Robert Wood Johnson Medicine • Spring 2011 • Population Science

Volunteer Profile
F a c u l t y
M e m b e r
J. Thomas Davidson, MD,
Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery:
Four Decades of Leadership
in Surgical Training
By Kate O’Neill
Davidson, MD
clinical associate professor
J.Thomas
of surgery, has been
involved in the training of general
surgical residents since 1974.
That was the year he moved to
Princeton and joined Princeton
Surgical Associates. Freshly graduated
from a fellowship in vascular
surgery at NYU-Bellevue Hospital
Center, Dr. Davidson hoped to join
an established, successful surgical
practice in a university town with
easy access to New York City. He
knew about Princeton University.
But not until he interviewed at
Princeton Surgical Associates did
he learn about the proximity of
Rutgers Medical School.
The medical school had just
signed an agreement with the
University Medical Center at
Princeton (UMCP) as an affiliate
training site for the general surgical
residency. When the chair of the
Department of Surgery at UMCP
asked Dr. Davidson to organize the
program in Princeton and serve as
liaison to the medical school, he
gladly took on the job.
He initially served as assistant
site director and assumed the
directorship when he became chair
of the Department of Surgery at
UMCP 18 years ago — and he has
continued as director even after
stepping down from the chair position
last year. “It was serendipitous
for me that this need came up just
as I arrived and that the affiliation
has continued,” says Dr. Davidson,
who received a 2010 Volunteer
Faculty Award from RWJMS.
“Tom Davidson is the glue that
holds the program at Princeton
together,” says Stanley Z.
Trooskin, MD, professor of
surgery, chief, division of surgery,
and director, residency program for
general surgery. “He is an excellent
surgeon and an excellent teacher.
At the same time, he
has a gentle demeanor
that makes him a fine
role model — our
residents need to see
the importance of
that side of being a
surgeon as well.”
When asked how
the field of surgery
had changed in the
“Being a surgeon is
very gratifying. But taking
graduate medical
students — some of
whom have never held
a scalpel — and seeing
them emerge six years
later as fully trained
surgeons is also extremely
rewarding.”
— J. Thomas Davidson, MD
last three and a half decades, Dr.
Davidson states: “Three trends
have dramatically altered the field
of surgery and, just as dramatically,
improved the patient experience.
First, diagnosis and planning of
surgical interventions are far more
accurate, thanks to better and more
sophisticated imaging studies, such
as ultrasound and CT scanning.
Second, minimally invasive surgery
has reduced post-operative pain
J. Thomas Davidson, MD
and shortened the recovery time.
Finally, while cooperation among
the different members of the
patient care team has always been
important, it is now being emphasized
more than ever, with resultant
improvement not only in the
patient experience
but also in patient
outcomes.
“A lot has changed in
36 years,” he says.
“Two things never have
changed, however:
patients need and
deserve good care, and
residents need to be
taught how to deliver
that care. I feel very fortunate to
have been given the opportunity to
combine those two elements in my
practice. I also believe that teaching
is the best way to stay current
not just in your own field, but also
in related specialties and subspecialties.”
Everyone in the
Department of Surgery at UMCP
served on the volunteer faculty at
RWJMS. “It isn’t a job requirement,”
says Dr. Davidson, “but it’s
very important to us.
“Being a surgeon is very
gratifying,” he adds. “But taking
graduate medical students —
some of whom have never held a
scalpel — and seeing them
emerge six years later as fully
trained surgeons is also extremely
rewarding. There is definite
reciprocity in training residents.
Teaching takes time, but it works
out well, not only for me personally,
but for our patients and our
trainees.”
COURTESY OF J. THOMAS DAVIDSON, MD
Robert Wood Johnson ■ MEDICINE 7