New faculty spotlight: Kimberly Helseth, MD

Name: Kimberly Helseth, MD

Hometown: Chicago

Current positions: Assistant professor, UNMC Division of Surgical Oncology; surgical oncologist, Nebraska Medicine

Education:

• Medical school at the University of Illinois College of Medicine
• Residency in general surgery at McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University, Northwell Health, and HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital.
• Fellowship in breast disease and surgery at Cooper University Hospital

Medical interests: 

• Benign and malignant breast conditions
• Breast conserving surgery
• Complex breast surgery
• Oncoplastic breast surgery
• Breast cancer risk assessment and risk reduction surgery 

How I fell in love with medicine and my specialty: My mother is an obstetrician and I grew up watching her build lasting relationships with her patients, which was really special. In my surgical residency, I found I really wanted to have a similar practice where I didn’t just operate on my patients but continued to work with them over a number of years. I also love the pathology and the commitment to research to decrease the mortality of breast cancer. I also really appreciate the team-based approach where I work with physicians and nurses from multiple different specialties to engineer a personalized treatment plan for each patient. Being a breast surgeon is the best job in the world!  

Professional memberships:

• American Society of Breast Surgeons
• Society of Surgical Oncology
• American College of Surgeons
• Association of Women Surgeons  

Three things people may not know about me:

• I have a sweet 1-year and 5-month-old miniature poodle puppy named Cooper who loves to play and chew on things. 
• I am the first redhead in my family for five generations.