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Joseph Zwischenberger, MD

Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics
University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky, United States

Joseph (Jay) B. Zwischenberger, M.D. FACS is a Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics and a Clinician-Scientist in Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Kentucky. In these roles, he has earned international recognition for his work in extracorporeal gas exchange in the treatment of severe respiratory failure. His research has focused upon novel therapies & devices for the treatment of diseased & damaged lungs, including work on an artificial lung.
One of his many roles that he has relished throughout his career is as a teacher & mentor to numerous medical students, interns, & residents. He developed a model for teaching & assessing residents in the Operating Room that helps guide faculty & resident interaction in the OR & designates a resident’s earned level of autonomy for a given procedure. It has been published as the “Zwisch Me” model & adapted into a phone app known as SIMPL (The Society for Improving Medical Professional Learning). The SIMPL Collaborative is a non-profit educational quality improvement consortium focused on investigating & developing tools, curricula, & policies to improve the training of physicians. He serves as Chairman of the SIMPL Steering Committee, and is a Member of the SIMPL Ambassador Committee. The American Board of Surgery (ABS) has selected SIMPL to develop a mobile platform for trainee assessment as part of its Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA) project. The ABS is developing a full suite of EPAs to form the foundation for competency-based assessment of surgical residents nationwide. General surgery residents are now assessed using this individualized, frequent, actionable feedback in the form of EPAs. Other ABS specialties, including vascular surgery, pediatric surgery, complex general surgical oncology, & surgical critical care, will follow suit in subsequent years.
Dr. Zwischenberger has authored or co-authored more than 400 peer-reviewed publications, 77 book chapters, and 7 books.

Disclosure(s): Avalon / Maquet: Intellectual Property/Patents (Ongoing); Society for Improving Medical Professional Learning: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing); Verthermia Acquisitions, Inc.: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing), Intellectual Property/Patents (Ongoing); WZ Biotech: Ownership Interest (stocks, stock options, patent or other intellectual property or other ownership interest excluding diversified mutual funds) (Ongoing)

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