Alicia J. Mangram, MD, FACS
Founder, The Compassionate Gift Program A Movement Born in the Trenches

The Compassionate Gift was created to address a problem medicine has ignored for far too long:
the cost of silence in high-acuity care.“We are trained to be invincible, but we are not built to be isolated.
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My mission is "to change the culture of medicine from one of quiet survival to one of intentional, spiritual, and emotional durability.”
— Dr. Alicia

The Founder

‍Dr. Alicia Mangram is a nationally respected trauma surgeon, educator, and healthcare leader whose career has been defined by service in medicine’s most critical moments. She serves as Senior Medical Director of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery and General Surgery Residency Program Director in Arizona.

Her leadership and influence extend to the highest levels of the profession, including:
- Author, CDC Guidelines for the Prevention of Surgical Site Infections
- Past President, Arizona Trauma Association
- Board of Directors, American Red Cross
- General Surgery Advisory Board, American College of Surgeons 
- Founder, G60Trauma.org, a national leader in geriatric trauma outcomes
- Chair, ACS TQIP Geriatric Trauma Guidelines Committee 

‍Despite these accomplishments, it is the human cost of caring that has most profoundly shaped Dr. Mangram’s work.

Years on the front lines revealed a truth rarely addressed in medicine:
healing does not end at the operating room door.

‍Those who work in the trenches, surgeons, physicians, residents, APPs, and medical students carry emotional, moral, and spiritual burdens that are rarely acknowledged, processed, or supported. Complications, death, daily suffering, and impossible expectations are endured quietly, often at the expense of clarity, connection, and personal well-being.

Standard “wellness” initiatives were never designed to address the unique injuries sustained in high-acuity medicine. In response, Dr. Mangram developed The G.E.T. Theory and founded The Compassionate Gift as a new model, one rooted in action, accountability, and culture change.

‍Core Beliefs That Guide This Work:
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- Mind Health Wellness is a professional competency, not a luxury.
- A Divine Anchor, God or one’s Higher Power is the only foundation strong enough to hold us when the system fails.
- Silence surrounding complications, grief, and sorrow is medicine’s greatest occupational hazard.
- It is possible to thrive in medicine without losing our souls.

A Commitment to the Profession

‍“The Compassionate Gift is my commitment to my peers.
This is a space where your rank is respected, your vulnerability is protected, and your professional longevity is the priority.
We are changing the culture of medicine, together.”