An interview with ASPS past President Lynn Jeffers, MD, MBA
'We live in a global society. We share the same issues.'
ASPS past President Lynn Jeffers, MD, MBA, now serves as chair of the ASPS International Subcommittee, which helps develop strategies for the Society's international efforts. These strategies address education, membership, communications, products and services, and relationships with international plastic surgery societies.
Dr. Jeffers spoke to Plastic Surgery Resident about her path into the specialty, her time as a resident, her advice to current residents in the United States and abroad – and how global collaboration is vital to pushing the specialty forward.
PSR: What inspired you to pursue plastic surgery as a career – and what do you love most about it?
Dr. Jeffers: I was doing a research project as an undergraduate student on cleft palates and Steve Cohen, MD, invited me to watch him in the O.R. as he created a child's ear from the child's rib. I was hooked. I loved the idea of creating, building and transforming lives. I loved the idea of neither being tied to one part of the body nor one age group, as well as having the versatility to perform many types of operations. I loved that plastic surgery functions at the intersection of many different specialties and works collaboratively with most physicians and most areas of the hospital and health system. Most of all, I love the innovation inherent in our specialty.
PSR: When you think back upon your training, who inspired you?
Dr. Jeffers: Just about everyone in my training program at the University of Michigan – attendings and residents – made me who I am today. I was fortunate to train with people who are great contributors and giants in our field. What impressed me the most was how dedicated everyone was to excellence – whether that was patient care, education, research, leadership, innovation or all of the above. There was a sense that we all were expected to make a lasting contribution to our patients, our profession and society. (Go Blue!)
PSR: As a woman in plastic surgery, what was your experience as a resident and an attending surgeon?
Dr. Jeffers: There weren't many female plastic surgeons when I trained. I was lucky to have a few residents before me who were excellent, strong role models – and even luckier to have many male mentors and supporters. I was also lucky early-on to meet female plastic surgery leaders who mentored me and showed me that it was possible to pursue excellence in your work and leadership, as well as in your family and personal life.
I had my first child during residency – and was the first to do so during the clinical years. Despite the challenges, I made it through. My son attended a number of Grand Rounds and had to come to rounds on weekends with the team, because the daycare center was not open – and he was even featured in my senior roast! I missed his first words, his first steps and even had to be told by the daycare that he could read. Still, I must not have scarred him too much, because he's a fourth-year medical student applying to residency this year. Work-life balance can still be elusive, but it's been gratifying to see the increased opportunities for and success of female plastic surgeons clinically and educationally, as well as in research and in leadership.
PSR: If you could go back in time, what mistakes would you try to avoid during your residency program?
Dr. Jeffers: As much as I tried to learn all that I could during residency, I found that once I got into practice, I wished that I had paid more attention to the smaller details – why they chose that marking, those sutures, those dressings, that patient position, etc. All that plays into bigger decision points, and I would wonder what tricks I missed that could've made the cases go more smoothly. I wished I would've tapped more into the resources I had available to me in an academic setting – or learning even more from all the brilliant people around me.
PSR: What strengths and areas of opportunity do you see with international plastic surgery residents?
Dr. Jeffers: International residents can provide different perspectives and different approaches to various plastic surgery problems. International plastic surgeons may have more experience with certain procedures or disease processes than we do in the United States. In some countries, the volume of certain pathology or procedures exceeds those in the United States. Various innovations originate internationally as well. As we come together and discuss these issues, we can learn from best practices and innovative insights from each of us.
PSR: What's the most important attribute of a resident?
Dr. Jeffers: The willingness to learn. Skill and knowledge can be taught, but character and motivation – the inherent curiosity and interest in learning – must come from within. The best thing we can do is stimulate that spark and not squash this enthusiasm for questioning and innovating.
PSR: What's the importance of fellowships? Would you recommend that all residents prepare for advanced training?
Dr. Jeffers: It depends on your career plans. A fellowship may be crucial if there are certain procedures in which you think you need to gain more proficiency before being comfortable performing them in your intended practice setting. You might also find a fellowship desirable if you think it will help to differentiate yourself either in a private-practice setting or in pursuing an academic or employed job. But I don't necessarily think that a fellowship is warranted in all circumstances.
PSR: What are the most valuable resources asps offers residents?
Dr. Jeffers: Access to other residents and practicing surgeons that now reach around the world. I was so fortunate for these connections not only for my clinical questions, but for career connections – and for personal and professional support and mentorship. On a more concrete level, the educational online hub and the resident curriculum and meetings, symposia, webinars and other opportunities for education both in-person and virtually. I would also highlight the opportunity for leadership, advocacy, research, entrepreneurship/innovation and teaching, if those are areas of interest to you.
PSR: What should residents or new plastic surgeons in practice be doing to help facilitate surgical outreach to underserved areas outside the United States?
Dr. Jeffers: There are options such as The PSF's Surgeons in Humanitarian Alliance for Reconstruction, Research and Education (SHARE) program, as well as several international programs and opportunities to volunteer – including a PSF/Operation Smile International Scholarship. ASPS members can also offer observerships and sites for our International Scholars or other exchanges. Creating connections and understanding of the true needs of underserved areas and then helping to find sustainable, meaningful ways to make a difference.
PSR: Is there more openness to international outreach and collaboration from American plastic surgeons than there has been in the past?
Dr. Jeffers: There's an increasing acknowledgement that we live in a global society – we share the same issues, and that was made especially apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic. Definitely during my presidency, we benefited from the experience of our international colleagues and it helped all of us to better address the issues that we faced. ASPS has more than 50 countries with whom we collaborate in our Global Leadership Forum and it's made clear time and again that we face the same issues faced by our partner countries – whether regulation, supply shortages, public understanding of what we do, etc.
PSR: What advice would you give residents interested in contributing more actively to ASPS?
Dr. Jeffers: Determine what kind of activities you're interested in and see how these align with the opportunities for residents in ASPS. There are so many more opportunities for residents now to get involved in ASPS than when I started – and residents are now eligible to serve on most ASPS committees.
There's a Resident Council with a representative from every residency program. There are several opportunities to get involved and a number of positions for residents, including with PRS or PRS Global Open, or the resident representative to the AMA. Sometimes you need to create the opportunity as well – that's how the resident position on the ASPS/PSF Board of Directors, residents on committees, the Residents Council and the Residents Bowl all were created.
PSR: What sparked your interest in ASPS leadership?
Dr. Jeffers: My early start at ASPS was somewhat serendipitous. At that time, most people settled into their practices a few years before getting involved. I was a first-year attending and I saw a blurb in Plastic Surgery News about a new leadership program – and the blurb had an email address you could write to for more information. I had been involved in leadership of some sort (Student Council, etc.) since fourth grade – and health policy and advocacy since middle school. I replied to the email saying I wanted to know more. Up to that point, previous leadership retreat invitations involved being "tapped on the shoulder" by an existing leader. However, the ASPS president at the time, Jim Wells, MD, and president-elect, Rod Rohrich, MD, decided to expand the opportunity and perhaps find leaders they might not otherwise have known. I discovered later that I was the only person who actually replied to the email – I'm glad they didn't tell me that until years later, otherwise I would have been pretty intimidated.
After the retreat, I was placed on two committees. As is often the case, if you actually show up and do some work, you get put on more committees the next year, and then you're asked to chair a few. I was lucky early-on that I had a number of people who took me under their wing and opened doors.
PSR: What's your most important career advice for residents?
Dr. Jeffers: Remember that once you graduate, your career should meet your expectations. You aren't trying to build something to fulfill someone else's expectations or those of your program or program directors. This is now your life, your career. So really think about what excites you – what type of procedures do you like doing? In which setting would you like to practice: What geographic location? Lifestyle? Research? Teaching? Leadership? Advocacy? Administration? Entrepreneurship? Put that together. Talk to as many people as possible and start working and building the career that you envision. Be ready to pivot and to adapt, but know that plastic surgery of all specialties gives you some of the best opportunities to build the career that you want.
PSR: And what advice would you give to residents outside of the United States?
Dr. Jeffers: We share a great profession and learn so much from our colleagues globally. I would recommend connecting as much as possible with our plastic surgery residents and surgeons around the world. ASPS has multiple opportunities for international residents and practicing plastic surgeons that I highly encourage participating in. We have the International Resident Membership category, which provides access to a comprehensive online curriculum, as well as a virtual International Visiting Professors program, opportunities for observership and exchanges, the new international Residents Bowl, opportunities to participate in committees and programs, the Global Leadership Forum and its corresponding Young Plastic Surgeons group, international webinars with our MOU countries and so much more. As I say to U.S. residents, work to be the best plastic surgeon you can be and find the way to make a difference – whether that's to your patients, your community, our profession or all of the above.
Dr. De Luna Gallardo is chief resident and PGY-4 at Hospital Central Sur de Alta Especialidad de Petroleos Mexicanos, Mexico City.