A Champion for Teaching
Dr. Joseph Craver received his MD from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in 1967, did his general surgery residency and cardiovascular fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital, and completed his chief residency in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery at the University of Virginia Medical Center in 1974.
As a young physician in training, he embraced the objectivity and superior results of heart surgery. In mentoring younger surgeons, he came to realize his own talent as a teacher, and education became his great passion.
Dr. Craver joined the Emory Department of Surgery in 1974, attracted by a position in academic heart surgery with a strong clinical component. The 1970s were a pioneering era for heart surgery, and Emory's new capabilities at that time were coronary angiography and coronary artery bypass surgery, improved valve substitutes and repair techniques, and the early recognition of the importance of intraoperative protection and preservation of the heart muscle. During this period, Dr. Craver played a key role in expanding and strengthening cardiac surgical patient care, clinical research, and advancing Emory's cardiothoracic surgery training program.
"You can't place a value on helping save a patient's life," Dr. Craver says. "But when you teach a new surgeon, one who's going to go out and save thousands more people, that extends your life's work exponentially."
In the three decades before he retired in 2005, Dr. Craver surgically repaired the hearts of more than 11,000 patients and taught more than 85 cardiac surgical fellows the skills and art of heart surgery. He also performed Georgia's first minimally invasive, direct coronary artery bypass surgery in 1996. This innovative technique evolved into procedures that currently shorten hospitals stays, reduce patient recovery time, and lower costs.
Dr. Craver's leadership and dedication secured his place among the architects of Emory's success in heart care. At the age of 81, he passed away on June 2, 2022.
Speaker | Affiliation | Topic | Date |
---|---|---|---|
Tirone David, MD, FRCS | – Professor of Surgery, University of Toronto – Melanie Munk Chair of Cardiovascular Surgery at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre |
Functional Anatomy of the Mitral Valve and Effects of Corrective Surgery on Common Abnormalities | 3/28/2024 |
Ashish S. Shah, MD | – Professor of Cardiac Surgery – Alfred Blalock Endowed Director and Chairman, Department of Cardiac Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center |
Heart Transplant Using Hearts That Stopped | 3/30/2023 |
Michael A. Acker, MD | – Julian Johnson Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Chief, Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania – Director, Penn Medicine Heart and Vascular Center |
Transparency, Public Reporting, and Shift to a Culture of Quality and Safety in Cardiac Surgery | 3/25/2021 |
Thomas G. Gleason, MD | – Ronald V. Pellegrini Endowed Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery – Chief, Division of Cardiac Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine – Director, UPMC Center for Thoracic Aortic Disease – Co-Director, UPMC Center for Heart Valve Disease |
Bicuspid Aortic Valve-Associated Aortopathy: Insights From the Clinic to the Laboratory and Back | 3/14/2019 |
Jennifer Lawton, MD | – Professor of Surgery and Chief, Division of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins Medicine | Professional and Personal Boundary Management for Surgeons | 7/19/2018 |
Marc R. Moon, MD | – John M. Shoenberg Professor, Surgery – Chief, Section of Cardiac Surgery – Program Director, Thoracic Surgery Residency Program |
Evarts A. Graham and the Training of a Surgeon | 6/1/2017 |
James S. Gammie, MD | – Professor and Chief of Cardiac Surgery, University of Maryland School of Medicine – Director, Center for Heart Valve Disease, University of Maryland Medical Center |
The Bright Future of Heart Valve Surgery | 6/2/2016 |
Thoralf M. Sundt, III, MD | – Chief, Division of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital – Director, Corrigan Minehan Heart Center, Massachusetts General Hospital |
Surgical Decision Making: Bicuspid Aortopathy a Case in Point | 6/18/2015 |
Stuart W. Jamieson, MB | – UC San Diego Health System: Distinguished Professor of Surgery and Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, UC San Diego School of Medicine; Dean, Cardiovascular Affairs | Pulmonary Endarterectomy (PTE) | 6/12/2014 |
Richard L. Prager, MD | – University of Michigan Health System: Professor of Cardiac Surgery; Head, Section of Adult Cardiac Surgery; Director, Cardiovascular Center | The "Quality Movement" in Cardiac Surgery: The Michigan Experience | 1/17/2013 |
Robert H. Bartlett, MD | – Emeritus Professor of Surgery, Sections of General and Thoracic Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor | ECMO for Cardiopulmonary Failure in Adults | 1/19/2012 |
Craig R. Smith, MD | – Surgeon-in-Chief, Seymour Milstein Family Heart Center, New York-Presbyterian/Columbia – Chair, Department of Surgery, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons |
Transcatheter Valve Implantation | 1/20/2011 |
Joseph Sabik, MD | – Chair, Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Cleveland Clinic | New Advances in Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery | 1/14/2010 |
Ralph J. Damiano, MD | – John M. Shoenberg Professor of Surgery, Chief, Cardiac Surgery, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine | Surgery for Atrial Fibrillation: Current Indications and Procedures | 1/15/2009 |
T. Bruce Ferguson, Jr., MD | – Professor, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, East Carolina Heart Institute, Brody School of Medicine at ECU, Greenville, NC | Influences on the Shaping of Quality and the Future of our Specialty | 1/17/2008 |