Orthopedic surgeon Steve Garfin, MD, recently became interim dean of UC San Diego School of Medicine. He shared his story with The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Here's what you need to know.
1. Being Dean, Dr. Garfin has to forfeit nearly half of the patients he sees. When originally confronted with the dilemma, Dr. Garfin came to an interesting discovery. He welcomed the idea that while he may not be able to see the same number of patients one-on-one, he can still impact them indirectly whether it be through educating spine fellows or lectures.
2. The San Diego Union-Tribune pressed Dr. Garfin if his age has influenced his decisions. The 71-year-old surgeon went on to express he feels no different than he did 10 or 20 years ago. Dr. Garfin still performs complex spine surgeries that may last up to 12 hours.
However, he does worry about how patients see him. This is due to younger surgeons being capable and learning new approaches to surgery.
3. As Dean, Dr. Garfin hopes to further advance UC San Diego School of Medicine's research capabilities. He also hopes to improve patient experience.
4. In his new role, Dr. Garfin plans to increase medical students' time with patients and bedside manner education. He stressed medical students are required to master an always growing knowledge pool. To ease the challenge, he plans to implement and a patient- and person-oriented approach in regard to medical students' education.
5. When asked about the possibility of turning into a CEO, Dr. Garfin told The San Diego Union-Tribune he wants to be more of a mentor and problem solver.