Surgery Mentorship Program
John Warren Surgical Society (JWSS)
The John Warren Surgical Society is an organization dedicated to supporting all HMS students by allowing them to explore their interest in surgery. Our role is vital in that the HMS pre-clinical curriculum has very few surgery-related opportunities for enrichment. We are here to fill the gap and to begin a tradition of more senior surgeons providing guidance to those of us beginning our careers as physicians. JWSS will be offering a variety of novel activities this year. The seminar series features local, prominent surgeons speaking about an assortment of surgery-related topics. A formal panel of surgeons will be held in the fall to provide students a stage to explore and learn about the surgical profession and its various specialties. These "social gatherings" will also allow you to start establishing a rapport with some of these local surgeons. A web-based shadowing and mentor program linking students with attending and resident surgeons will be established so that students may observe procedures in the operating room and interact with various surgical specialists in a one-on-one setting. The JWSS will also introduce HMS students to the Skills Lab located in the BIDMC. The skills lab features a 70-seat theater, 8 laparoscopic simulators, suturing workshops, and a video databank of surgical procedures. One of our most exciting uses of the skills lab will be our live video teleconferences of surgical procedures. We will also be holding a variety of skills sessions that will introduce key abilities that any surgeon must master, such as suturing, knot-tying, and the use of laparoscopes. We hope that we can help introduce you to the surgical profession with these activities, and ask you to become an active member of JWSS.
Who Was John Warren?
An influential figure in the formation of Harvard Medical School, John Warren was a skilled surgeon, a gifted teacher, and an innovative leader. He was born into a farming family in Roxbury in 1753, and studied medicine after graduating from Harvard College in 1771. As a young doctor, he headed a series of military hospitals during the Revolutionary War. Later, he opened a surgical and anatomical practice in Boston, and became the president of the Massachusetts Medical Society. He performed one of the first abdominal operations in the country, and became well-known for his amputations at the shoulder joint.
In 1780, Warren began organizing a series of anatomical lectures on human dissection for his colleagues. These series began attracting Harvard College students, and as a result, the president of Harvard asked Warren to organize a plan of study for medical education. Warren was soon appointed to the professorship of anatomy and surgery, the first faculty member of the new medical school. After two more faculty members were appointed, the school began its first lectures in 1783. Warren continued to devote his time to both his practice and his teaching until his death in 1815.
Adapted from the Countway Library website.
