GREENEVILLE – The assistant dean for research and chief of surgery at Tusculum University’s Niswonger College of Optometry recently graduated with distinction from the Harvard Medical School Surgical Leadership Program.
Dr. Adam Hickenbotham, second from left, holds his graduation certificate. He is standing with, left to right, Dr. Ajay Singh, associate dean for postgraduate medical education; Dr. Fiona Mint, Surgical Leadership Program co-director; and Dr. Sayeed Malek, Surgical Leadership Program director, all from Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Adam Hickenbotham, a founding faculty member of the Niswonger College of Optometry, was one of 130 distinguished surgeons from 25 countries, selected from a pool of more than 500 applicants, to participate in the one-year program. The certificate program is a mixture of online and on-site training and focuses on building executive skills for leadership positions.
Dr. Hickenbotham completed the postgraduate medical education program with the added distinction of being in the top 10 percent of his class. Other surgeons who were part of his class practice in fields such as neurosurgery, cardiac surgery and surgical oncology. He was the first optometric surgeon to be accepted into the program.
The course involved hundreds of hours of lectures, activities and individual and team projects. Among topics addressed were health care administration, financial management, quality control, patient safety, research and innovation, grants applications, performance management and crisis intervention. As a Harvard Medical School associate alumnus, Dr. Hickenbotham will have access to online services, continuing education programs and a vast network of fellow graduates.
Dr. Hickenbotham said the additional skills he has developed will help in his pivotal roles within the leadership of the Niswonger College of Optometry.
“We are developing an innovative new college of optometry that will prepare our students for the modern practice of optometric medicine and transform the quality of health care and eye care in the region,” he said. “The knowledge gained from Harvard Medical School in surgical leadership will be invaluable as we take the remaining steps to launch the Niswonger College of Optometry.”
Dr. Hickenbotham holds a Doctor of Optometry from the University of California, Berkeley, and a doctorate in bioengineering from a joint program of the University of California, San Francisco, and University of California, Berkeley. During his career, he has taught and conducted research at higher education institutions in California and Kentucky, founded an ophthalmic medical device company, owned and operated a private optometry clinic and overseen delivery of on-site medical care at more than 20 skilled nursing facilities.
Dr. Hickenbotham is a pioneer in ophthalmic surgery and has been awarded U.S. and international patents on surgical devices and treatments. He is managing clinical trials in several countries to develop new surgical treatments.