NEWS RELEASE

October 14, 2009

Congratulations to Jeff Horn, MD, and Heath Giles, MD
UT College of Medicine Chattanooga Surgery Residents

Winners of the National Surgical Jeopardy competition

95th Annual Clinical Congress of the
American College of Surgeons (Chicago, Illinois)

The University of Tennessee College of Medicine Chattanooga, specifically our Surgery Residency Program, has definitely earned even greater respect from faculty and programs across the country.  Representing the 31 resident Surgery Program in Chattanooga, two of our residents participated as the Chattanooga Team and won the national Surgical Jeopardy competition at the American College of Surgeons Annual Clinical Congress in Chicago, Illinois on October 14, 2009:  Jeff Horn, MD, Chief Resident, and Heath Giles, MD, PGY-5 Level Senior Resident.

During a special interest section of the event, Drs. Horn and Giles competed against 23 other resident teams from across the country, including Brown University, Eastern Virginia Medical School , Medical College of Georgia, and the University of Florida, in a jeopardy-style competition.  Surgical Jeopardy includes multidisciplinary questions and topics that are covered on Surgery Board certifying and recertification exams. Drs. Horn and Giles and faced off in the final round against teams from Good Samaritan Hospital (in Cincinnati, Ohio), the Medical College of Wisconsin, and the University of Rochester. The Chattanooga Team score was 8,500 points, besting the nearest competitor by more than 2,900 points.

"It was exhilarating to watch the surgical intelligence of Drs. Giles and Horn and the manner in which they completely dominated the 23 other teams from around the country in this national competition," said Dr. Joseph B. Cofer, Professor in the UT College of Medicine Chattanooga Department of Surgery and Program Director of its Surgery Residency.

"It's not only a testament to their hard work, but the quality of surgical residents participating in the Department of Surgery Residency at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine Chattanooga."

"When the results of the victory were tallied, we were both just overjoyed and very proud," said Dr. Horn. "We battled some big name programs and it just showed what a great education Dr. Giles and I have received here in Chattanooga."

The American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress is the premier annual surgical meeting that provides a vast array of educational and networking opportunities.   It is designed to provide physicians with a wide range of learning opportunities that will match their educational and professional development needs, and offer opportunities to gain knowledge that will aid in patient care.

The American College of Surgeons was established in 1913, as an initiative of Franklin Martin, MD, FACS, in Chicago, Illinois.  It was founded as a surgical society that is dedicated to promoting the highest standards of surgical care through education of, and advocacy, for its Fellows and their patients, and to safeguarding standards of care in an optimal and ethical practice environment.

The University of Tennessee College of Medicine Chattanooga is part of the statewide academic health system, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center.  The overall mission of the UTHSC is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by pursuing an integrated program of education, research, clinical care, and public service.  Offering a broad range of postgraduate training opportunities, the main campus is located in Memphis and includes six colleges: Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy.  UTHSC also has the UT Graduate School of Medicine in Knoxville, as well as a College of Pharmacy and an Allied Health Sciences unit there. 

The UT College of Medicine Chattanooga  campus is separately accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to sponsor residency and fellowship programs in a variety of specialties.  The primary clinical affiliated institution is the Erlanger Health System.

For more information about the UT College of Medicine Chattanooga, visit: www.utcomchatt.org or email utcomc@erlanger.org. 

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