An Innovation in Surgical Training

Dr. Tom Kwasigroch has been with the Quillen College of Medicine since chapter one. Serving as the gross anatomy instructor for every medical student, he has witnessed many milestones and advances – not just at ETSU and the medical school but also within the field of medical education as a whole.

This next chapter promises to be something epic.

Kwasigroch is overseeing the creation of a state-of-the-art Center for Surgical Innovation and Training at Quillen. Located near the current gross anatomy laboratory, the center will be a training site for medical students, residents, and other health care professionals that integrates clinical anatomy with surgical disciplines such as general surgery, orthopedics, cardiology, gastroenterology, ENT, trauma, OB/GYN, and other procedural specialties.

The center will utilize anatomical donors prepared with a unique soft-tissue embalming procedure that provides a realistic opportunity to teach surgical skills and techniques for various other physical exams and procedural skills.

“ETSU will set the national standard through this center,” Kwasigroch said. “Participation in these types of training programs is mirrored by positive learning outcomes such as lower surgical mortality, improved post-surgery outcomes, better medical technical skills, and enhanced team performance.”

The center will also include a virtual reality learning area and a large debriefing room for students and faculty to observe procedures, reflect on techniques and interactions, and offer feedback.

Kwasigroch said this initiative is designed to promote the concept of lifelong learning across the continuum utilizing interprofessional education and the latest technology and equipment to connect medical students, residents, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, allied health care professionals, and industry professionals to Quillen faculty members and to world-class experts.

In reviewing recent Quillen graduation data, Kwasigroch estimates that approximately 45% chose medical/surgicalrelated specialties. In the last three years, 90 out of 202 members have gone into surgical specialties. He also says the center will benefit Quillen’s continuing medical education program for practicing physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals.

Examples of programs include Applied Anatomy and Surgical Procedures presented quarterly with nearly 80 attendees per year, EMS-XLTS conference for first responders, and cardiothoracic and spinal surgery simulated sessions to train physicians on new medical devices.

In addition to teaching medical and physical therapy students, Kwasigroch served five years as assistant dean for Academic Affairs and 16 years as associate dean for Student Affairs before focusing full time on getting the Center for Surgical Innovation and Training up and running. He also was a member of the committee to establish the new integrated TRAILS curriculum.

Quillen College of Medicine faculty and students participated in East Tennessee State University’s second cohort of the ETSU Mentored Substance Use Research (EMSUR) training program, designed to train substance use researchers across multiple disciplines in order to improve health outcomes in Central Appalachia. A total of 14 ETSU graduate and undergraduate students were selected for the second cohort and were paired with a faculty mentor to train them in substance use research. Five of the participants are Quillen students: Sai Dwarampudi, Kali Hart, Olivia Knoll, Shane Richey, and Noah Rutherford.

Seven faculty members, including Dr. Brooke Schmeichel, Assistant Professor in Quillen’s Department of Biomedical Sciences, participated as mentors in the program. EMSUR is led by Dr. Manik Ahuja, Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Services Management and Policy in the ETSU College of Public Health.

Ahuja, a trained substance use researcher, spearheaded the EMSUR program at ETSU after he was selected as one of five faculty members from across the country to attend New York University’s Substance Abuse Research Education and Training (SARET) Visiting Mentor Development Program.

SARET, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), trains future professionals in substance use disorder (SUD) research. NYU’s Visiting Mentor Development Program prepares faculty to create similar programs at their home institutions.

Ahuja partnered with ETSU’s Addiction Science Center in the College of Public Health, putting out a call for applicants in 2022. Students were matched with faculty mentors based on their interests. In addition to doing mentored research over 12 weeks during spring 2023, they completed a modular, web-based curriculum through NYU, which prepares them for SUD-related research careers.

Third-year Quillen College of Medicine student Olivia Knoll applied and was accepted into the EMSUR cohort. She was mentored by Schmeichel.

“So many mothers in our Appalachian Highlands region struggle with addiction, and it can impact entire families in terrible and long-lasting ways,” said Knoll. “My goal as a future OB/GYN is to empower patients to find meaningful recovery from substance addiction and give their babies the best possible start in life. It’s exciting to participate in the research that Dr. Schmeichel is doing with animal models to better understand neonatal abstinence syndrome. Her mentorship, plus spending time with colleagues from other disciplines combating the opioid epidemic, is helping me develop skills I’ll use throughout my career to empower patients to break their cycles of addiction.”