2019 Gerald B. Healy Traveling Mentorship Fellow announced

The Scholarships Committee of the College has announced the first Gerald B. Healy, MD, FACS, Traveling Mentorship Fellow—Graeme E. B. McFarland, MD, assistant professor of surgery, division of vascular surgery and endovascular therapy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine.

Mentorship is one of the hallmarks of academic and professional success. This Healy Fellowship is intended to help young surgeons develop new ideas, innovative approaches, and well-informed attitudes about safety, quality, and professionalism via visits to successful mentors. The award, in the amount of $5,000, will cover the recipient’s travel and per diem costs and subsidize lost revenue from days away from clinical duties.

Dr. McFarland will use his fellowship for mentoring visits to Joseph L. Mills, Sr., MD, FACS, at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. Dr. McFarland is building the UAB Limb Preservation Program, dedicated to the treatment of patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia due to diabetes, renal failure, or arterial diseases. His mentor, Dr. Mills, was instrumental in developing the successful SALSA (Southern Arizona Limb Salvage Alliance) program during his years at University of Arizona, Tucson. Dr. McFarland will have an opportunity to observe and study with this subject matter expert as he establishes a comparable new program in Alabama.