Kaiser Permanente
Regional and National Leadership
Dr. Hill began a half-time clinical practice at Kaiser Santa Clara in 1999 as a contract physician during his time as a Stanford faculty member. His purpose for transitioning to Kaiser was to expand his clinical practice, enhance the Stanford medical student and resident education, and grow the Stanford vascular research program. In October 2004, Dr. Hill joined The Permanente Medical Group, and became Partner in 2006. As Chief of the Department of Vascular Surgery at Santa Clara Kaiser, Dr. Hill routinely treated patients with aortoiliac occlusive and aneurysmal disease, lower extremity arterial and venous disease, cerebrovascular pathology, and patients in need of hemodialysis. He collaborated frequently with his colleagues in Podiatry, Anesthesia, ICU, Nephrology, Internal Medicine, and Radiology among other services in order to provide quality and seamless medical service to Kaiser Permenente patients. He also served as the Medical Director of Kaiser Santa Clara Vascular Laboratory, which is currently accredited by the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Vascular Laboratories. For 7 years, he served on the Kaiser National Surgical Symposium (NSS) Program Committee and acted as Co-Chair of the Vascular Section. He also served as the Chair of Vascular Surgery Chiefs for the Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) Region and Chair of the Inter-Regional Chiefs of Vascular Surgery for the National Kaiser Federation for 7 years. Both roles required an understanding of the broader organization’s strategic goals and the ability to foster collaboration between group members to solve problems and make progress.
Stanford University,
School of Medicine
Clinical Professor of surgery
(affiliated)
Because of his professors’ influence, upon completion of his formal vascular surgery training, Dr. Hill decided to pursue a career of service, education, and research. To help facilitate his goals, he began a half-time clinical practice at Kaiser Santa Clara in 1999 as a contract physician while being a Stanford faculty member. Dr. Hill’s purpose for outreach to Kaiser was to expand his clinical practice, enhance the Stanford medical student and resident education, and grow the Stanford vascular research program. In October 2004, he joined The Permanente Medical Group, and became Partner in 2006. As Chief of the Department of Vascular Surgery at Santa Clara Kaiser, Dr. Hill routinely treated patients with aortoiliac occlusive and aneurysmal disease, lower extremity arterial and venous disease, cerebrovascular pathology, and patients in need of hemodialysis. Dr. Hill collaborated frequently with his colleagues in Podiatry, Anesthesia, ICU, Nephrology, Internal Medicine, and Radiology among other services to provide high quality service to his patients. Dr. Hill also served for 17 years as the Medical Director of the Kaiser Santa Clara Vascular Laboratory, which is currently accredited by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) for Vascular Laboratories.
Dr. Hill’s teaching philosophy is geared toward helping students and residents think more critically, question the status quo, and challenge oneself to imagine other possible innovative solutions to clinical problems. His daily schedule included working with Stanford residents and medical students in the inpatient and outpatient venues. Procedural instruction took place in the OR and IR suites. Informal teaching was carried out during hospital rounds, during discussions about consultations, and in the surgery clinic. Dr. Hill considered every ER consult and hospital admission an educational opportunity for the students and residents. He encouraged them to explore the historical and contemporary literature for a full understanding of the problem and the evolving nature of medical management protocols and interventions. Dr. Hill encouraged residents to observe, understand, and practice before performing a procedure for the first time. When they were ready, he assisted and critiqued their technique as they developed and refined their skills.
Establishing Educational Programs
Sharing vascular surgery with Stanford residents
Establishing a solid vascular didactic program was a personal goal when Dr. Hill began leading the vascular program at Kaiser Santa Clara. He implemented a weekly vascular teaching conference. Still today, residents and students are assigned a topic for formal presentation. They are encouraged to incorporate cases from their training when applicable. Evidence-based decision-making serves as the foundation for the didactic session, and the latest relevant literature is expected as part of a formal presentation. Questions are raised and comments interjected throughout by the vascular surgeons to clarify issues, probe the presenters understanding, and foster the critical and creative thinking necessary for managing complex clinical scenarios. Oftentimes, after the formal presentation, the Socratic method is employed to help the students and residents think through clinical problems by applying their existing knowledge and training experience. Questions are first directed to the students and then to the junior residents and up the ranks to the senior residents. The intent is to help the trainees understand important concepts while also preparing them for oral board style examination. Dr. Hill fostered a strong commitment within his department to make sure every conference is staffed by a vascular surgery attending, all of whom are board-certified and highly experienced.