Joan Venes facts for kids

Joan Venes was a very important doctor who specialized in brain and nervous system surgery, called a neurosurgeon. She played a big role in making sure children could get the best care for their brains and nervous systems. She helped create and improve the field of pediatric neurosurgery, which focuses on young patients.

Early Life and Childhood

Joan Venes was born on June 27, 1935. She grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Queens, New York. Joan was a first-generation American, meaning her parents were immigrants. She was also the very first person from her neighborhood to go to college, which was a huge achievement!

Becoming a Doctor: Joan's Education

Joan Venes first earned a degree in nursing in 1956. This gave her a great start in understanding patient care. Just two years later, she decided to study more courses so she could go to medical school.

In 1966, Joan graduated with high honors from the State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center. After medical school, she completed a special training period called a surgical internship at Yale-New Haven Hospital. This was followed by a year of residency at Long Island Jewish Hospital. A residency is like an advanced training program for doctors. The next year, she worked as a fellow in a neurosurgical lab at Yale University, learning even more about brain surgery.

Joan's Amazing Career in Medicine

Joan Venes joined the neurosurgery team at Yale, where she worked until 1978. After that, she moved to Dallas to work in a private medical practice.

In 1973, she received a special award called a van Wagenen fellowship. This allowed her to visit different medical centers. She spent her time learning about how to manage pressure inside the brain and how to monitor it. This experience greatly influenced her early research as a doctor.

Helping Children's Brains

Even while working in private practice, Joan was very interested in developing pediatric neurosurgery as a special field. This area of medicine focuses only on brain and nervous system problems in children. She was a founding member and secretary of the American Society of Pediatric Neurosurgery (ASPEN).

In 1981, she became the leader of the pediatric section of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. She also led a special group that focused on the best ways to treat problems children are born with. In 1983, she chaired another committee that worked on special certifications for pediatric neurosurgery. This helped ensure that doctors who treated children's brains had specific training.

Research and Leadership

Joan Venes was awarded a Pew Doctoral fellowship, which allowed her to study for another advanced degree in Health Policy. During this time, she reduced her private practice work to focus on her studies.

In 1990, she became a professor of neurosurgery at the University of Michigan. In the same year, Joan also became a Robert Wood Johnson Fellow in Health Policy. She completed this fellowship by working on developing medical guidelines at a research agency.

Breaking Barriers

At Yale, Joan Venes was the very first woman to be a neurosurgery resident. This was a big step for women in medicine! In 1974, she became only the third woman to be certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgeons. This certification shows that a neurosurgeon has met very high standards. Joan was a role model for many women who wanted to become doctors. She was also a founding member of the American Society of Pediatric Neurosurgeons.

Joan Venes's research covered many important topics. She studied how to prevent infections in brain shunts (tubes used to drain fluid), brain pressure, and conditions like Reyes' syndrome, tethered cord, and Chiari malformations. She wrote many articles and book chapters and gave presentations at conferences about these important medical issues.