One of the many benefits of joining the Jesuit Medical Society is access to the speaker meetings on Mondays. Jesuit Medical Society organizes and brings in doctors to speak to students about their profession. This allows students to learn about different specialties and fields of medicine.
On Monday, November 18, David Godat, MD, came to speak to the Medical Society students about plastic and reconstructive surgery.
Background
Dr. Godat is a Dallas native that has been practicing Plastic and Reconstructive surgery for 25 years. His education includes St. Rita, followed by Cistercian, then to Stanford for undergraduate studies. He attended UT Southwestern medical school, followed by the Medical College of Wisconsin for his residency program. Dr. Godat returned to start his private practice in North Dallas. He is a second-generation Dallas physician whose family has been providing patient care for over 50 years.
Dr. Godat is one of only five surgeons in the North Texas region to perform a specialized breast procedure that was recently showcased in a segment on Good Morning Texas. He performs a wide range of surgeries, including cosmetic procedures of the breast, body, and face, as well as reconstructive surgery of the body and hand. Dr. Godat has an operating room in his office where he performs surgery, as well as utilizing inpatient hospitals in North Dallas.
Speaker Meeting
At the meeting, Dr. Godat presented multiple cases to show the students different methods of plastic and reconstructive surgery. He explained the processes of manipulating blood supply, skin grafting, as well as other aspects of his practice like hernia repair utilizing pigskin rather than synthetic mesh.
Student Thoughts
Jesuit Medical Society president, Will Nickols ’20, commented, “I am very thankful to Dr. Godat for coming to speak about his work as a plastic and reconstructive surgeon. I know doctors are extremely busy, so it means a lot when they take time out of their schedules to help educate the next generation. His specific cases with pictures helped me understand the work he does, and I was also very interested in the props like the pigskin for strengthening the abdominal wall. I was happy to see so many people from Medical Society attend and enjoy the meeting, and a lot of people learned some new information about a field they may choose to enter one day.”
Another Medical Society member, Ben Levis ’21, mentioned, “I was very interested in this particular meeting because I have looked at reconstructive surgery as a possible specialty.”
Dr. Godat reflected, “I thoroughly enjoyed my discussion of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery with the students of Jesuit. Â I was very impressed with the level of interest and insightful questions asked. Â It was an honor to be invited to the Medical Society meeting and hope to visit again.”
Thank you so much to Dr. Godat for taking time out to speak to the Jesuit Medical Society! Also, we encourage everyone in Medical Society to sign up to tutor at Nathan Adams, one of these upcoming Thursdays.
Stay tuned to The Roundup for more Jesuit Medical Society news!