Profile Shea Pribyl

Growing up in a family of teachers impressed upon me the importance of education and service. Ultimately the desire to use my education to help people drove me to a career in medicine.

I always liked the gratification of fixing problems, so surgery seemed like the natural fit. I initially planned to be a trauma surgeon for the Air Force. Then, during a cardiothoracic surgery rotation early in general surgical training, I became inspired to change course. Anatomy and function come together with cardiothoracic surgery. It’s a specialty where you can watch physiology in action. It’s a marriage of hands and mind — all in the context of being able to impact people's lives in a concrete way. You see the heart beating, identify the problem and fix it, then watch the heart function better right before your eyes. It is a specialty that affords me the ability to make a priceless difference in someone’s life. I am inspired by my patients.

Another thing I like about cardiothoracic surgery is that there is hardly such a thing as a typical day. You never know what’s going to roll through the door. In general, I start early in the morning, do rounds on the floor and the ICU and ensure my patients are progressing well through their hospital course. Shortly thereafter, I start operating and in a normal day, we’ll do one to two cases. There is outpatient clinic interspersed with time in the operating room.

As a cardiothoracic surgeon, I get to surgically treat both heart (cardiac) and chest (thoracic) conditions. This involves not only cardiac valve, coronary bypass and aortic surgeries, but it also allows the opportunity to treat cancers and conditions of the chest and lungs. Because of this wide spectrum, it allows often times for collaboration of an integrated, multidisciplinary team of doctors and health care professionals to provide individualized care.

Cardiothoracic surgery is also advancing steadily. Innovations such as minimally invasive and robotic surgery, as well as new treatments for atrial fibrillation allow me to minimize downtime and maximize quality of life. And as a team, we get to say that we saved someone’s life in a day’s work. It is really incredible.

When it comes to caring for my patients, I try to put myself in their shoes. I like to treat patients like they are part of my own family. No one wants to have heart or lung surgery. It’s often unplanned and for a life-threatening condition. As a result, patients and families are understandably apprehensive and anxious. It is my responsibility to treat the whole patient, heart and mind. I appreciate when people provide their time and attention to me and I extend the same courtesy to each one of my patients. I enjoy walking the patient through the process and addressing any questions or concerns they may have. I am detail oriented and involved in every step of care.

I genuinely care about my patients’ well-being and their best interests. When we see each other, we are entering into a trusted pact to get them better — and my demeanor and care show that I do not take that privilege lightly.