procedures. How do your collaborate with industry side and what’s your opinion
on such collaboration?
- Industry continues to be an important
partner in innovation of medicines, devices and overall health care delivery.
In this new era of transparency, it is critical that physicians maintain an
ethical and open structure with industry relationships. With this transparency,
innovation can and will still continue to be fruitful. Some examples of
industry relationships come in the form of unrestricted educational grants that
help to drive education, training and innovation yet keep an arm length from
the actual data that the grants may be funding and thus help to keep the
results unbiased.
5. The University of Chicago Medicine is well
known teaching hospital. You’re an internationally recognized plastic surgeon
and at the same time you also had the responsibility as Director of Residency
Training Program. How do you view yourself as an educator and what are the core
values that you teach your trainees?
- Without a strong sense of responsibility for
training the next generation of plastic surgeons, an academic career loses much
of its impact and meaning and thus education and training residents is in and
of itself a central mission of mine. My style of educating is one of
mentorship. While we have a strong and rigorous curriculum, I value the
importance of life mentorship. Our residents are an extremely intelligent and
accomplished group of young doctors, so knowledge acquisition is an innate part
of who they already are and thus I strive to guide and focus them on decision
making both in and out of the operating room. Nurturing and developing their
emotional intelligence is very important to me so I share with my residents the
style of conversations I have with patients and colleagues when navigating
through conflict resolution, shared goal setting and attaining a win-win with
each challenging encounter. Leadership is changing and the effective leaders of
tomorrow are those who not only possess knowledge and skill, but also have a
keenly developed sense of self-awareness and high emotional intelligence. In my
opinion, mentoring in this fashion will help equip them to be future leaders of
our field.
6. We understand that the University of
Chicago Medicine has been very active internationally, bringing in many
international patients to Chicago and expanding its brand to other countries.
What is your vision on the global healthcare?
- The world today is much smaller than it was
even 10 years ago. Patients have choices not only in their region or country,
but internationally. We at the University of Chicago Medicine fully understand
this and aim to be not only the best global medical center, but also one that
is culturally respectful and sensitive to the nuances of all our patients’
needs and preferences. We have a robust and growing international healthcare
department and receive and treat patients from all over the globe. With this
platform, our outreach efforts continue to expand and as we leverage our
technologies, we look forward to having international healthcare become an
ever-increasing component of our Center for Care and Discovery.
7. WKMJ has readers from over 10 countries
globally. Please share your final words with our readers.
- It is a tremendous honor to be highlighted
in WKMJ amongst my peers in Medicine. I hope to carry this honor throughout my
presidency of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and beyond; further
shedding light onto the great contributions doctors of Korean descent have made
and continue to make in Medicine.
David H. Song, MD
Vice-Chairman, Department of Surgery at the
University of Chicago Medicine
President, American Society of Plastic
Surgeons
David H. Song, MD, is an internationally
recognized expert in plastic surgery with additional training in reconstructive
microsurgery. He specializes in breast reconstruction and oncoplastic surgery.
He is the Cynthia Chow Professor of Surgery, vice chairman of the Department of
Surgery, chief of Plastic Surgery, and associate dean for Continuing Medical
Education at the University of Chicago Medical Center. In 2005, Dr. Song was
name to Crain’s Chicago Business’ list of 40 high achieving executives younger
than age 40. Song is well recognized for his extensive experience with
perforator breast reconstruction procedures, including deep inferior epigastric
perforator flap (DIEP), superior gluteal artery perforator flap (SGAP),
superficial inferior epigastric artery flap (SIEA), thoracodorsal artery
perforator flap (TAP) and the uses of acellular dermal matrix (AlloDerm) to
enhance implant breast reconstruction and reconstruct abdominal wall defects.
Additionally, he has pioneered and invented several techniques for the repair
and reconstruction of chest wall defects. Dr. Song severs on the board of
Medical Aid for Children of Latin America (MACLA), and past president of the
Chicago Society of Plastic Surgeons. Currently, Dr. Song serves as president
for the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).