Dr. Douglas Padgett – A Mentor to Many and Now Surgeon-in-Chief
Douglas Padgett, M.D. ’82, Was Recently Named Surgeon-in-Chief and Medical Director of the Hospital for Special Surgery
For Douglas Padgett, M.D. ’82—a renowned orthopedic surgeon, educator and researcher who has enjoyed a long and prestigious career that recently culminated in him being named surgeon-in-chief and medical director of the Hospital of Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City—it is the mentors and role models he has encountered along the way that have had the most impact. And despite his many notable achievements, he, in turn, considers his role as a mentor to others as one of his greatest accomplishments.
“In terms of achievements, I could speak of things that I've done, research awards that I've received, but what really brings a smile to my face is seeing my trainees, whom I look at as my kids, being so successful in their careers and being solid, ethical, moral and competent physicians. There's nothing greater than that,” said Dr. Padgett.
Despite his many successes as a physician, Dr. Padgett didn’t plan to pursue a career in health care but was inspired by a conversation with his local dentist who took an interest in him as a teen. “After that conversation, I went right home and got out my typewriter and wrote a letter to St. Michael’s College in Vermont, the college he had attended, to inquire about their pre-health sciences program,” said Dr. Padgett, who initially planned to be a dentist.
While at St. Michael’s he found he had a natural aptitude for chemistry, and it was there that he would encounter another mentor who would impact his life. “After one exam, my professor took me aside and asked me how I thought I did, and I said, ‘to be honest, I thought it was pretty easy,’ and he said, ‘you had the highest grade in the class,’” recalled Dr. Padgett. “Then he asked me what I planned on doing as a career and I told him that I was planning to go to dental school. He suggested that I should go to medical school and that he would be my advisor.”
When the time came to apply to medical school, Dr. Padgett applied to only one school—New York Medical College (NYMC)—as early decision and was accepted the summer before his senior year at St. Michael’s. “NYMC was my first choice and my only choice. I’ve always had a strong affinity for NYMC. The experience was terrific. I had great role models and the exposure I had during rotations at hospitals, like Lincoln and Metropolitan, was fantastic. I still have lifelong friends from NYMC.”
While at NYMC, it was during his rotation at Lenox Hill Hospital that he became fascinated with surgery. This interest was further fueled during a fourth-year elective at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. “There were other students in the elective who were so committed to getting into a residency at HSS, but at the time I had no interest in orthopedics,” said Dr. Padgett. “I thought it was all just about broken bones and trauma. Then I encountered the head of surgery at Sloan, Dr. Murray Brennan, who was a world-renowned sarcoma surgery specialist and expert in limb salvage and that was my first true introduction into orthopedics.” Dr. Padgett went on to match in general surgery at Roosevelt Hospital, where he solidified his interest in pursuing orthopedics as his surgical specialty.
The recipient of a military scholarship, after his first year of residency, Dr. Padgett was called into the U.S. Navy and spent a year with the Fleet Marine Force, first stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, and then serving as battalion surgeon for the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment during combat operations in Grenada, West Indies and in Beirut, Lebanon, where he arrived just three weeks after the bombing of the barracks that claimed the lives of 241 fellow soldiers. Dr. Padgett was deployed in the combat zone for six months and awarded the Naval Achievement Medal for meritorious services, before returning to the U.S. for his second year of general surgery residency.
“I was fortunate to be at the right place at the right time,” said Dr. Padgett. “When I got back, someone was dropping out of the residency program at HSS and some attendings at Roosevelt had connections with Dr. Philip D. Wilson Jr., who was the surgeon-in-chief and would later become my partner at HSS. I went for an interview and was accepted into the program at HSS.”
Dr. Padgett would later go on to serve three more years in the Navy as the director of the Adult Reconstructive Service at the Naval Hospital in San Diego, California, where he developed the Adult Reconstructive Education Program. In 1991, he was again deployed to the Persian Gulf with Fleet Hospital #6 in support of military operations during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
During a postdoctoral fellowship at The Rush Presbyterian Medical Center in Chicago in Adult Reconstructive Surgery of the hip and knee, he would encounter another mentor who impacted his life.
“My mentor in Chicago was Dr. Jorge Galante, a world-renowned researcher, clinician and surgeon, was really influential in my life and my approach to what I call ‘firing on all cylinders’—research, education and patient care. Dr. Galante told me if you just focus on one, you're never going to be good at the other two. You’ve got to be involved with all of them. It's easy to juggle one ball, a little tougher with two, definitely harder with three, but that's what he always challenged me to do,” said Dr. Padgett, who also serves as professor of orthopaedic surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College.
Dr. Padgett was recruited back to HHS in 1993, as an attending surgeon on the Hip and Knee Service. In 2006, Dr. Padgett became the chief of the Hip Service, and in 2008 chief of the Adult Reconstruction and Joint Replacement Service.
“I had the good fortune of being asked to be the head of the joint replacement service,” said Dr. Padgett. “In the ensuing years, we've expanded our footprint for the service to the New York tri-state area and now Florida. And as the hospital’s footprint grew, I was happy to recruit some of my former trainees.”
In 2019, Dr. Padgett was named associate surgeon-in-chief, holding that position until his most recent elevation to surgeon-in-chief and medical director at HHS.
Dr. Padgett has also served as a board member of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons as well as a board member and president of The Hip Society, an academic by-invitation-only organization, whose members are internationally recognized thought-leaders, innovators, mentors, researchers and educators.
Throughout his illustrious career, Dr. Padgett has maintained his commitment to the medical school that provided him with the foundation on which he has built his success as a physician, educator and researcher.
“You climb the ladder of success one rung at a time,” he said. “Seaford High School was one of those rungs, St. Michael's College was one and NYMC was as well. It's very important to remember how you got up there. And I've never lost track of that.” This year, NYMC recognized Dr. Padgett’s accomplishments with induction into the national medical honor society, Alpha Omega Alpha.
Dr. Padgett also offered advice for future medical students. “Never lose sight of the fundamental reason why you went into the profession of health care. It’s a long journey and it will have different twists and turns. When I first came to HSS as a resident, I was one of the few non-Ivy League medical school graduates. And now as I look around here, the chair of radiology is an NYMC graduate, the former chief of neurology is an NYMC graduate, and here I am, the surgeon-in-chief. There should be no limits to what you are able to accomplish through hard work and dedication. I know that sounds like a pep talk, but it comes from the bottom of my heart. Stay committed to what you believe in, and you can make it happen.”