Annual Pub 2023 FINAL - Flipbook - Page 43
SUMMER 2023 MAGAZINE
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
DR. MICHAEL
EDWARDS
Among the many titles Michael Edwards, MD, holds – including past president of the Clark
County Medical Society and of The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery – one position
he is proud to hold is that of full clinical professor at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at
UNLV. Dr. Edwards holds this position through the school’s community faculty program which
is composed of individuals who volunteer their time to help the medical school in aspects of
education, research, community engagement, or care of others.
Dr. Edwards 昀rst came to the school in 2015 after the passing of William Zamboni, MD,
who, at the time, served as then-University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine Chair
of Surgery and chair of plastic surgery. Always looking for ways to bolster Southern
Nevada’s medical community, Dr. Edwards and his partners stepped in, opening
up their practice to plastic surgery residents to carry on Dr. Zamboni’s legacy
of supporting resident education.
“Dr. Zamboni was very involved in teaching the plastic surgery residents the
aesthetic part of their education,” Dr. Edwards explains. “When he passed
away there was a void. So I went to Dr. John Fildes who, at the time, was the
chair of surgery, after talking to my partners, and we opened our practice
up to let the plastic surgery residents rotate here, which we still do.” These
rotations typically last for three months, with residents spending a month’s
time training with Dr. Edwards or one of his two partners, Terry Higgins, MD,
and Andrew Silver, MD. In this rotation, residents gain experience in a clinical
setting and the operating room, all while getting exposure to the pragmatic and
administrative aspects – such as billing and hiring – of operating a private practice.
“If they’re going into their own private practice, we try to share with them things that
we didn’t learn when we were in residency,” Dr. Edwards says.
While the title of full clinical professor sits nicely atop Dr. Edwards lengthy and impressive
curriculum vitae (CV), he is passionate about this volunteer position because he sees it as a
way to give back. “Leadership has always been important to me,” Dr. Edwards says. “I was in the
military for 19 years and helped command a 昀eld hospital in the desert, as well as serving as
chief of staff at Mike O’Callaghan Federal Hospital. I’ve always enjoyed being involved. I don’t
like to do things just to put them on my CV. It’s just good to give back.”
PLASTIC SURGERY
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