Dr. Ross Willis

When I graduated with a PhD in Cognitive Psychology I wasn’t sure what I would do with this degree but did know that I wanted to do something with education and technology. Three friends and I were working in San Antonio at the Air Force of Scientific Research when we were enticed to join a startup in Houston that was developing educational material. The company went bankrupt two months after we moved and we never even got a paycheck. Soon after, we were sitting in a bar lamenting our ill-fated move when we decided that we could do the same thing, but better. The four of us started a company called “Advanced Online” in 1999 which was one of the first companies that did online regulatory and compliance training for large organizations. It was really exciting to create a business and see our dreams and ideas not just come alive, but also thrive. However, after 8 years it became more about maintenance and sales rather than innovation so I wanted to try something new. I saw the job announcement for the job as a surgical educator at UT Health San Antonio. They wanted someone with experience in curriculum design, learning theory, and human factors and I thought “I don’t know anything about surgery, but this job announcement sounds like it was written just for me.”. I was nervous when I interviewed because I did not know anything about surgical education. I was certain this lack of knowledge would hinder me from getting the job. However, I think two factors helped me get the job. First was my knowledge of learning theory and curriculum design. Second, I mentioned during the interview that I participate in adventure racing, which is a co-ed team sport that involves trail running, mountain biking, kayaking, climbing, and map and compass navigation. These races are usually 24 hours long. I was hired in 2007 and have been here ever since then. My immediate supervisor later told me that everyone involved in the hiring decision thought if I was crazy enough to run around in the woods for 24 continuous hours, I would fit in well with the “hard work and long hours” surgery mindset.

At that time there weren’t that many PhD educators in residency programs and I thought it was important that I learned more about surgery. That led to my “Be The Intern” month. I followed a surgical intern for a month while he was on the trauma service. I rounded with him, took call with him, and even slept in the call room. I didn’t have to do anything except follow him around and stay awake but it was the hardest month of my life. It was really really intense but I don’t think I could do my job if I hadn’t done my intern month because it gave me full appreciation of what the surgeons do. I was surprised by the sheer amount of work and time spent in the hospital, the exhaustion after a 28 hour shift, and the fact that residents were then expected to go home and study. My takeaway from the experience was that the job of a surgical resident is very difficult and time-consuming and my job was to help them learn more efficiently.

My role has grown organically and I helped develop the MD with distinction in research program, surgical simulation lab, online training, and run surgical education research studies, among other things. I spend a month with each intern in the sim lab as they learn basic surgical skills such as suturing, knot tying, and basic laparoscopic skills.

In 2017, I was diagnosed with stage 4 oral cancer. I was comfortable with the residents treating me and insisted that they were involved in my cancer care. They helped with the surgical removal of the cancer, placing the PEG tube, and taking care of me when I had a complication. These are residents that I got to work with and help during the early part of their career and education and now they were able to help take care of me. I’m very happy to say that I have since recovered from cancer and am back to running around in the woods with my friends for 24 consecutive hours, among other endurance sports pursuits.