Clark Howell

T. Clark Howell, MD, MSHS, CTHC, is a Duke general surgery resident interested in the math and science of improving healthcare systems and designing systems which form the character of clinicians. He is currently a post-doctoral research fellow within the LTA researching data science applications within healthcare operations and a clinical ethics fellow researching the character formation of surgeons in The Project on the Good Surgeon. He attended Duke Divinity School earning a Certificate in Theology and Healthcare.

Current Duke Appointments & Affiliations

House Staff Surgery, Clinical Science Departments

Recent News Items

Published December 15, 2023

What Matters Most to Surgeons-in-Training

Published December 13, 2023

Wellbeing, Culture, and Sense of Self: Redefining What it Means to be a ‘Good’ Surgeon

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Recent Scholarly Works

Sabbath as Holy, Kairos, and Counter-Formation: Jewish and Christian Reflections on Surgical Practice.

Journal article The Linacre quarterly · June 2026 Modern surgical culture often reduces time to a quantifiable metric that must be optimized, managed, and monetized. Surgeons are evaluated by operative speed, documentation efficiency, and productivity benchmarks, producing a professional identity that equ ... Full text Cite

Prognostic Implications of Codon-Specific KRAS Mutations in Localized and Advanced Stages of Pancreatic Cancer.

Journal article JCO Precis Oncol · February 2026 PURPOSE: Although KRAS mutations represent the primary oncogenic driver in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the association between codon-specific alterations and patient outcomes remains poorly elucidated, largely because of a lack of data sets co ... Full text Link to item Cite

Does Character Matter in Surgical Education and Can You Teach It?

Journal article Current Surgery Reports · December 1, 2025 Purpose of Review: Character is central to surgical ethics and the practice of surgery. However, surgical ethics, like medical ethics, primarily applies a principle-based ethical approach to help with complex decision-making. Principles focus on the right ... Full text Cite

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External Links

Google Scholar Profile