Always a Flyer.
The University of Dayton athletics communication department is writing feature stories on former Flyer student-athletes. If you or someone you know is an alumni and competed for a Flyer varsity team, please email formerflyers@udayton.edu with the person's name, sport played and current professional position.
Our second Flyer alum feature is on Dr. Lauren (MacCormick) Tatman, former UD women's soccer player and current trauma surgeon. Read below on her experiences as a Dayton Flyer, and how her current role is impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
NASHVILLE – Lauren (MacCormick) Tatman played four seasons for the UD women's soccer team. She majored in pre-medicine and graduated from University of Dayton in 2010.
Since graduating from UD, she's been on a 10-year journey to become an orthopaedic trauma surgeon.
She volunteered in Ghana, Africa doing medical work. She went to medical school at Ohio State, then had a residency in orthopaedic surgery at University of Minnesota, and is currently doing a fellowship in orthopaedic trauma surgery at Vanderbilt's Medical Center, listed among the top-performing orthopedics programs in the country by U.S. News & World Report. Vanderbilt University Medical Center is also ranked the No. 1 adult hospital in Tennessee. And just last year she got married to Justin Tatman.
Dr. Tatman is in her final year of training at Vanderbilt, and although she is performing urgent and emergency surgeries in her department, other areas have been affected and all elective surgeries have been postponed.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic she's taking part in extra training, in addition to having to self-quarantine when not at the hospital.
"Our work here has been pretty affected by the COVID-19 situation. We have a number of positive patients in the hospital we're treating," said Dr. Tatman. "We've really adjusted a lot of what we do day-to-day to prepare for more patients.
"We've set up extra units in the hospital for these (COVID-19) patients and are preparing for a lot more. In the interim we are trying to ration surgical supplies we use," she added. "In the orthopaedic department, we're doing some training modules on airway management and ventilator management in case we need to help colleagues in other units for patient load depending on how busy it is over the next few weeks."
Dr. Tatman attributes her success and resiliency to her time at University of Dayton.
"My time at University of Dayton had a great impact on being able to be successful in this career," said Dr. Tatman. "Over the four years I spent at Dayton, I learned a lot about myself while spending time improving on and being devoted to building a skill set and working with a team.
"During a college sport there are highs and lows. Some of the resilience is really important for everyone moving forward in most careers," she added. "What you learn when you play a sport is to develop the mental resiliency to use in your career and it has helped me in my current career."
She played in 77 games in her Flyer career, scoring 16 goals, including nine in her breakout senior season. That senior season saw UD win the 2009 Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament championship, breaking a four-year drought. Dr. Tatman's favorite soccer memory was from that season when the Flyers beat Marquette in the NCAA First Round at Baujan Field, advancing to the Second Round of the NCAA Championship.
She was a First Team Atlantic 10 selection and displayed equally impressive skills in the classroom being named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team and to the A-10 Academic All-Conference Team.
"The biggest things that stand out is how I prepare and how over the last 10 years I have trained in this area of work (trauma surgery) is not that much different than playing soccer at Dayton," she said. "It's a lot of time and energy and commitment to an individual skillset."
Dr. Tatman said that on any given day she interacts with multiple teams; anesthesiologists, nursing staff, X-ray technicians, physical therapists, occupational therapists, individuals who clean supplies and operating rooms.
"One of the most important things is being able to work with a team of individuals and that's something I learned and valued during my time at Dayton," she said. "Everyone has to work together effectively to provide the most excellent patient care."
Previous Always A Flyer Stories:
Former Flyer Isaac Kissi Helping Fight COVID-19
