Dr. James Korndorffer Jr. Named Dept. of Surgery’s First Vice Chair of Education

The Stanford University Department of Surgery has named James R. Korndorffer Jr., MD, MPHE, FACS, vice chair of education effective December 1, 2017. Vice chair of education is a new position in the Department of Surgery.

“With the creation of the new position, it was clear to me that Dr. Hawn and the department leadership understand the changes occurring in surgical education. The education of a surgeon is a continuum from undergraduate medical education, through residency and fellowship, to lifelong learning as a practicing surgeon,” said Korndorffer. “I was drawn to this position for the opportunity to work with dedicated surgical educators in all of these areas.”

In his new role, Korndorffer will convene not only the leaders of the general, vascular, and plastic surgery residency programs, but also all department ACGME fellowships, the surgery clerkship, and all preclinical and clinical courses at Stanford University offered by department faculty. Their collective wisdom and energy will help elevate all educational efforts by the Department.

“Surgical education is at the core of our mission. Our vice chair of education will focus on how we can elevate all our training programs; from students to post-graduate trainees,” said Department of Surgery Chair Dr. Mary Hawn. “We’re thrilled to recruit Dr. Korndorffer for this role. Dr. Korndorffer’s experience with both simulation research and education administration will allow him to hit the ground running.”

Korndorffer earned his medical degree at the University of South Florida and completed his residency at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, NC. He has been on the faculty at Tulane University’s School of Medicine since 2005. During his tenure there, he also earned a master’s degree in health professions education from the University of Illinois, Chicago.

“We are fortunate to have recruited Dr. Korndorffer after an exhaustive international search for a surgical education leader,” said Dr. Jason Lee, a professor of vascular surgery and co-director of the search committee. “We had more than 25 extremely well-qualified candidates apply for the position, many of whom were already in similar roles at their home institution, indicating the international appeal of the Department of Surgery at Stanford and our current vision of taking surgical education to the next level.”

In addition to being vice chair of the Tulane Department of Surgery, Kordorffer also served as director of Tulane’s Center for Advanced Medical Simulation and Team Training, assistant dean of graduate medical education, and director of the surgery residency program.

“Dr. Korndorffer is not only an outstanding clinician and surgical educator, he has a national reputation within the American College of Surgeons,” said Lee. “His work on research committees within the Association of Program Directors in Surgery and assisting with the national surgical curriculum gives Stanford Surgery an opportunity to influence future surgical education and allow our trainees, students, and faculty to participate in many of the upcoming changes facing surgical education.”

Korndorffer says he is eager to collaborate with faculty across the Stanford campus including the Graduate School of Education and the School of Engineering to research the best methods to teach and train the next generation of leaders in the field of surgery.

“Drawing on the resources available at Stanford, we can take what is already an exceptional surgical education experience and make it the best, most effective program for our learners,” said Korndorffer. “This innovative research will make a positive change in surgical education and lead the way nationally; perhaps even internationally.”