A team of five surgical residents at John Hopkins Hospital is making history as the first all-Black team to work at the hospital’s Halsted service. They shared the significance of the milestone as they stepped into the legacy of Vivien Thomas, a pioneer of cardiac surgery and the first Black person to wear a white coat at John Hopkins.
The first all-Black team at John Hopkins’ Halsted service
The hospital welcomed five surgical residents: Valentine S. Alia, Lawrence B. Brown, Ivy Mannoh, Zachary Obinna Enumah and Ifeoluwa “Ife” Shoyombo. They are now leading John Hopkins’ flagship Halsted service in Trauma and Acute Care Surgery. It is the first time in the hospital’s history that the program has been led by an all-Black team of residents.
“A historic moment for our program,” the hospital wrote in an Instagram post. “For the first time in program history, our flagship Halsted service (Trauma & ACS) is led by an all-Black team of senior residents and PGY-2s.”
“Black individuals comprise 13% of the U.S. population but only 6% of general surgeons nationwide,” the post continued. “This #BlackHistoryMonth, we recognize this milestone while continuing the work to build a more representative surgical workforce.”
Brown shared that he’s the first physician in his family and highlighted the importance of representation in healthcare.
“Equity has to remain at the forefront of how we deliver patient care, how we do research, how we scale programs up in our healthcare system,” he told ABC News in an interview.
Enumah said he was inspired to take on this path as he grew up in a family of doctors.
“Growing up in Columbus, Georgia, in the 1990s, I watched my parents, my mom, a family medicine doc, my dad, a general surgeon, show up to serve patients every day,” he said.
Stepping into the legacy left behind by pioneer cardiac surgeon Vivien Thomas
The five residents posed in a photograph memorializing the milestone. They notably posed in front of a portrait of Vivien Thomas, who was a pioneer in cardiac surgery and was the first Black person to wear a white coat at the hospital in 1941.
Thomas was a pioneer in his field for having developed techniques and tools that led to how heart surgery is performed today. He received no formal medical training due to racial barriers of the time. John Hopkins eventually awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1976, The Grio reported.
Surgical resident Shiombo hopes that the space held by him and his colleagues can inspire future generations.
“The best part is that I get to save lives and have an impact every single day,” he told ABC News. “To anyone who’s watching, realize that your dream and capacity can only be limited by you. And if you can think it, see it, then you can absolutely reach it.”