This interview is one in a series of interviews with recipients of the 2024 ACGME Awards. The awardees join an outstanding group of previous honorees whose work and contributions to graduate medical education (GME) represent the best in the field. They will be honored at the ACGME Annual Educational Conference, taking place March 7-9, 2024, in Orlando, Florida.
2024 Courage to Teach Awardee Dr. Gopal Yadavalli is an internal medicine and infectious diseases physician at Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine and vice chair for Education in the Department of Medicine at Boston Medical Center.
ACGME: How did you become involved in medicine, and in academic medicine specifically?
Dr. Yadavalli: I went into medicine inspired by the thought of alleviating suffering I saw on India trips as a child. This ultimately led to an interest in infectious diseases, several years doing global health, and then working in New England’s largest safety net hospital. I have always been interested in teaching since as far back as middle school. My year as a chief resident really made me realize that academic medicine is where I am meant to be. I spent some years doing research, but it is education and, especially, mentoring of residents and early career faculty members, that makes me feel the most fulfilled.
ACGME: What does this award mean to you?
Yadavalli: I cannot describe what an honor it is. I know some prior recipients of this award and hold them in the absolute highest regard. It means so much that someone thought I could be part of that group. Hopefully, it reflects a positive impact on residents’ careers.
ACGME: What do you feel is the most important job the program director has?
Yadavalli: Recruiting. The people you bring in, whether it be residents, staff members, or faculty members, are the most important determinants of the quality of your program. They set the tone and bring the best ideas. Everything else flows from that.
ACGME: What is the most rewarding part of your job?
Yadavalli: Working with chief residents. In our program, it is an extra year for them after residency. You get to work with the best of the best. I have learned so much more from my chiefs over the years than I have taught them—about medicine, education, leadership, and life.
ACGME: What is the most challenging?
Yadavalli: Fighting the fight to balance service and education.
ACGME: What advice do you have to residents or fellows who may be interested in pursuing a career in academic medicine?
Yadavalli: Take opportunities during your training to develop curricula or get involved in research. Seek out mentors who are doing the thing you want to do. When you do this, make sure to look beyond your department, since the person best suited to mentor you may not necessarily be doing what you will be doing clinically. Expect to fail more than once (I got several grants rejected before getting others funded) and learn as much as you can from those failures. Keep yourself close to your learners and get to know them as humans and not just residents.
Learn more about the ACGME’s Courage to Teach Award and nominate a deserving program director for the 2025 Award – nominations are due by March 27, 2024.