Cardiac Surgery - Cardiovascular Surgery Job at Penn State Health in Hershey, PA

The Opportunity

The Division Chief will provide strategic leadership and oversight of all aspects of the Division’s clinical, educational, research, and administrative missions at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and across Penn State Health.

This is an exceptional opportunity to lead a nationally recognized program with a legacy of excellence in heart transplantation, mechanical circulatory support, complex aortic and valvular surgery, and complex adult cardiac surgery. Under current leadership, the Division has achieved national recognition as an STS 3-Star program and one of Healthgrades’ Top 50 Cardiac Surgery Programs, and recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of its heart transplant program—one of the longest-standing in the nation.

Next year, the Division will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first implantation of the Pierce-Donachy ventricular assist device, invented at Penn State as the first FDA-approved bridge-to-transplant device. This groundbreaking innovation became the Thoratec PVAD, used for the subsequent four decades worldwide. The founding Chair of the Department of Surgery, Dr. John Waldhausen, was the 72nd President of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery and a visionary cardiac surgeon who built this department on a foundation of excellence in patient care, research and innovation, and education—a legacy that continues today as we chart our path toward even greater national prominence.

The successful candidate will guide system-wide growth and integration of cardiac surgery services across Hershey Medical Center, Penn State Health Holy Spirit Hospital, and Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide visionary and accountable leadership for the Division of Cardiac Surgery across the Penn State Health system.
• Oversee and coordinate cardiac surgery programs at Hershey Medical Center, Holy Spirit Hospital, and St. Joseph Medical Center to ensure alignment, quality, and operational excellence.
• Ensure the highest standards of quality, safety, and patient outcomes across all sites.
• Advance excellence across the tripartite mission of clinical care, research, and education.
• Drive growth across all missions through recruitment, program development, and strategic system alignment.
• Lead faculty recruitment, retention, and development with a strong focus on mentoring junior faculty and fostering professional advancement.
• Strengthen research productivity, including pursuit of extramural funding, clinical trials, and investigator-initiated research.
• Promote a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement within the Heart and Vascular Institute.
• Support and enhance educational programs for residents, fellows, and medical students.

Qualifications

• MD, DO, or foreign equivalent degree.
• Completion of an ACGME-accredited cardiothoracic surgery residency program and additional fellowship training, if applicable.
• Board certified in Thoracic Surgery (ABTS) or equivalent certification.
• Eligible for medical licensure in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
• Demonstrated track record of leadership at the division or system level in an academic medical center.
• Documented excellence in clinical outcomes across the full spectrum of adult cardiac surgery, with subspecialty expertise in heart transplantation, mechanical circulatory support, complex aortic and valvular surgery.
• Proven academic productivity with a record of extramural funding, clinical trials, or investigator-initiated research.
• Commitment to education, mentorship, diversity, and faculty development.

Academic Appointment

An academic appointment will be made at the Associate Professor or Professor level in the Department of Surgery, commensurate with experience and academic accomplishments.

Why Penn State Health

Penn State Health is a growing academic health system with a strong commitment to excellence in patient care, education, and research. The Division of Cardiac Surgery is part of the Penn State Heart and Vascular Institute, a regional leader in advanced heart failure, transplantation, and mechanical circulatory support, with expanding programs in complex aortic and valvular surgery.

The Division benefits from close collaboration with the Penn State College of Medicine and the broader Penn State University, providing access to exceptional research infrastructure and cross-disciplinary partnerships in biomedical innovation, engineering, and data science.