Dr. Kristine Calhoun Accepts Position as Director of Medical Student Surgical Education

August 28, 2018

Dear Colleagues,

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Dr. Kristine Calhoun has accepted the position of the Director of Medical Student Surgical Education for the Department of Surgery, assuming oversight for all rotation sites and specialty rotations.

Dr. Calhoun has been working in surgical education since 2007, when she became the Site Director for medical students rotating at UWMC in General Surgery. During her time in that position more and more students have sought out UWMC as a desired site at which to perform their third year surgery clerkships. In 2013 Dr. Calhoun became the Associate Director for Medical Student Surgical Education, and has implemented a number of improvements and changes to the clerkship experience for all students, including development of a curriculum in pain management and a robust process for mid-clerkship feedback.

Dr. Calhoun will be replacing Dr. Roger Tatum who has served in the Director role since 2005. Over the last 13 years of Dr. Tatum’s tenure, the size of the UW School of Medicine entering class has grown dramatically from approximately 180 students to 270 each year. The Department has responded by increasing the number of clerkship sites at which our students rotate from eight back in 2005 to 20 today, including new sites in all five WWAMI states and in Seattle. The number of appointed clinical faculty involved with medical student teaching has doubled. Dr. Tatum oversaw the creation of a robust career counseling program for UW medical students within the Department. For additional perspective, from six UW students pursuing surgical specialties in 2006 we now have nearly 10% of the class applying in surgery which is double the average percentage of students across the country. Dr. Tatum will now transition into the Associate Director role vacated by Dr. Calhoun and of course will continue to serve as the Chief of Surgery at VA Puget Sound.

Dr. Calhoun comments, “I am excited to assume this role from the capable hands of Dr Tatum and thank him for his service to students these past 13 years. Training our future surgeons starts at the clerkship level and we have seen an amazing increase in the number of UWSoM students interested in surgical careers. This is a direct reflection of the breadth of experiences available at the many Surgery clerkship sites and the strength of the faculty and residents involved in their education. I look forward to continuing the relationships we have established, forging new ones, and finessing medical student education at the many WWAMI sites that welcome students.”

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Calhoun as she assumes this important leadership position at an exciting time in our Department with our new Division of Education!

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Karen Horvath, MD, FACS
Professor of Surgery
Director, Residency Programs in General and Preliminary Surgery
Associate Chair for Education
Division of Education