ACGME Honors Graduate Medical Education Community with Annual Awards

March 8, 2019

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) this week presented awards to 29 recipients at its Annual Educational Conference, recognizing noteworthy achievements from a wide range of talented graduate medical education professionals.

“The ACGME is honored to recognize this group of outstanding individuals and institutions for their contributions to the medical community. Their passionate commitment to advancing health care through education has brought about significant and tangible improvements in graduate medical education, and in turn, to health care in our society,” said Thomas J. Nasca, MD, MACP, president and chief executive officer, ACGME.

The John C. Gienapp Distinguished Service Award was established in 1999 in recognition of John C. Gienapp, PhD who served as Executive Director of the ACGME for 19 years. The award honors individuals who have dedicated themselves to graduate medical education (GME) and have made outstanding contributions to the enhancement of residency education and ACGME accreditation activities.

This year’s award was presented to:

Carol Ann Bernstein, MD
Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology
New York University School of Medicine/NYU Langone Health
New York, New York

Dr. Bernstein received her medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1980. Following an internship in internal medicine at St. Luke's/Roosevelt Medical Center, she completed her psychiatric residency training at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute.

Dr. Bernstein is Board Certified in Psychiatry from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. She has distinguished herself in her field and in graduate medical education through many academic and professional appointments, awards, and positions on national and regional committees.

Dr. Bernstein is currently Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at the NYU School of Medicine. She was previously Vice Chair for Education and Director of Residency Training in Psychiatry for nearly 25 years. From 2001-2011, Dr. Bernstein also served as the Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education and the Designated Institutional Official for ACGME-accredited training programs at NYU. She is a Past-President of the American Psychiatric Association and served the Association as Vice-President, Treasurer and Trustee-at-Large and as the chair of multiple committees. From 2010-2016, Dr. Bernstein served on the Board of Directors of the ACGME where she also co-chaired the ACGME Task Force on Physician Well Being

The Parker J. Palmer Courage to Lead Award is for designated institutional officials who have demonstrated strong leadership and astute resource management and have encouraged innovation and improvement in residency programs and their Sponsoring Institutions. The recipients of this year’s Courage to Lead Award are:

Ronald G. Amedee, MD; Ochsner Health System; New Orleans, Louisiana

Nedd I. Brown, EdD; University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine; Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Elias I. Traboulsi, MD; Cleveland Clinic; Cleveland, Ohio

The Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award is given to program directors who have fostered innovation and improvement in their residency programs and served as exemplary role models for residents. The recipients of this year’s Courage to Teach Award are:

David Della-Giustina, MD, FACEP; Yale University; New Haven, Connecticut (Program Director for Emergency Medicine)

Sima Desai, MD; Oregon Health & Science University; Portland, Oregon (Program Director for Internal Medicine)

Douglas Fredrick, MD; Stanford Health Care; Palo Alto, California (Program Director for Ophthalmology)

Lyell K. Jones Jr., MD; Mayo Clinic; Rochester, Minnesota (Program Director for Neurology)

Sandra A. Moutsios, MD; Vanderbilt University Medical Center; Nashville, Tennessee (Program Director for Internal Medicine and Pediatrics)
Brett W. Robbins, MD; University of Rochester; Rochester, New York (Program Director for Internal Medicine and Pediatrics)

Bradford G. Scott, MD; Baylor College of Medicine; Houston, Texas (Program Director for Surgery)

Douglas S. Smink, MD, MPH; Brigham and Women's Hospital; Boston, Massachusetts (Program Director for Surgery)

Cindy Wigg, MD; University of Texas Medical Branch; Galveston, Texas (Program Director for Psychiatry)

 

The David C. Leach Award recognizes residents and fellows who have fostered innovation and improvement in their residency programs, advanced humanism in medicine, and increased efficiency and emphasis on educational outcomes. The recipients of this year’s David C. Leach Award are:

Eric J. Chow, MD, MS, MPH; Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital; Providence, Rhode Island (Internal Medicine and Pediatrics)

Sarah Hogan, MD, MHS; Cleveland Clinic; Cleveland, Ohio (Dermatology)

Shawna R. Kleban, MD; University of Nevada Las Vegas School of Medicine; Las Vegas, Nevada (Plastic Surgery)

Jason Lai MD; University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics; Madison, Wisconsin (Emergency Medicine)

Debraj Mukherjee MD, MPH; Cedars Sinai Medical Center; Los Angeles, California (Neurological Surgery)

Laura C. Page, MD; Duke University Medical Center; Durham, North Carolina (Pediatric Endocrinology)


The GME Institutional Coordinator Award recognizes an institutional coordinator that demonstrates in-depth knowledge of graduate medical education and the process for internal review. This person skillfully manages the multiple roles of administrator, counselor, enforcer, coordinator, organizer, and scheduler. The recipient of this year’s GME Institutional Coordinator Award is:

Sharon Wilson, MS
Beaumont Hospital
Royal Oak, Michigan

The GME Program Coordinator Excellence Award is given to program coordinators in recognition of their in-depth understanding of the accreditation process, excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and projects to improve residency programs. The recipients of this year’s GME Program Coordinator Excellence Award are:

Jennifer Cardone, C-TAGME; Columbia University Medical Center; New York, New York (Anesthesiology)

Kelli A. Corning; University of Washington; Seattle, Washington (Internal Medicine)

Martina DiNapoli Dahill; Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Boston, Massachusetts (Obstetrics and Gynecology)
Diane Kovacev; Harvard Medical School; Boston, Massachusetts (Dermatology)

Amy Mills, C-TAGME; University of Rochester Medical Center; Rochester, New York (Surgery)

 

Joint Awards

The DeWitt C. Baldwin Jr. Award, in its third year, is presented to Sponsoring Institutions by the ACGME and the Arnold P. Gold Foundation to recognize institutions with accredited residency/fellowship programs that are exemplary in fostering a respectful, supportive environment for medical education and the delivery of patient care, which leads to the personal and professional development of learners.

The recipients of this year’s DeWitt C. Baldwin Jr. Award are:

Henry Ford Hospital
Detroit, Michigan

University of Massachusetts Medical School
Worcester, Massachusetts

Middlesex Hospital
Middletown, Connecticut

The Jeremiah A. Barondess Fellowship in the Clinical Transaction, presented in partnership with the New York Academy of Medicine, invites junior faculty in internal medicine to develop innovative programs that enhance this fundamental element of clinical care through educational innovation.

This year’s recipient is:

Chelsea Hook Chang, MD
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine

The ACGME is currently accepting nominations for the 2020 Awards through March 29, 2019. The ACGME Board of Directors Awards Committee selects awardees. Learn more on our website. Joint awards are selected separately.