Last month we bid farewell to our administrator, Sue Baysden, after 15 years of dedicated service to Children’s Surgery International. We celebrated Sue and wished her well in her upcoming retirement at our fall happy hour event.

Sue’s departure was a big change for CSI but also an opportunity. To help the organization meet the demands of our already busy trip schedule and look to the future, we made the decision to create two new part-time staff positions: one to focus exclusively on trip planning and execution and the other to focus on communications and office management. With this new structure, we are pleased to now have three part-time staff members supporting the work of our volunteers and partners. Executive Director Megan Sparks and the CSI board of directors are thrilled to welcome Lisa Masterson and Jen Nagorski to CSI. Read on to learn more about Jen and Lisa, who joined the team this fall.

Lisa Masterson, Mission Operations Manager

What’s your role at CSI?
As Mission Operations Manager, I coordinate the planning and implementation of CSI surgical trips. To create successful trips, I team up with CSI volunteers and country partners. I’m also working on process improvement initiatives, such as developing process and system integrations.

Why did you choose CSI?
The Mission Operations Manager role is a great fit because I geek out on processes, spreadsheets, logistics and building relationships. I also come to CSI with extensive experience in fundraising, logistics, project management and relationship building for nonprofit organizations. I also have a background in therapeutic recreation and child development. 

What do you love most about your job?
I enjoy working with all the CSI volunteers and country partners. They help me daily with providing information, timelines and history. This part-time position provides me the ability to work and have flexibility for my family.

How do you spend your time outside of work?
My three daughters, Isabella (10), Olivia (7) and Lauren (5), keep my husband, Larry, and I busy chauffeuring them to activities and friends. We spend our family time playing board games and watching movies. When I have time for myself, I enjoy playing softball, reading and hitting up local breweries and distilleries. 

Jen Nagorski, Office and Communications Manager

What’s your role at CSI?
As the Office and Communications Manager, I coordinate many of the day-to-day operations of the office such as donation entry, mailings and supplies. I also develop and coordinate messaging to support mission operations, fundraising and volunteer relations. This includes keeping our website and social media pages up to date and assisting with special events such as our fall happy hour and annual gala.

Why did you choose CSI?
I have a background in marketing and graphic design and most recently worked as a child life specialist helping patients and families cope with medical experiences. I first heard about CSI from a child life colleague who was a non-medical volunteer on a trip. When I saw a chance to join this dynamic organization, I knew it was a good fit. I never imagined I would find a role that so perfectly blends my communication and organizational skills with my passion for pediatric healthcare.

What do you love most about your job?
So far, my favorite part has been meeting all the people who make CSI a successful organization – volunteers, board members, donors. Everyone has been extremely welcoming and helpful. I also really enjoyed helping with social media and blog posts during our recent trip to Ethiopia. I couldn’t wait to open my email in the morning to see what good news the team had sent from the day before.

How do you spend your time outside of work?
My husband, Tony, and I spend most of our free time chasing around our 2-year-old daughter, Willow, and our mini dachshund, Clarence. We love to go to the park and the library or anywhere we can have donuts! I also enjoy sewing, reading and running.

Do yourself a favor: Leave the country and see how health care is abroad

CRAIG BOWRON, MD AND PETER MELCHERT, MD | PHYSICIAN | NOVEMBER 16, 2017

Here’s some advice for your career in health care: Leave the country as soon as possible.

This has nothing to do with the president’s attempts to euthanize the Affordable Care Act. Or with EMRs, Medicare reimbursements, or the burnout surveys you get from your employer, who also sends emails aimed at getting you to work faster and more efficiently.

It’s none of that. You need to leave the country, just for a week or two, and provide medical care to someone who would have a hard time getting it without you. Go somewhere where the waiting room is a line at the clinic door: no 500-gallon aquariums, or tapestry-sized TVs dangling from the wall. You need to go somewhere where your patient took a 10-hour bus ride out of the Agrarian Age just to see if you can help them. You need to see how the other half lives, the much larger “half” of the world that doesn’t enjoy anything near our standard of living.

Full article here.