Sinai Hospital Mourns Longtime Surgeon

Sinai Hospital is deeply saddened by the death of associate surgeon-in-chief Rhonda S. Fishel, M.D., MBA, FACS.

"Dr. Fishel taught generations of medical students and residents not only how to be excellent surgeons, but how to be compassionate physicians," says Neil Meltzer, President of Sinai Hospital. "Even once she became ill, Dr. Fishel remained committed to working with physicians, residents and patients at Sinai. Her tenacity and commitment were admirable, and she will be missed."

Dr. Fishel, 55, who was diagnosed with uterine sarcoma five years ago, continued to work at Sinai until a few weeks ago.

“Other people would have quit earlier, but she was really old-school and believed in her work,” says Thomas Genuit, MD, MBA, FACS, interim chief of the Department of Surgery and head of the Division of Trauma “She always fought for what she believed in, namely her patients.”

Dr. Genuit says Dr. Fishel received numerous accolades for her teaching, including the Golden Apple Award for Outstanding Teacher from Sinai in 1995.

“She had a way of making you learn not by being harsh, but by being kind, and using humor to point out mistakes,” he says.

In recent years, Dr. Fishel used her experiences as both doctor and patient to develop a presentation for physicians titled “Giving and Receiving Bad News: Lessons I Learn.”

"I never understood what it felt like physically until I had to go through it. It's like a pain in your chest,” she told the Baltimore Sun in 2006. She gave the presentation across the country, including at the annual meeting of the American Medical Student Association in 2007.

Dr. Fishel spent the majority of her career in Baltimore, graduating from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1979, and completing a fellowship in surgical research at Sinai in 1983. She was the director of surgical care and the director of trauma services at Sinai until 1997, when she became the director of trauma services at Lakeland Regional Medical Center in Florida. She returned to Sinai in 2000, becoming the associate surgeon-in-chief at Sinai, and a professor of surgery at Hopkins. In addition to the Golden Apple Award, she was honored as Sinai Surgical Resident of the Year in 1986, received the Golden Scapel Award from the Sinai Department of Surgery in 1992, and was voted a “Person of the Year” by Baltimore Magazine in 2006. A lifelong learner, Dr. Fishel earned her MBA from Hopkins in 2006.

In her spare time, she had a stand-up comedy routine that she performed locally and for family.

“She was very funny; she loved humor. We are better people for having known her,” says Lois Hagstrom, Sinai manager of Surgical Specialties, a coworker and friend of Dr. Fishel for close to 30 years.

In addition to her wife Michaela (Mickey) Barron, Dr. Fishel was close to her brothers’ families, and especially proud that one of her nephews, Dr. Matthew Fishel, became a pediatrician, Hagstrom says. An avid animal lover, Dr. Fishel was especially passionate about Great Danes.

“They had several over the years, and I hope they are waiting for her,” she says.

In addition to her wife and nephews, Dr. Fishel is survived by brothers Larry and Alan Fishel, and one niece. Services will be held tomorrow at 3 p.m. at Sol Levinson & Bros., Inc., 8900 Reisterstown Road at Mount Wilson Lane.

In lieu of flowers, please send contributions in her memory to the Alvin & Lois Lapidus Cancer Institute, Sinai Hospital, 2401 W. Belvedere Ave., Baltimore, MD, 21215. The family will be at home at 15 Shaded Glen Court, Owings Mills, MD, 21117.

-Elizabeth Leis-Newman

National PA Week: Roy Ruehle, Department of Surgery

Wednesday kicks off National Physician Assistant Week, and we're celebrating our dedicated physician assistants at Sinai Hospital by having them share their stories this week. Sinai Hospital will also host a special breakfast for PAs at 7 a.m. on Wednesday in the Sinai Board Room.

The Life of a Surgical PA
by Roy Ruehle, Sinai Hospital Department of Surgery

I remember when I first discovered what a physician assistant actually was. It was during my enlistment as an Army Medic in the early 1980s. When working alongside PAs during an overseas military deployment in Europe, I decided that this would be a career where I could actually play a front line role in patient care.

After my full-time enlistment was over, I began PA school at Hahnemann University, and later would begin working at Sinai Hospital's Department of Surgery, a role that I've had now for nearly two decades. My role in the Department of Surgery has been ever- changing as requirements and programs within the department have changed.

My role is also a bit different as I was not only a civilian PA at Sinai, but also a senior medical officer in the U.S. Army National Guard. I've served both my community and country, and spent close to a year in Iraq.

When I'm working at Sinai, my day starts off about 4:30 a.m. I begin "rounding" at 5:30 a.m. This is when I see patients, evaluate overnight lab reports, studies, and tests. We prepare the surgical patients for the day's events. Much like the military, we work as a team to fight disease and trauma, and hope to improve the lives of the people who are entrusted in our care. PAs are an important link between residents, attending physicians, patients and families. We are usually working in the front lines of treating and evaluating the needs of those who we serve. As the morning progresses, we are expected to perform a variety of duties from hands-on direct patient care, to ordering vital tests, to going to the operating room. Saving and improving lives, improving quality of life, and always making sure that we always primum nil nocere, which means "first, do no harm."

In addition to our routine care, there are the traumas, which are tragic events that can forever change the lives of the people we see. Our team of physicians, PAs, and nurse practitioners focus our combined skills. We hope to return these victims to the lives and families they had before these tragic events occurred. When you are in the military, these events can be even more stressful, as not only do we have to save a life, but avoid losing ours while helping others. Always remember that freedom is not free, and there are a few men and women that take their turns on the front lines so that we all can live free.

At the end of a 14-hour shift, we are tired, hungry, and sometimes stressed. We return to our own homes knowing that our job is unlike most other jobs. To coin an "Army Theme": It's not just a job, it's an adventure. And this adventure changes every day. We find comfort in our families, have dinner, play with our children. We go to bed, wake up hours before anyone in the house, and begin the next day.

Are you interested in working with Roy and the other PAs at LifeBridge Health? Click here to see our open positions.