Roy Phitayakorn ’98 is dedicated to helping patients at Massachusetts General Hospital as a surgeon and educating the next generation of leaders at Harvard Medical School.
He reflects that his experience as a student leader for the Association for Asian and Asian American Awareness (A5) was a milestone in his growth as a leader.
“For me it was a chance to explore this idea of leadership, which I never had a lot of experience in high school,” says Phitayakorn, who studied biology (pre-health track) with minors in chemistry and western military history & strategy. “I learned the skills you need to run a large student organization that’s very active. Within two years we had the largest student budget of any organization on campus and the largest number of members (100+).”
Phitayakorn was the first official president of A5 and served for three years. The student organization actively educated others about Asian culture through programming such as Celebrate Asia Month (a series of events through April), and fought against anti-Asian hate.
He notes that his continued inquiry and curiosity to learn was sparked at Allegheny College.
My professors at Allegheny instilled in me a love of learning and the idea that you’re never really done with learning.” he says.
After graduating with his bachelor’s degree, Phitayakorn attended the school of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh for four years. Phitayakorn completed his general surgery residency at Case Western Reserve University in 2009 and his endocrine surgery fellowship two years later at the Massachusetts General Hospital.
Today, he focuses on general surgery operations with a subspecialty in neck operations. Concurrently, he teaches at the Harvard Medical School as a professor of surgery and is internationally recognized for faculty development in surgical education.
Phitayakorn remarks that his experience in theatre as a student at Allegheny College proved invaluable, between performing in a Playshop Theatre production and stage managing for the Meadville Community Theatre. He notes that his thespian experience emphasised the importance of teamwork, both on the stage and in the operating room.
“I learned a lot from (Emeritus) Professor Watkins,” says Phitayakorn. “She cemented to me the idea that the humanities were so important for a physician; she encouraged me to take a theatre class, and it was amazing. The humanities are just as important to helping people understand and process the emotions that go along with the things we deal with in medicine.”
He hopes to emphasize the importance of a holistic education for rising surgeons to be a force for good.
“I really credit Allegheny College with instilling in me the belief that we can all improve the world for the next generation— that things are good but we can always make them better,” reflects Phitayakorn.
