New Appointments

A Conversation with Yan Qi, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery, General Surgery Residency Program Director

Please tell us about your journey to become the General Surgery Residency Program Director.

This journey is a little bit unexpected. I always knew that I had a skill set in organization, OCD about schedules and making sure everybody’s needs are met. That was certainly something that I demonstrated quite a bit as an administrative chief. When I joined the faculty here in 2015, I wanted to educate residents. I wanted to be a teacher in the operating room. I think it was a natural role for me, given how much I enjoy teaching and how much fulfillment I get when I see a resident develop and mature.

What is the most important leadership lesson you have learned and how has it impacted your career?

One of the things about being a leader is you have your own set of ideas about how things are run, but really being a successful leader is about being a collaborative person. The give and take of taking someone’s ideas and their feedback and meeting in the middle is one of the things I think is really key. The other part of the challenge is how to give constructive feedback. You need to take the personal out of the feedback that you want to give to your trainees, and still support them and give them solution on improvement. Doing that in a really supportive way has been challenging, but also again, a really, fulfilling part of my job.

The lack of underrepresented in medicine (UiM) physicians within US academic surgery continues. What are your thoughts on how to increase the number of candidates applying to surgical residency programs?

I think the issues with underrepresented minorities, is an issue that was similarly faced with women in surgery. It’s almost like a snowball that just has to get rolling. Medical students and trainees want role models. They want people to look up to and examples of success. I think it’s a multi-prong process. One is to provide the mentorship to early career students, both in high school and college and for them to see themselves as physicians. On the other hand it’s really from the top down, recruiting faculty who are going to be role models. I think once you get a core group of faculty and residents together, and become known as a place that’s welcoming diversity and be an inclusive place, I think that really helps.

Looking back on the path that you took to where you are today, and the decisions that you made, is there anything that you would have done differently?

I have to say that sometimes I kind of pinch myself about how lucky I have been. I do a job that I really, really love. I have a very healthy and happy family life. I seem to have it all. Even though it it’s quite a busy life I think I would’ve wanted to spend a little bit more time enjoying residency. There were nights where it was just so much, it’s tiresome, and such a hard journey. You’re tired a lot of times, but to have the mindfulness, to pause and say, you know, what, I’m doing right now is pretty incredible. The opportunity to learn in all of these different attending ORs, is something that I now treasure and at that time you didn’t really appreciate it.

Looking to the Future of the GS Residency Program, what are you most excited for?

I get excited every single year, from the fresh crop of interns planning their careers and helping them see the path forward; to seeing where our chief residents end up in fellowship, where they end up for jobs, and hearing back from them. Our department has always constantly improved the program. There’s always the new educational tool, whether its robotics or thinking about disparities research but, the ultimate goal at heart, is producing a competent surgeon, who’s a nice person and a good colleague.

Welcoming Dr. Ana Paula Cupertino, Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the Research Director for Surgical Health Outcomes Enterprise (SHORE)

The Department of Surgery is pleased to announce that Ana Paula Cupertino, Ph.D., will join the Department as Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and as the Research Director for SHORE (Surgical Health Outcomes Research Enterprise) on August 1, 2022. Dr. Cupertino will continue to serve as the Associate Director of Community Outreach and Engagement (COE) for the Wilmot Cancer Institute and lead a team dedicated to addressing the cancer burden in the Wilmot catchment area. Dr. Cupertino most recently served as a Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at URMC, and she will continue to collaborate closely with her colleagues in PHS, where she will maintain a secondary appointment.

As an accomplished, NCI-funded social-behavioral scientist, Dr. Cupertino will bring extensive expertise in bi-directional community-academic research partnerships, engagement of diverse communities in research and clinical training, and the use of mobile health tools to address health disparities. In her new leadership role in SHORE, she will work with Drs. Temple and Fleming to lead a renewed focus on disparities in surgical health outcomes research, which is of vital interest to our current and future trainees.

Dr. Cupertino’s academic activities align with the Office of Diversity and Equity, where she continuously mentors junior faculty, medical students, undergraduate, and high school students from diverse communities locally and nationally. Regarding her new roles, Dr. Cupertino notes “I look forward to expanding my partnership with the URMC diversity officers and collaborating with the DEI initiatives happening across our institution.”

In this new role, Dr. Cupertino will rely on her previous experiences as the director of the international rotation, co-developer of the medical Spanish program, and community-academic training programs. She has previously led an NIH science and education partnership award. Passionate about providing educational opportunities for underepresented high school students, she will serve as the Principal Investigator to oversee the Next Generation of Surgeons Reaching for Equity (NEXTGenS), an inquiry-based and participatory-action educational strategy designed to empower diverse young scholars to develop the tools necessary to sustain interest and motivation for careers in Surgery. She also has extensive experience working in the development of the community assessment and community health project curriculum for medical students.

“I am delighted to have Dr. Cupertino join the leadership team in our Department, says Dr. David Linehan, Chair of the Department of Surgery. “Working alongside faculty, trainees, staff, and leaders, we will align with the NIH UNITE initiative in expanding efforts to achieve meaningful prosperous, diverse and inclusive culture”. By bringing the DEI, research and training together, we aim to impact URM recruitment and retention in careers in Surgery. “We are thrilled to have Paula join our team and know her infectious enthusiasm will challenge us to excel in these critical areas.”