Love of Learning Leads to Teaching Others for UH Colorectal Surgeon
April 22, 2024
UH Clinical Update | April 2024
As a boy growing up on the Caribbean island of Grenada, Ron A. Charles, MD, FACS, was certain of two things: he loved science, and he had an innate desire to take care of people – for example, gently treating and bandaging his little brother’s infected ant bites.
Ronald A. Charles, MD, FACS“I liked science and learning about the body and how it worked,” he says. “And to me then, if you liked science the only profession one thinks about is becoming a doctor.”
So he went directly from high school in Grenada to college in New York City.
One might expect he experienced extreme culture shock, but that wasn’t the case, since he was extremely focused on his studies. “I had a very clear mission,” he says. “I felt like I was in school, just as when I was at home. I didn’t bother with distractions.”
He believed that a strong work ethic and self-discipline would always be an advantage, and something he could control. That competitive spirit worked for him in high school, then in college and medical school. He got his undergraduate degree at the City College of New York and earned his medical degree at Weill Medical College of Cornell University.
But he recalls his first two years of general surgery as difficult, and residency itself as a huge shock. By then, he’d moved to Cleveland to work at the Cleveland Clinic. “Residency is hard, because you are still a student, but also an adult,” he says.
The best thing, though, was that in his third year of general surgery residency, he did a rotation in colorectal surgery and realized that was precisely what he wanted as his specialty.
“I enjoyed the technical difficulties colorectal surgery presented – it takes a lot of skill and a lot of thought, determining when to operate, and which type of operation to perform,” he says. “Many times there is an anatomical abnormality, and you are operating in the pelvis, which is a very small space.”
Today, those difficulties during his own residency serve him well; in 2022 he was named to the directorship position for the colorectal fellowship at UH. It was not a position he sought, or initially desired.
“But then I realized that I could change things in the culture of residency, because while I myself found it difficult, I also thought ‘It doesn’t have to be that way.’ I had an opportunity to change the culture and get people excited.”
He has certainly done that, says Jordan Winter, MD, Division Chief of Surgical Oncology at University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center and John and Peggy Garson Family Endowed Chair in Pancreatic Cancer Research and the Jerome A. and Joy Weinberger Family Master Clinician in Surgical Oncology. Dr. Winter, along with Joseph Sabik, MD, Chair, Department of Surgery and Sally and Bob Gries Distinguished Chair in Cardiac Surgery, MD, together nominated him for the “Cliff Appreciates” award. UH CEO Cliff A. Megerian, MD, FACS, Jane and Henry Meyer Chief Executive Officer Distinguished Chair, recognized Dr. Charles with a Dinner with the Doc honor.
They noted that in his role as director, “Dr. Charles has gone above and beyond to make sure that the trainees feel heard and are cared for. He exemplifies the mantra that a leader's job is to care for the people in their charge.
“Not only is he always available, but he is compassionate and an active listener, who always mobilizes personnel and resources to try to address the problems facing those he is caring for at UH.”
Often, a solution might require challenging conversations to ensure trainees have the optimal educational experience, “And Dr. Charles is a person who can approach difficult conversations with professionalism, firmness and most importantly, empathy for all stakeholders. His devotion to education extends beyond the fellowship. He is described by residents as a master educator.”
Dr. Winter and Dr. Sabik have observed Dr. Charles’ exceptional pattern of caring in all spheres of his workflow, and how his colleagues trust and confide in him.
“He takes action when he sees that others are stressed or have been hurt, which is the prime ingredient of building a psychologically safe work environment,” they write. “He also advocates for the colorectal surgery nurses routinely, to ensure they feel heard and that their work environment is optimized.
“He has all the important traits of a great leader.”
Congratulations to Dr. Charles on his “Dinner with the Doc” honor.