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Behind every successful surgery is a team that studies, communicates, and prepares for the unexpected. The Carter-Altman Institute makes that essential practice part of patient care.
If you or a family member is having surgery, you want to have the best prepared team. You want them to be led by a confident surgeon, to use vetted technologies, and communicate with precision. In surgery, practice isn’t only about working towards procedural perfection. It’s about preparation, learning, and improving before a patient needs those skills.
Leading surgical care depends upon much more than one physician’s hands. Every operation relies on a coordinated, practiced team making important decisions before, during, and after surgery.
Before a rare emergency ever happens in the operating room, a surgical team can practice how to respond. To include new technology in patient care, clinicians can test how it works, where it helps, and how to use it safely. That kind of preparation can make a meaningful difference in the operating room.
Behind the scenes, building an excellent surgical system requires investment in people, research, and training. Thanks to a $10 million gift from actress and philanthropist Lynda Carter, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital has launched The Carter-Altman Institute. By combining state-of-the-art simulation, education, and research expertise from MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and MedStar Health Research Institute, the Carter-Altman Institute helps surgical teams continuously improve patient care.
Our goal isn’t just to train excellent surgeons. At the Carter-Altman Institute, we study the systems in which people work – and work to redesign the system to make it easier for clinicians to do the right thing. What makes the Carter-Altman Institute different is that we don’t stop at training. Rather than focusing on buildings and equipment, the Institute exists to strengthen the training and foundations that allow your surgical team to rehearse what to do before you need them to do it. Its work helps care teams train, communicate, and innovate so you receive safer, more coordinated care.
Here are five ways this behind-the-scenes work improves care for you and your family:
1. Your team can practice complex procedures in simulation labs.
Great surgery requires precision, but mastery isn’t a one-time achievement. Training doesn’t end when medical school or residency is over: The best surgeons and surgical teams continuously practice throughout their careers.
Through the Institute, MedStar Health care teams use state-of-the-art simulation environments to rehearse complex techniques, rare complications, and high-risk scenarios.
Just as commercial airline pilots train in flight simulators before flying passengers, the Institute provides clinicians a practice space to build confidence. So when challenges arise in the operating room, your team has already worked through them together in realistic practice sessions.
Related: Read “How Robotic-assisted Stomach and Esophageal Cancer Surgery Can Improve Recovery.”
2. Teamwork, communication, and compassion are clinical skills.
Being an expert with a scalpel is essential, but surgery is really a team sport. Nurses, anesthesiologists, surgeons, and technicians must operate by staying aware of every detail, with clear communication, and mutual trust under pressure.
The Carter-Altman Institute trains teams in these “hidden curriculum” skills that aren’t often emphasized in traditional medical school. That’s because communication, coordination, and speaking up under pressure when something doesn’t look right helps keep patients safe.
Clinicians practice speaking up quickly, confirming surgical plans before the procedure begins, and conducting clear shift handoffs so critical details about your health are passed along with precision.
When clear communication and compassion are practiced as clinical skills, you can feel informed, supported, and safe.
Related: Read “Research Shows Words Matter to Patient Outcomes in Maternal Health.”
3. Research helps teams know what actually improves care.
Most people never see the research happening behind hospital doors, but patients can benefit from what research reveals. Rather than assuming a training method works, Institute researchers with expertise in human factors study how surgical teams learn, communicate, and perform so training can be improved based upon evidence.
By studying topics such as communication during emergencies, the safest ways to introduce new technologies like robotic surgery, and the factors that influence complications and recovery, we can identify what helps patients achieve the best possible outcomes. Your care isn’t based just on what we think works – it’s based on what we’ve learned and continuously improved.
4. New technologies are rigorously vetted for safety.
Robotic-assisted surgery, artificial intelligence, and advanced imaging are changing surgical care. But for patients, the most important question isn’t whether tech is new; it’s whether the care team knows when, why, and how to use it safely.
The Institute is designed to help translate research and training into practices intended to make surgical care safer. Instead of adopting new tools just because they’re new, researchers and clinicians test whether an innovation truly improves safety, precision, and outcomes for patients.
The goal is to use a simulated environment to make sure new technology supports safer, more precise care before it reaches patients.
5. Your voice and experience guide care delivery.
Surgical care begins long before you enter the operating room, and recovery continues long after you leave the hospital. By closely partnering with patients, families, and community organizations, the Institute helps care teams understand what people need before surgery, during recovery, and at home.
This work helps care teams better understand your priorities, support your family, deliver clear education before surgery, and address practical barriers to recovery, such as transportation, housing, and home support. Knowing more about your life and recovery needs outside the hospital helps us prevent you from landing back in the hospital after a procedure.
When patients and families help shape care, surgical teams can better prepare for the real challenges people face before and after surgery.
Related: Read “Research Explores AI-powered App to Help Homebound Patients Access Social Support.”
Building safer systems for every patient.
When you or a loved one needs surgery, you should be able to trust that your care team has practiced, prepared, and learned from the best available evidence.
Supported by Lynda Carter’s gift, the Carter-Altman Institute is a long-term commitment to surgical education, innovation, and patient safety. The gift, which she made in honor of her late husband, reflects a shared belief that preparing future surgical teams is one of the most important investments we can make in patient care.
By supporting every clinician at your bedside with research, continuous training, and effective teamwork, the Institute helps patients receive safer, more compassionate care when it matters most.
Note: Yewande Alimi, MD, Mani Nathan Nair, MD, Ann Elizabeth Hwalek, DO MS, Alberta Tran, PhD, RN, CCRN, Dhiraj Ramesh Jagasia, MD, Erin C. Hall, MD, MPH, and Rim Abboud contributed to this article.
