iNSPIRe to Represent Department of Surgery at Association for Veterans Affairs Surgeons Meeting

Apr 4, 2025

The SUNY Downstate Department of Surgery is excited to announce that 5 abstracts from the iNSPIRe research group have been selected for podium presentation at the Association of VA Surgeons (AVAS) in Atlanta, Georgia. The abstracts represent a broad range of research topics from both residents, medical, and public health students.  

Medical student, Jessica Yavner, will be presenting “Impact of Medical Student-Led Surgical Simulation Curriculum on Student Confidence in the Operating Room in a Limited Resource Setting.” Her study demonstrated a low-cost, near-peer-led surgical skills curriculum can improve clerkship students’ confidence in the operating room, anatomy and surgical instrument knowledge, surgical skills, and surgical care.  

Medical student, Steven Medvedovsky, will be presenting “Facility Medicaid Payer Proportion is Linearly Associated with Postoperative Mortality After High-Risk Surgery.” His study showed that mortality odds increase in a progressive fashion as facility Medicaid burden increases, calling for targeted interventions to improve disparities caused by resource limitations in safety net hospitals.  

Medical student, Patrycja Lis, will be presenting “Preoperative Home Support and Outcomes in Elderly Adults Following Urgent and Emergent Surgery.” Her study demonstrated patients living alone undergoing non-elective surgeries are not at increased 30-day readmission or mortality odds, suggesting that non-elective surgical care is largely safe for patients who live alone, but may require additional postoperative support.  

Public health student, Karlynn Holland, MPH, will be presenting “Association between Preoperative  Home Support Status and Postoperative Outcomes in Older Adults after Elective Surgeries.” Her study showed patients living alone undergoing elective surgeries are not at increased 30-day readmission or mortality odds, suggesting the safety of high-risk interventions in this high-risk cohort. 

Surgical resident, Dr. Claire Ferguson, will be presenting “A Sentinel Rise in Non-Traumatic Major Lower Extremity Amputation Mortality.” Her study demonstrated that over the past decade, the decline in mortality of below-knee amputation is decreasing, and the mortality of above-knee amputation is increasing, indicating that further research is needed to identify the causes of the increasing mortality and reduce disparities for major lower extremity amputation. 

The annual AVAS conference celebrates the remarkable accomplishments of surgical scientists from across the country who are active researchers within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Hospital System. Please join us in congratulating our students and residents on this exceptional achievement.