Zichen Zhao, M.D.

Thanks to the Pellegrini and Oelschlager Endowed Fellowship, I was able to follow my mentor to the University of Washington to finish my simulation training. It was my privilege to have the opportunity to observe and work in this simulation center during my fellowship.

I have been passionate about medical education since I was a resident, where I found myself often sharing updates with my colleagues, demonstrating skills for our interns or medical students, and explaining diseases to the patients.

I continued providing mentorship during my fellowship over the past year. For example, I recently received a message from a friend who’d spent half the year observating in our department. He expressed his gratitude to me and told me he had already done a laparoscopy and an ureteroscopic lithotripsy by himself at their local hospital. He told me that when he came to our hospital seven months ago, he’d just graduated and was a “blank paper.” He was a rookie in urology, not to mention the minimally invasive surgery. After six months of learning and hands-on training in our simulation center, he could complete some endoscopic surgeries, which provided a less painful option for his patients.

Being a competent surgeon, I might save thousands or tens of thousands of patients throughout my whole career. However, if I could do something to the medical education, to train the next generation of doctors, I might help even more patients. I look forward to devoting my career to medical education while also saving lives.

Recent publications:
Kaiyan Qiu, Zichen Zhao, Ghazaleh Haghiashtiani, et al. 3D Printed Organ Models with Physical Properties of Tissue and Integrated Sensors. Advanced Materials Technologies, 2017. DOI: 10.1002/admt.201700235.

Yunhe Shen, Jack Norfleet, Zichen Zhao, et al. High-Fidelity Medical Training Model Augmented With Virtual Reality and Conformable Sensors. Journal of Medical Devices, 2016, 10(3):030915. DOI 10.1115/1.4033847.

Yunhe Shen, David Hananel, Zichen Zhao, et al. A New Design for Airway Management Training with Mixed Reality and High Fidelity Modeling. Studies in Health Technology and Informations. 2016, 220:359-362.

Zhao Z, Niu P, Ji X, Sweet RM. State of Simulation in Healthcare Education: An Initial Survey in Beijing. JSLS, 2017 Jan-Mar;21(1). pii: e2016.00090. DOI: 10.4293/JSLS.2016.00090.

Awards:
First Prize, Competition for teaching skills of young teachers in Peking University