For four decades, Janice Bynum has been a unique and impactful presence in the operating rooms of Pennsylvania Hospital. As an OR nurse and surgical first assistant, she has provided exemplary care to thousands of neurosurgery patients and exerted a powerful influence on hundreds of surgical technicians, nurses, residents, fellows, and attending surgeons. She has worked side by side with distinguished chairs of neurosurgery at Pennsylvania Hospital, the late Dr. Frederick Simeone and current chair Dr. William Welch, and made immense contributions to clinical care and to the development of a patient-centered neurosurgery service. Her technical excellence, tireless work ethic, attention to detail, caring nature, and fundamental kindness are noteworthy and should be emulated.
In appreciation of Janice and her decades of service at Penn Medicine as a teacher and role model, the Department of Neurosurgery has proudly established the Janice Bynum Education Fund to support an annual visiting professor lecture. This lecture will feature a neurosurgeon who excels as an educator, a reflection of the importance that Janice places on teaching in the operating room.