Dr. Mark Berry, Associate Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery, received the 2017 Denise O’ Leary Award for Clinical Excellence on September 19, 2017. This award was started eight years ago as a lasting tribute to Denise’s commitment to excellence at Stanford Hospital. This award is considered the highest honor for physicians conducting patient care at Stanford Hospital. Shown on the right are photographs from the recent SHC Board of Directors Meeting, during which John Levin, Board Chair, presented Dr. Berry with the O’Leary Award. Mark was accompanied by his wife Yuet.

Dr. Berry joined Stanford in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Division of Thoracic Surgery, in August 2014. Since arriving at Stanford Dr. Berry has shown nonstop dedication to exceptional patient care and has served as a terrific mentor to our cardiothoracic residents.

Dr. Berry has made lasting impressions as a mentor with our former and current residents. One resident commented, “Dr. Berry is a wonderful teaching attending and clinician. He speaks to patients with respect and works diligently to communicate well with the residents and the rest of his team. He extends himself beyond his duties to make sure that everything gets done and that all issues are taken care of. He ensures that the residents are included in medical decision making. His contributions to case conference demonstrate his facility with the literature. He was a pleasure to work with and I have marked him as a role model for how I want to be as a future clinician.”  

Another resident commented, “Dr. Berry was a great mentor during my thoracic rotation. I could always count on being able to discuss patients and cases with him. Dr. Berry was always very approachable and friendly to residents and the team. He allowed me to have a good deal of autonomy in the OR while making sure to fine-tune my techniques. The instant feedback in the OR was extremely valuable. For the floor patients, Dr. Berry showed great empathy was always well liked by his patients and their families. He contributed to a wonderful and down-to-earth team dynamic, which made this rotation such a delight. Overall, a great role model!”

These comments are a testament to the hard work and dedication Dr. Berry exemplifies when working with our residents and in patient care.

Past recipients of this award include: George Fisher, Medical Oncology; John Ratliff, Neurosurgery; Glenn Chertow, Nephrology; Paul Maggio, Trauma; SV Mahadevan, Emergency Medicine; Ed Damrose, ENT; Ann Weinacker, Department of Medicine;  Norm Rizk, Chief Medical Officer .