Alumni pictured left to right, Ken Meredith (2006), Brenda Satchie (2005), Wasim Dar (2010), Jeannie Chun (2007)
Jeannie Y Chun, MD
Pediatric Surgery
Providence Health in Portland, Oregon
UW General Surgery Resident, 2000-2007
What was your area of surgical focus during your time here?
Between my PGY2 and PGY3 years I was on the T32 surgical oncology training grant for two years.
What do you believe helped you prepare for the surgical career you have now?
My attendings and co-residents! I am so proud of the training I received.
Share a fond memory.
Too many to count. I was pregnant my chief resident year. Dr. Rikkers always spent a day with the graduates the last week on an activity of our choice. Alysandra Lal and I wanted to do a spa day, but Michael Black, Cosmin Dobrescu, and Tom Stites nixed that idea. We settled on lake fishing–which I thought would entail lounging on a boat in a leisurely manner. I was 34 weeks pregnant at this point and that sounded great to me. I was disabused of that notion and I have a vivid memory of Dr. Rikkers speaking to his wife on the phone reporting on how I was balancing a fishing pole on my fetus while catching salmon.
If you work with residents or fellows in your current surgical role, how do you instill the values and lessons learned during your UW Experience to a new generation of surgical trainees?
Unfortunately I do not have the privilege at the moment of working with residents or fellows. I did have the honor of training five pediatric surgery fellows and numerous residents in my previous academic position. I feel my attendings in Madison had my back and made sure I was pointed in the right direction. No one held my hand. I like to think I treated trainees in a similar manner, giving them the appropriate amount of trust and support to become confident and competent surgeons.
Do you stay in touch?
The world of pediatric surgery is small enough I get to see former co-residents Dave Lal, Pete Nichol, and Emily Durkin every few years. I’ve been able to catch up with other friends at the ACS and NSQIP meetings. My PGY2 class, Brenda Satchie, Ken Meredith, and Wasim Dar is very close. We all came back for Wasim’s graduation (after 10 years!) and try and see each other annually.