ACGME Recognizes 2024 Graduate Medical Education Community Awardees

The ACGME is delighted to announce the recipients of the 2024 ACGME Awards, shining a spotlight on their remarkable commitment, innovation, and valuable contributions to the graduate medical education (GME) community. These deserving winners will be honored during the 2024 ACGME Annual Educational Conference, which is scheduled for March 7-9, 2024, in Orlando, Florida.

“I am proud to extend my congratulations to each of the extraordinary ACGME Award recipients for your exceptional achievements in advancing graduate medical education. Your dedication and contributions to the field have not gone unnoticed, and we are honored to recognize your outstanding work. Your accomplishments have not only improved graduate medical education but also set a shining example for future generations of medical professionals,” said ACGME President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas J. Nasca, MD, MACP. 

John C. Gienapp Distinguished Service Award 
Honoring individuals who have dedicated their careers to GME and made outstanding contributions to the enhancement of residency and fellowship education and ACGME accreditation activities, the John C. Gienapp Distinguished Service Award is presented to Linda Ruben Archer, PhD of Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS). Dr. Archer is recognized for her contributions to the enhancement of resident and fellow education and training over 40 years at EVMS where she now serves as Vice-Dean for Graduate Medical Education and Designated Institutional Official. At EVMS, Dr. Archer has developed several educational programs including a Well-being Coaching Program; GME Diversity and Inclusion Subcommittee; standardization and transformation of the ACGME accreditation processes, and much more. Dr. Archer completed her PhD program at Florida State University and has received several honors including being recognized as an EVMS Wonder Woman in 2018. She served as an ACGME CLER Field Representative from 2015-2018. In 2008, she received the ACGME Parker J. Palmer Courage to Lead Award. 

Barbara Ross-Lee, DO Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award  
The Barbara Ross-Lee, DO Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award honors ACGME-accredited Sponsoring Institutions and programs, as well as specialty organizations working to diversify the underrepresented physician workforce and create inclusive workplaces that foster humane, civil, and equitable environments. The 2024 recipients are:  

• American Board of Emergency Medicine (Specialty Organization)
• Baylor College of Medicine, Henry JN Taub Department of Emergency Medicine, Emergency Medicine Residency (Program)
• Indiana University School of Medicine (Sponsoring Institution)
• University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine (Sponsoring Institution)

David C. Leach Award   
The David C. Leach Award recognizes residents and fellows who have fostered innovation and improvement in their programs, advanced humanism in medicine, and increased efficiency and emphasis on educational outcomes. The 2024 recipient is: 

• Jaymin Bakul Patel, MD; Mercy Health - St. Rita's Medical Center; Lima, Ohio; Internal Medicine
  Team Members: Sean Masi, DO; Jaya Chandra, MD; Michael Rush, PharmD; Joseph J. Sreenan, MD; Eric S. Kirschner, MD

Debra L. Dooley GME Program Coordinator Excellence Award  
The Debra L. Dooley 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 and fellowship programs. The 2024 recipients are:  

• Maria C. DeOliveira, EdD; Brigham and Women's Hospital; Boston, Massachusetts; Internal Medicine
• Graceann Endicott; Cooper University Health Care/Cooper Medical School of Rowan University; Camden, New Jersey; Emergency Medicine
• Kristen Estrada, C-TAGME; University of Kansas Medical Center; Kansas City, Kansas; Family Medicine
• Victoria (Vicky) Lee Norton, C-TAGME; University of Maryland, Department of Orthopaedics; Baltimore, Maryland; Orthopaedic Surgery
• Kino Williams, MS, PHR, CPHQ, C-TAGME; SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University; Brooklyn, New York; Radiation Oncology

GME Institutional Coordinator Excellence Award  
The GME Institutional Coordinator Excellence Award recognizes institutional coordinators who demonstrate in-depth knowledge of GME and the process for internal review. These people skillfully manage the multiple roles of administrator, counselor, enforcer, coordinator, organizer, and scheduler. The 2024 recipients are:  

• Donna C. Guidroz, C-TAGME; Ochsner Clinic Foundation; New Orleans, Louisiana
• Krista Lombardo-Klefos, MBA; Cleveland Clinic; Cleveland, Ohio
• Essie Silva; San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services; San Mateo, California

Lewis Blackman Patient Safety Award
Being awarded for the first time this year, the Lewis Blackman Patient Safety Award recognizes residents and fellows who have worked to implement strategies to improve the understanding of and show demonstrable improvement in patient safety in their Sponsoring Institution or residency/fellowship program. The inaugural recipients are:

• Leslie Chang, MD; Johns Hopkins University; Baltimore, Maryland; Radiation Oncology
• Elaine M. Griffeth, MD; Mayo Clinic; Rochester, Minnesota; Surgery

Parker J. Palmer Courage to Lead Award   
The Parker J. Palmer Courage to Lead Award honors designated institutional officials who have demonstrated strong leadership and astute resource management and encouraged innovation and improvement in residency and fellowship programs and their Sponsoring Institutions. The 2024 recipients are:

• Gregory K. Unruh, MD; Kansas University Medical Center; Kansas City, Kansas
• Manuel C. Vallejo, MD, DMD; West Virginia University; Morgantown, West Virginia; Anesthesiology
• John B. Waits, MD, CPE, FAAFP; Cahaba Medical Care; Centreville, Alabama

Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award   
The Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award recognizes program directors who have fostered innovation and improvement in their residency/fellowship programs and served as exemplary role models for residents and fellows. The 2024 recipients are:

• Odaliz E. Abreu Lanfranco, MD; Henry Ford Health; Detroit, Michigan; Internal Medicine
• John W. Engstrom, MD; University of California, San Francisco; San Francisco, California; Neurology
• Patricia M. Franz, MD; Beaumont Health, Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak; Royal Oak, Michigan; Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Alfred Thomas Frontera, Jr., MD; University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine; Tampa, Florida; Neurology
• Eric Hsieh, MD, FACP; USC/Los Angeles General Medical Center; Los Angeles, California; Internal Medicine
• Michael A. Malone, MD, FAAFP; Tidelands Health with MUSC Health; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Family Medicine
• Laura Minikel, MD, FACOG; Kaiser Permanente - Oakland; Oakland, California; Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Jennifer K. O'Toole, MD, MEd; University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center; Cincinnati, Ohio; Internal Medicine and Pediatrics
• Lindsay K. Sonstein, MD, FACP; University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; Galveston, Texas; Internal Medicine
• Gopala Krishna Yadavalli, MD, FACP; Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine; Boston, Massachusetts; Internal Medicine

ACGME Awards honor the best in GME. The ACGME Blog will feature interviews and more information about this year’s exceptional awardees in the coming months leading up to the Annual Educational Conference. 
 
The nomination period for the 2025 ACGME Awards will open in January 2024. Learn more about the ACGME Awards program on the ACGME website.