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Gary Sutkin, M.D., M.B.A.
Professor, Associate Dean of Women's Health, Victor and Caroline Schutte Chair in Women’s Health
Department(s) of Biomedical and Health Informatics, Obstetrics and Gynecology
University Health - UMKC Health Sciences District
Education and Background
M.D. -
Northwestern University
M.B.A. -
J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management
Residency -
Magee Womens Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA
Fellowship -
Magee Womens Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA
Board Certification -
American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery
As an alumnus, I'm a big Northwestern fan. And living in Pittsburgh for 10-plus years, my kids grew up cheering on the Steelers, Pirates and Penguins, who by the way, won the Stanley Cup. I know we should get to like the KC Chiefs, but I was raised, you know, loyal to your team. So, in our house, it's Northwestern for college sports and Pittsburgh teams for everything else.
What do you enjoy doing away from work?Everyone in the family likes roller coasters, especially Pittsburgh's famous wooden coaster called the Jackrabbit. And my wife and I like music a lot. There's no type that we don't like - we download, listen and talk about music. Pre-kids, we went to lots of concerts. Now, we look forward the kids getting older so we can stay up later and go to concerts again.
How did you become interested in doing research?Picture that kid who would stay after school, meet with the teacher, spend extra time doing dissection and lab experiments - that kid was me. I loved science and would do anything to spend more time doing it. As a kid reading science textbooks and learning about great experiments, part of me said "I want to be a part of that process." And now, I'm at UMKC, which really promotes cutting edge research. It's such a great place to be.
A cut above:What I love to do most outside of work is spend time with my wife and our two boys, who envision one day when cool lasers will be used in the OR to keep surgeons from making errors. I also am an avid music listener.
Needle unprotected:My pet peeve is loud noises, like the garbage cart that rolls right by our lab door every morning.
Slice of life:The most interesting thing about me you may not know is.. I once had the kitchen staff in a restaurant throw an egg at our table for staying too late.
Biography
Gary Sutkin is the Associate Dean and Victor and Caroline Schutte Chair in Women’s Health. He is a Professor with tenure in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics. He is Director of the Surgical Innovation Lab at UMKC and the Vice Chair for Education in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Dr. Sutkin’s research interests center on surgical safety and error prevention. He focuses on surgical error prevention, related to improved team communication and improved biomechanics. He collaborates with human factors experts, surgeons and anesthetists, cognitive psychologists, members of the School of Science and Engineering, a semanticist, and more. He has R01 funding from the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research.
He is a practicing Urogynecologist and specializes in women with pelvic floor disorders. He provides both reconstructive pelvic surgery and non-surgical treatments for women with pelvic organ prolapse, urinary incontinence, and other pelvic floor disorders.
Dr. Sutkin came to the University of Missouri Kansas City from the University of Pittsburgh. There, he was in the Academy of Master Educators and directed the Obstetrics and Gynecology core clerkship. His research centered on surgical education and the prevention of postoperative urinary tract infections. He was a co-investigator in the National Institute of Health Pelvic Floor Disorders Network. He contributed to the establishment of the Nazarbayev School of Medicine in Astana Kazakhstan. He has served as Residency Program Director, Co-Chair of the National Board of Medical Examiners Womens Health Test Development Committee, and Chair of the American Urogynecologic Society Education Committee. He currently serves as a member of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery and as Co-Chair of the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics Surgical Education Scholars program.
Dr. Sutkin was born in San Antonio and grew up in Richardson, Texas. He attended Northwestern University’s Honors Program in Medical Education, worked at the Federal Reserve bank in Chicago, and attained his BS, MD, and MBA degrees at Northwestern. He is an avid Northwestern fan.
Specialties and Research/Medical Interests
Surgical error prevention and communication, Intraoperative teaching, Midurethral sling surgery, Surgery, Medical Humanities and Social Sciences, Postoperative Urinary tract infections
Research Focus
Dr. Sutkin is passionate about the education of tomorrow’s doctors. His current research interests address surgical education, safety and error prevention. He collaborates with multiple researchers outside of medicine to study how surgical education, communication, and safety can be improved. Collaborators include human factors experts, cognitive psychologists, members of the UMKC Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, a professor of linguistics with expertise in semantics, a humanities scholar, a sociologist, a theater professor with expertise in nonverbal communication, and a professor of composition. He has Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) funding to study safety and error prevention, including interprofessional communication in the operating room. He recently had funding from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering to study the relationship between surgeon kinematics and surgical error.
Selected Publications
Karmarkar T, Mahadev A, Bachar A, McKenzie A, Sutkin G. “Right Into the Center”: A Semantic Analysis of Direction in Operating Room Instruction. J Surg Educ. 2024;81(5):688-695. doi:10.1016/j.jsurg.2024.02.010. PMID 38548558
Sutkin G, Arif MA, Cheng A-L, King GW, Stylianou A. Surgeon Upper Extremity Kinematics During Error and Error-Free Retropubic Trocar Passage. March 2024 Int Urogyne J. Published online 2024. doi:10.1007/s00192-024-05772-w. PMID: 38619613
Ramprasad A, Casubhoy I, Bachar A, Meister M, Bethman B, Sutkin G. Language in the teaching operating room: expressing confidence vs community. J Surg Educ. 2024;81(4):556-563. doi:10.1016/j.jsurg.2023.12.009. PMID:38383237
Bachar A, Wang X, Herzog K, Sahil S, Cheng AL, Ohene-Agyei J, Shepherd JP, Sutkin G. Hemoglobin A1c and Reoperation After Surgery for Stress Incontinence or Prolapse. Urogynecology. Published online December 1, 2023. doi:10.1097/SPV.0000000000001438. PMID: 38113124
Bachar A, Brommelsiek M, Simonson RJ, Chan YR, Davies A, Catchpole K, Sutkin G. Speech Communication Interference in the OR. J Surg Res. 2023. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2023.11.064. PMID: 38142575
Mahadev, A., Bachar, A., Karmarkar, T. McKenzie A, Sutkin G. Implicit communication and miscommunication in surgical instruction. Global Surg Educ 2, 88 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44186-023-00168-8
Mueller F, Bachar A, Arif MA, King GW, Stylianou AP, Sutkin G. Cognitive models for mentally visualizing a sharp instrument in a blind procedure. Global Surg Educ. Aug 11, 2023;2(1):79. doi:10.1007/s44186-023-00153-1
Mueller F, Arif MA, Bachar A, King, GW, Stylianou AP, Sutkin G. Surgeon estimation of retropubic trocar position in blind 3D space. Int Urogynecol J. 2023 May 11. doi: 10.1007/s00192-023-05541-1. Online ahead of print. PMID: 37166488.
Davies A, Wickoren NL, Brommelsiek M, Qureshi F, Cianciolo AT, Sutkin G. Unpacked expertise: Difficult mask ventilation, judgment cues, and critical decision making. AANA Journal, Supplement to AANA Journal, Volume 91 + Number 2, ISSN 0094-6354 Apr 2023
Krishnan T, Rudy P, Viswanathan N, Brommelsiek M, Bachar A, Sutkin G. The Impact of Facial Personal Protective Equipment on Speech Intensity. Urogynecology, Nov 1, 2022. doi:10.1097/spv.0000000000001282. PMID: 36730870.
Arif MA, Stylianou AP, Bachar A, King GW, Sutkin G. Retropubic trocar modified with a load cell to verify contact with pubic bone. Surgery, 2022, IN 0039-6060 doi:10.1016/j.surg.2022.06.011. PMID: 35820973.
Balasubramanian S, Wang X, Sahil S, Cheng AL, Sutkin G, Shepherd JP. Risk factors for development of acute pyelonephritis in women with a positive urine culture. Neurourol Urodyn. 2022; 1- 8. doi:10.1002/nau.25005. PMID: 35788978.
Ablatt S, Wang X, Sahil S, Cheng AL, Shepherd JP, Sutkin G. Reoperation rates of stress incontinence surgery in rural vs urban hospitals. AJOG Global Reports, Volume 2(3). Aug 2022 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xagr.2022.100059. PMID: 36276800.
Christensen K, Bauer AG, Burgin T, Williams J, McDowd J, Sutkin G, Bennett K, Thompson CB, Berkley-Patton JY. “Black Women Don’t Always Put Our Healthcare First”: Facilitators and Barriers to Cervical Cancer Screening and Perceptions of Human Papillomavirus Self-Testing Among Church-Affiliated African American Women. Community Health Equity Research & Policy. 2022;0(0). doi:10.1177/0272684X221115494. PMID: 36125430.
Brommelsiek M, Krishnan T, Rudy P, Viswanathan N, Sutkin G. Human-Caused Sound Distractors and their Impact on Operating Room Team Function. Accepted for Publication World J Surg, March 2022.
Sutkin G, Littleton EB, Arnold L, Kanter SL. Optimizing surgical teaching through the lens of sociocultural learning theory. Accepted for publication. Am J Surg, March 2022.
Mueller F, Brommelsiek M, Sutkin G. Mental 3D Visualization: Building Surgical Resilience for Performing High-Risk Procedures. J Surg Educ. 2022 Feb 2:S1931-7204(22)00007-1. doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2022.01.007. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35123912.
Davies A, Wickoren NL, Brommelseik M, Qureshi F, Cianciolo AT, Sutkin G. Unpacked expertise: Difficult mask ventilation, judgment cues, and critical decision making. Accepted for publication AANA Journal, Dec 2021.
Liu C, McKenzie A, Sutkin G. Semantically Ambiguous Language in the Teaching Operating Room. J Surg Educ. 2021 Apr 23:S1931-7204(21)00073-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2021.03.020. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33903062.
Kurian R, Kirchhoff-Rowald A, Sahil S, Cheng A-L, Wang X, Shepherd J, Sutkin G. The Risk of Primary Uterine and Cervical Cancer After Hysteropexy, Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery: March 2021(27)3:e493-e496. doi: 10.1097/SPV.0000000000001030. PMID: 33620910.
Kanjilal D, Mahmud F, Sutkin G. Constructivist Grounded Theory to Establish the Relationship Between Technical Error and Adverse Patient Outcome: Modeling Technical Error and Adverse Outcomes. Published Online ahead of print, The American Surgeon, Nov 2020. doi:10.1177/0003134820952837. PMID: 33170022.
Brommelsiek M, Kanter SL, Sutkin G. An Ethnographic Study Examining Attending Surgeon Persona in the Operating Room and Influence on Interprofessional Team Action. Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice. September 2020;20 doi:10.1016/j.xjep.2020.100359.
Brommelsiek M, Kanter SL, Sutkin G. An ethnographic study examining attending surgeon persona in the operating room and influence on interprofessional team action. Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice. 2020;20https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xjep.2020.100359.
Sharif F, Mahmud F, Suman S, Cheng, A-L, Shepherd J, Sutkin G Risk Factors for Returning to the OR for a Second Surgery After Midurethral Sling for Stress Urinary Incontinence Female Pelvic Med Reconstr Surg. 2020 Jul;26(7):443-446. doi: 10.1097/SPV.0000000000000804. PMID: 32217917.
Sutkin G, Zyczynski HM, Sridhar A, Jelovsek JE, Rardin CR, Mazloomdoost D, Rahn DD, Nguyen JN, Andy UU, Meyer I, Gantz MG, for the NICHD Pelvic Floor Disorders Network, Association between Adjuvant Posterior Repair and Success of Native Tissue Apical Suspension, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (2019), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2019.08.024
Jelovsek JE, Markland AD, Whitehead WE, Barber MD, Newman DK, Rogers RG, Dyer K, Visco AG, Sutkin G, Zyczynski HM, Carper B, Meikle SF, Sung VW, Gantz MG. Controlling Anal Incontinence in Women by Performing Anal Exercises with Biofeedback or Loperamide: A Randomized Clinical Trial, Contemp Clin Trials, 44, 164-174. doi:10.1016/j.cct.2015.08.009
Ackenbom MF, Littleton EB, Mahmud F, Sutkin G. The Complexity of the Retropubic Midurethral Sling: A Cognitive Task Analysis, 2019 Female Pelvic Med Reconstr Surg. doi:10.1097/spv.0000000000000736
Sutkin G, Littleton EB, Kanter SL. Maintaining Operative Efficiency While Allowing Sufficient Time for Residents to Learn. The American Journal of Surgery, 218(1), 211-217. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2018.11.035
Sampene KC, Littleton EB, Kanter SL, Sutkin G. Preventing Error in the Operating Room: Five Teaching Strategies for High Stakes Learning. J Surg Res. 2019 Apr;236:12-21. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2018.10.050. Epub 2018 Dec 3. PMID: 30694745
Nager CW, Grimes CL, Nolen TL, Wai CY, Brubaker L, Jeppson PC, Wilson TS, Visco AG, Barber MD, Sutkin G, Norton P, Rardin CR, Arya L, Wallace D, Meikle SF. Concomitant Anterior Repair, Preoperative Prolapse Severity, and Anatomic Prolapse Outcomes After Vaginal Apical Procedures. Female Pelvic Med Reconstr Surg. 2019 Jan/Feb;25(1):22-28. PMID: 29232267
Sutkin G, Littleton EB, Kanter SL, Cianciolo AT, Chen X, Cope A, Koschmann T. Teaching, Learning, and Performance in the Surgical Workplace: Insights from the Examination of Intra-Operative Interactions. Teaching and Learning in Medicine. 2017. Teach Learn Med. 2017 Oct-Dec;29(4):378-382. PMID: 29020522
Sutkin G, Littleton EB, Kanter SL. Intelligent cooperation: A framework of pedagogic practice in the operating room. Am J Surg. 2017. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 28711151
Oliphant S, Littleton EB, Gosman G, Sutkin G. Teaching the Retropubic Midurethral Sling Using a Novel Cadaver and Model-Based Approach. Cureus. 2017. 9(5): e1214. DOI 10.7759/cureus.1214. PMID: PMC5453826
Paradis E, Sutkin G. Beyond a Good Story: From Hawthorne Effect to Reactivity in Health Professions Education Research. Medical Education. 2016. PMID: 27580703
Lowder J, Oliphant S, Shepherd J, Ghetti C, Sutkin G. Genital Hiatus Size is Associated with and Predictive of Apical Vaginal Support Loss. Am J Obstetrics Gynecology. 2016 Jun; 214(6):718.e1-8. PMID: 26719211
Sutkin G, Littleton EB, Kanter SL. How surgical mentors teach: A classification of in vivo teaching behaviors part 2: Physical teaching guidance. J Surg Educ. 2015; 72(2), 251-7. PMID: 25468768
Sutkin G, Littleton EB, Kanter SL. How surgical mentors teach: A classification of in vivo teaching behaviors part 1: Verbal teaching guidance. J Surg Educ. 2015;72(2), 243-50. PMID: 25456208
Sutkin G, Dzialowski K. A gynaecologic clinic dedicated to student teaching. Clin Teach. 2013 Jun;10(3):181-5. doi: 10.1111/j.1743-498X.2012.00633.x. PMID: 23656681
Nager CW, Brubaker L, Litman HJ, Zyczynski HM, Varner RE, Amundsen C, Sirls LT, Norton PA, Arisco AM, Chai TC, Zimmern P, Barber MD, Dandreo KJ, Menefee SA, Kenton K, Lowder J, Richter HE, Khandwala S, Nygaard I, Kraus SR, Johnson HW, Lemack GE, Mihova M, Albo ME, Mueller E, Sutkin G, Wilson TS, Hsu Y, Rozanski TA, Rickey LM, Rahn D, Tennstedt S, Kusek JW, Gormley EA; Urinary Incontinence Treatment Network. A randomized trial of urodynamic testing before stress-incontinence surgery. N Engl J Med. 2012 May 24;366(21):1987-97. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1113595. Epub 2012 May 2. PMID: 22551104; PMCID: PMC3386296
Skoczylas LC, Littleton EB, Kanter SL, Sutkin G. Teaching techniques in the operating room: the importance of perceptual motor teaching. Acad Med. 2012 Mar;87(3):364-71. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0b013e31824484a0. PMID: 22373633
Sutkin G, Alperin M, Meyn L, Wiesenfeld HC, Ellison R, Zyczynski HM. Symptomatic urinary tract infections after surgery for prolapse and/or incontinence. Int Urogynecol J. 2010 Aug;21(8):955-61. doi: 10.1007/s00192-010-1137-x. Epub 2010 Mar 31. PMID: 20354678
Sutkin G, Littlefield JH, Laube DW. Nursing staff assessment of residents’ professionalism and communication skills. Med Educ. 2009 Nov;43(11):1104. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2923.2009.03461.x. Epub 2009 Oct 2. PMID: 19799729
Sutkin G, Lowder JL, Smith KJ. Prophylactic antibiotics to prevent urinary tract infection during clean intermittent self-catheterization (CISC) for management of voiding dysfunction after prolapse and incontinence surgery: a decision analysis. Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct. 2009 Aug;20(8):933-8. doi: 10.1007/s00192-009-0885-y. Epub 2009 Apr 10. PMID: 19582384
Sutkin G, Wagner E, Harris I, Schiffer R. What makes a good clinical teacher in medicine? A review of the literature. Acad Med. 2008 May;83(5):452-66. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0b013e31816bee61. Review. PMID: 18448899