JPS Health Network Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery residents Dr. Jason Burkes and Dr. Daniel Hammer have a lot in common besides their medical specialty.
Both are lieutenant commanders in the U.S. Navy who served their country overseas, for one thing. For another, they both consider their residency at JPS to be a major component in making their career dreams come true.
Burkes, a Florida native, technically wrapped up his time at the health network July 1, the same date Hammer’s residency began. But Burkes decided to extend his JPS tour of duty for another month to help show the new crew some of the things he’s learned during his time in Fort Worth. In September, Burkes will report to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
“The experience was incredible,” Burkes said of his time at JPS. “I knew this was a great place to focus on what I wanted to do, and it’s helped me to get my career goals to fall into line.”
It’s an honor to be able to work at Walter Reed, one of three major Navy medical training centers and a place where thousands of active duty military members and their families, veterans and U.S. government leaders in Washington D.C. go for medical care, Burkes said. That’s the final step in his education – and the place he wants to stay long term, performing facial reconstruction surgeries.
While Burkes has always been a part of the “green” Navy – meaning that he has worked at land-based hospitals, Hammer is ready to spend some time on firm ground after a stint on the “blue” side of the Navy, working as an oral surgeon on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.
Hammer, who is from Wisconsin, said it is both interesting and challenging to perform operations and procedures on a moving ship.
“You’d think on something as big as an aircraft carrier that you wouldn’t feel it rocking back and forth, but you do,” Hammer said. He added that turns can be particularly troublesome while trying to operate. If shipboard doctors have to perform a serious surgery, they have to request that the ship’s commanding officer adjust navigation plans to keep the vessel sailing in a straight line until the operation is complete.
Hammer said he is eager to focus on his surgical skills on dry land and that JPS was his first choice because it’s the perfect place to prepare himself for his career – even though his plans are much different than what Burkes has in mind. When he’s finished, Hammer hopes to become the director of a hybrid oral surgery practice patterned on the services JPS provides including offering all types of oral and facial surgery as well as trauma care.
“There’s no doubt the training I will receive here is above and beyond what I will get anywhere else,” Hammer said. “I’m excited to be here. For me, this is something that was three years in the making and I want to soak it all in. When you’re performing facial surgery, you can’t hide the results. You have to shoot for perfection every time. So, I want to learn from the best.”