For the past year, Pardon Kenney, MD, MMSc, FACS, Chief of Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital, has served as President of the Boston Surgical Society (BSS). He recently capped off his term by delivering his presidential address at the Annual Meeting in December.
The BSS brings together surgeons from Boston and eastern Massachusetts to create an organization for the dissemination and exchange of information in surgical sciences, with the purpose of improving patient care. The mission of the BSS is to advance the science, practice and teaching of surgery in its various branches.
Dr. Kenney has been a member of the organization since the early 1990s, serving as Vice President in 2004 and President-Elect in 2016. As President in 2017, he acted as a spokesperson for the organization, moderating the four dinner meetings held throughout the year and encouraging younger attending surgeons to join the BSS. He concluded his term as President by delivering his presidential address, entitled “Promises,” at the Annual Meeting. He will now sit on the nominating committee for three additional years to select future Presidents.
“Over the past year, my focus as President of the BSS has been on trying to inspire the next generation of general surgeons,” says Dr. Kenney. “In my presidential address, I talked about some of the reasons why we’re seeing shortages of general surgeons throughout the United States, and also about the quality of the training we are providing to surgical residents. In my opinion there are far too many fellowships focused on specialized areas of surgery and that is leading to a lack of well-trained general surgeons. I actually think we need to create new fellowships that emphasize the skills that will be needed by the general surgeons of the future.”
Dr. Kenney also talked about patient safety and improving patient outcomes, all while balancing the demands of the job and home life. “As surgeons, we make a promise to our patients to do the best for them. Many of my colleagues feel immense pressure both at home and at work to be the best we can be. We all have to find the right balance to prevent burnout,” he says.
For Dr. Kenney, the last year has been highly rewarding. “I’ve very much enjoyed my term as President of the BSS,” he says. “The list of the former Presidents of the society includes many of the very distinguished surgeons of Boston, so it’s been a great and humbling honor to be its President.”
Upon the completion of Dr. Kenney’s term, Dr. Mark Callery from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center has taken over as President of the BSS.
