Neat stacks of paper are lined up on the desk of Timothy Geiger, M.D., with each stack representing a challenge. For example, one sheet has a flow chart sketched on it — Geiger’s musing on ways to more efficiently use Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s (VUMC) operating rooms, matching the best locations with case types and surgical teams.

Last fall, the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center became the second facility in the country and third in the world to use a fully endoscopic surgical technique to remove an acoustic neuroma, a rare benign tumor on the balance and hearing nerves.

James O’Neill, M.D., professor of Surgery and former chair of the Section of Surgical Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), has received an International Surgical Volunteerism Award from the American College of Surgeons (ACS) for more than three decades of service as a surgeon and educator in medically underserved countries.

Just as pilots and members of the military go through boot camp and simulation exercises early in their training so they are prepared to respond in real-life situations, first-year cardiothoracic fellows at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) recently experienced their own specially designed boot camp centered around a new high-fidelity simulator that realistically re-recreates cardiac procedures so they are better prepared for the operating room.

Bruce Shack, M.D., has announced plans to step down, effective July 1, as chair of the Department of Plastic Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), and he will remain on the faculty as a professor of Plastic Surgery.

John W. Brock III, M.D., Surgeon-in-Chief for Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Vice Chair of the Section of Surgical Sciences, Director of Pediatric Urology and Monroe Carell Jr. Professor, has been named Senior Vice President of Pediatric Surgical Services.