TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Lengthy earlier than Dr. Wade G. Douglas turned a nationally revered surgical oncologist and educational chief, he was a younger Military medic crawling right into a ravine to rescue a fellow soldier pinned inside a Humvee. That act of bravery earned him the Military Achievement Medal and, extra importantly, instilled in him a profound sense of function.
Ever since then, he’s been obsessed with working towards folks in misery and determining how you can give them again their lives.
“I realized that day that service isn’t only a job description,” Dr. Douglas stated. “It’s a method of displaying folks their lives are price combating for.”
In the present day, Dr. Wade G. Douglas, M.D., FACS, FSSO, carries the identical sense of urgency and function he as soon as dropped at the battlefield into the working rooms and lecture rooms of Florida State College’s Faculty of Medication.
As Professor of Medical Sciences and Program Director of the Normal Surgical procedure Residency, he attracts on greater than 20 years of expertise in surgical oncology, affected person care, and educational mentorship.
Famend for his pursuit of excellence, Dr. Douglas just isn’t solely a talented clinician however a visionary educator and researcher. His groundbreaking work in most cancers biology, well being disparities, and surgical training continues to form healthcare coverage, enrich educational dialogue, and redefine greatest practices in medication.
“There are two achievements in my profession that I’m most happy with,” he shared in a current interview. “The primary is acquiring my Knowledgeable Discipline Medical Badge after I was enlisted within the Military. That achievement offered me with confidence and self-belief. The second is establishing the overall surgical procedure residency program for Florida State College Faculty of Medication.”
From Gadsden County to Nationally Acknowledged Oncologist
Douglas grew up in Quincy, a small city in Florida’s Gadsden County. He credit a household physician, the late Samuel Hunter, with nudging him towards medication by letting a curious teenager shadow workplace visits. “Dr. Hunter gave me permission to think about one thing greater than the circumstances round me,” Douglas defined.
That creativeness carried him by means of a biology diploma at Florida A&M College, an M.D. from the College of Florida and three fellowships at Roswell Park Most cancers Institute in Buffalo, N.Y., one of many world’s oldest most cancers facilities. There he dived into the molecular quirks that make head‑and‑neck tumors so cussed.
“The science behind most cancers grabbed me as a result of it was private,” he stated, recalling the primary affected person he watched succumb to the illness as a medical scholar. “I noticed how a prognosis ravaged not simply the particular person however their complete household. I needed solutions.”
Dr. Wade Douglas Is A Instructor At Coronary heart
Dr. Douglas spent practically a decade at Marshall College’s Joan C. Edwards Faculty of Medication in West Virginia, rising from assistant to affiliate professor and, finally, residency program director. He moved dwelling to Florida in 2014 when FSU recruited him to rebuild its fledgling surgical procedure residency in Tallahassee.
Within the 10 years since, this system’s American Board of Surgical procedure cross fee has climbed to 100 p.c. Residents log above‑common operative volumes, and a required “compassionate‑care rotation” pairs each trainee with palliative‑care nurses.
“Mentorship is on the coronary heart of what I do,” Dr. Douglas emphasised. “I attempt to develop not simply expert surgeons, however compassionate caregivers who perceive the various communities they serve.”
Trailblazing in Analysis and Schooling
Dr. Douglas has authored greater than three dozen peer-reviewed publications within the fields of surgical oncology, tumor resistance, and medical training. His work is extensively cited, notably together with the co-authored research, “Leveraging Actual-World Knowledge to Predict Most cancers Cachexia Stage, High quality of Life, and Survival” (2024), and a 2023 research on range in surgical training printed within the Journal of Surgical Schooling.
“Analysis is how we drive change,” Douglas stated. “Whether or not it’s understanding how irritation impacts most cancers therapy or how you can construct extra inclusive medical establishments, the aim is identical: higher outcomes for everybody.”
In his 2024 research on pancreatic most cancers outcomes, Dr. Douglas emphasised the necessity to incorporate real-world affected person information to higher perceive illness development, particularly amongst racially and ethnically numerous teams. His work highlights the important function of personalised therapy planning and highlights the potential of data-driven fashions to shut gaps in high quality of life and survival.
His 2023 research on surgical training made a compelling case for elevated illustration and fairness in coaching packages, figuring out developments throughout a 12-year span and calling for measurable, actionable change. These themes additionally floor within the Florida Pancreas Collaborative—a next-generation biobank he helped launch in 2021 to advance analysis, enhance survival, and cut back disparities for sufferers with pancreatic most cancers.
He has develop into a key determine in efforts to deal with well being disparities, notably in most cancers care. He has contributed to large-scale tasks just like the Florida Pancreas Collaborative Biobank, which focuses on enhancing pancreatic most cancers outcomes for numerous populations.
Final Could the American Board of Surgical procedure elected Douglas to its governing council, a six‑12 months submit that may form core‑curriculum exams and persevering with‑certification requirements for 31,000 U.S. surgeons.
He hopes to leverage the place to widen the pipeline of beneath‑represented college students.
“Expertise is common; alternative isn’t,” he stated. “If a child from Gadsden County can chair the ABS curriculum committee, think about what different doorways we will open.”
A Mission Past the Working Room
Whereas his resume is spectacular, it’s Dr. Douglas’s humanity that units him aside. In each scholar he mentors and each coverage he helps form, Douglas is pushed by a deep want to present again. As a Black man in a discipline the place illustration remains to be missing, he makes it a private mission to make sure that younger folks from all backgrounds can see themselves in medication.
“Variety just isn’t a field to verify,” he stated. “It’s the inspiration of excellence. After we herald voices from all walks of life, we strengthen our skill to heal.”
Dr. Douglas stays a mentor to dozens of residents and fellows, a lot of whom credit score him with serving to them navigate the emotional and mental calls for of surgical coaching. His strategy blends self-discipline with grace, a mixture maybe honed throughout his time within the navy.
When requested how he defines success, Dr. Douglas doesn’t hesitate: “Success is making use of every little thing you understand to resolve an issue. It’s not about recognition. It’s about making a distinction.”
That distinction exhibits up not solely within the working room however within the confidence and talent of his college students, within the insurance policies influenced by his analysis, and within the sufferers whose lives he has modified.
He advises his youthful self—and right this moment’s younger professionals—to spend extra time with household and embrace the fullness of life outdoors of labor.
“My recommendation is to spend extra time together with your prolonged household,” Dr. Douglas stated. “Go to household reunions and cousins’ weddings and so forth.”
Balancing Management and Life
In a high-stakes, high-burnout occupation, Dr. Douglas emphasizes the significance of psychological and bodily well-being. “I inform my college students: shield your sleep. That’s the place therapeutic and readability come from,” he stated. His emphasis on sleep hygiene is only one instance of how he applies holistic ideas to surgical coaching.
He attracts inspiration from leaders like Steve Jobs, admiring their skill to persevere and innovate beneath stress.
At a time when medication is going through unprecedented challenges—from systemic inequities to speedy technological change—Dr. Wade G. Douglas stands as a reminder of what it appears like to steer with integrity.
He has lived many lives: Military medic, surgical oncologist, educator, researcher, mentor. Every function has deepened his perception that the best type of management is service.
“If there’s one factor I need to be remembered for,” he stated, “it’s that I cared deeply and gave my greatest.”
Along with his election to the ABS Council and a era of younger surgeons wanting as much as him, Dr. Douglas isn’t just influencing medication—he’s altering it.
