Feature Story

Lisa Bernstein, MD

Lisa Bernstein Rewarded with Papageorge Distinguished
Teaching Award

Lisa Bernstein, MD, 2009 recipient of the School of Medicine’s (SOM) Papageorge Distinguished Teaching Award, planned to enter private practice after completing her medical training. During her residency at Emory, she realized that she loved to teach, and her instructors encouraged her to follow that path. Now, after 11 years on the Department of Medicine faculty, Lisa has earned multiple teaching awards and honors, including this year’s selection as the youngest faculty member and only the second woman to earn the prestigious Papageorge Award from the Emory Medical Alumni Association (EMAA).

"The recognition is wonderful, but the reality is I’m just doing what I love," she says. "I enjoy helping students develop from lay people to capable, caring physicians." Inspired by her father’s impact on residents and patients as the former chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology and OB-GYN Residency Director at Georgia Baptist Hospital (now Atlanta Medical Center), Lisa attended the University of Pennsylvania and then the Medical College of Georgia.

Bill Branch, director of the Division of General Medicine, was one of the first to appreciate and promote Bernstein’s love of teaching. "During our interview he asked me to get involved with the Clinical Methods course," she says. "I have to thank him for that. It gave me a career focus in teaching clinical skills and the opportunity to work with medical students."

After a stint as course director of Clinical Methods, she became a key player in SOM’s new "Becoming a Doctor" course block, now in its third year. She looks forward to developing the clinical curriculum for all four years of medical school.

Joyce Doyle, MD, her mentor, also urged her to stay at Emory. "Lisa demonstrates a true passion for patient care and teaching every day," says Doyle. "Her tireless enthusiasm for medicine is based on her genuine concern for the welfare of others. This altruism, combined with excellent medical knowledge and clinical skills inspires others to do their best. It is no wonder that she is loved and respected by her patients, students, and colleagues."

The Evangeline Papageorge Distinguished Teaching Award, established in 1993, recognizes excellence in medical education and honors the legacy of Evangeline Papageorge, ’29 G, and ‘37 M. It is one of the highest awards in the School of Medicine, chosen by the senior class and honoring a medical faculty member "whose intellectual luminosity has generated the greatest excitement about learning among students and colleagues." Dr. Papageorge was the first woman on the full-time medical school faculty and the first female administrator when she became SOM’s first Dean of Students.

Max White, president of the EMAA, presented the award during 2009 Commencement exercises. Quoting those students who nominated her, he proclaimed that this year’s winner is "in essence, exactly what the award stands for" and that she possesses "energy and enthusiasm that are instantly contagious." A close associate of Dr. Papageorge, White predicted that Bernstein’s work will have "a positive lifelong influence on generations of students…what you have done in your 11 years on the faculty would make [Papageorge] beam with pride. She would probably look at you and predict that the best is yet to come."

Lisa lives in Dunwoody with her architect husband, Jay Silverman, and their two young sons.

News

Ted Johnson New Director of Geriatrics

Theodore M. Johnson, II, MD

Theodore M. Johnson, II, MD has been named division director of Geriatrics, effective July 1, 2009. Ted earned his M.D. degree from Northwestern University and performed his residency training at the University of North Carolina. Following a fellowship in Geriatrics, he earned a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology, focusing on urinary incontinence. He is an expert on this topic, with more than 40 publications, and numerous invited talks.

DOM Chair Wayne Alexander praised him for his contributions to the Department. "Ted has been serving capably as interim director for the last 18 months. The Department of Medicine and the broader university have already benefited enormously from his leadership, so we are excited that he has agreed to accept this position permanently."

He added that "Ted has a strong interest in education, and he has been very involved in the Geriatric Residency program. He is recognized as a superb clinician with special expertise in extended care and rehabilitation."

Ted is excited about the possibilities of the new position. "I think this is a tremendous opportunity and a great time for geriatrics, with issues such as health care reform, rising health care costs, and coordinated care for older people. This is what geriatrics is all about, and Emory is perfectly positioned to lead in the field." He adds, "I'm interested in making sure Geriatrics research finds answers to help people age without relying on long-term care--through liveable communities and other advancements in aging."

Ted is married to Susan Johnson, and has three girls, Margaret, Bridget, and Erin Rose, who attend the Paideia School.

Look for more on Geriatrics in our next issue.

Record Class Graduates Woodruff
Leadership Academy

A record seven Fellows represented the Department of Medicine in the 2009 Woodruff Leadership Academy (WLA), the largest number from any Woodruff Health Science Center (WHSC) component. Those attending included: Val Akopov, MD; Anthony Carter, MD; Monica Farley, MD; Andy Smith, MD; James Spivey, MD; Nimalie Stone, MD; and Alan Wang, MD.

"The Woodruff Leadership Academy Class of 2009 was an outstanding group, thanks largely to the seven WLA Fellows from the Department of Medicine," says Gary Teal, dean of WLA. "It was a delight and pleasure to have this group among the 23 fellows in 2009."

WLA develops tomorrow's leaders, helping them acquire the managerial and technical expertise, as well as interpersonal, communications, and presentation skills necessary to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing health care landscape. It combines a program of classroom sessions, off-site team projects, and weekend retreats to strengthen the leadership potential of professionals and managers within the WHSC. Since its founding in 2003, it has graduated 142 fellows, 24 of these from DOM.

"The theme for the 2009 WLA was ‘Teamwork’ – and Val, Anthony, Monica, Andy, James, Nimalie, and Alan all brought a wonderful appreciation for teamwork to the class," says Teal. "These seven faculty members from the DOM were distributed among the four project teams in the WLA, and were largely responsible for very successful projects that focused on patient safety, quality, and satisfaction."

"We are extremely proud of this exemplary group of leaders," adds Wayne Alexander, Department chair. "They represent the finest among their profession, and I know that each of them will play an important role in Emory’s future."

STAFF

Melanie Lewis

Lewis Honored by Residents

Melanie Lewis, program administrator of the J. Willis Hurst Residency Program in Internal Medicine, was selected as the 2009 recipient of the Joyce P. Doyle Award. The Doyle Award, chosen by DOM chief residents, is presented "to the individual deemed to have given of themselves the most in pursuit of the betterment of the program."

Joyce Doyle was program director of the Residency Program for nine years. "Dr. Doyle was known to work tirelessly to make life better for the residents and to make the quality program superior to any other in the country," says Lewis Satterwhite, former chief resident at Grady Memorial Hospital and now a fellow in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Emory. "The award is to go to the person that helps to continue those missions. The selection process considers any person—administrators, residents, attendings, or any one else—involved in the residency program." The first award was given to Jill Questas in 2008.

Melanie has been with the program since January of 2008. She has 13 years of experience working in healthcare, including two years with the Department of Orthopaedics and six years with the U.S. Air Force. "I feel very honored and privileged to work with such an outstanding group of residents and faculty here at Emory," she says. "Even more so, I am honored to be given an award bestowed in honor of Dr. Doyle for her commitment and dedication in making the residency program what it is today."

Originally from Louisiana, Melanie and her husband Frederick have two children. Away from the office, she plays tennis and cherishes her time with her family.

Quality improvement

Developing a Culture of Quality in the Department of Medicine

The Department of Medicine has taken a leading role within Emory Healthcare this year in performance improvement. Under the leadership of Douglas Morris, MD, an interdisciplinary group of physicians, nurses, and administrators convened on December 16, 2008, at the Emory Conference Center. Nearly 80 influential leaders within DOM exchanged ideas about how to enhance our patients' experience with the Department.

Since that meeting, two major frontline quality improvement initiatives have been launched:

Outpatient Quality Improvement Initiative

The DOM Outpatient Quality Initiative provides a specific call-to-action across all sections to focus on local performance. Participating improvement teams, supplied with their clinic’s own performance data, are organized with a physician champion, nurse manager, administrative leader, clinic ambassador, and quality coach. With a focus in 2009 on Patient Satisfaction, each improvement team is charged with reaching specific performance goals. With a total of 23 clinics engaged in this initiative, DOM is looking forward to recognizing those who help the Department reach its goals.

Inpatient Quality Improvement Initiative

The first wave of the DOM’s Inpatient Quality Initiative was launched at Emory University Hospital and Wesley Woods Hospital on May 18, 2009, as a significant organizational pilot. For hospital nursing units with significant DOM presence, a "Care Transformation Partnership," or CTP, has been formed. Defined as a formal partnership among nurse unit leaders and physicians with daily patient care on the unit, the CTPs now share responsibility for nurturing a culture of quality, safety, and results-oriented performance. While integrating inputs of every member of the unit’s frontline, the CTPs will also meet regularly with the Chief Nursing Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Quality Officer, DOM leadership, and the Office of Care Transformation to ensure that the unit has the resources it needs to perform on behalf of its patients.

Look to future issues of Inside Internal Medicine for stories and updates from the Quality Improvement Initiative.

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FACULTY

The Silver Pear

Medicine and Mentoring

As in most walks of life, mentoring is critically important in academic medicine. The official re-launch of the Department of Medicine Mentoring Program, held March 24, 2009, was designed to remind faculty how significant mentoring  relationships can be for both the mentor and the mentee. Leadership from across the university, among them President James Wagner, SOM Executive Associate Dean Claudia Adkison, and DOM Chair Wayne Alexander, came together in the lobby of the School of Medicine to reinforce their message. They expressed their views on mentorship and the many mentoring resources available on the Emory campus.

"Mentoring is the most important thing we can do for our early career faculty," says Kathy Griendling, vice chair for Faculty Development. "Many studies have shown the benefits of mentoring, in terms of productivity, faculty satisfaction, and retention. Plus, being a mentor is fulfilling," she adds. "The DOM leadership is very supportive of mentoring and values the efforts of our mentors. I’m hopeful that the program will expand even more."

Faculty Development requirements mandate that all assistant professors with seven years or less of service must have at least one identified mentor. Each division has a mentoring facilitator, who works with the division director to identify potential mentors. The facilitator then assists the early career faculty in identifying an appropriate mentor. The goal is to create a mentoring pair with common interests – whether it be research, teaching, administrative or other core areas of academic medicine.

Some divisions, depending on size and scope, may utilize peer mentoring groups, with a senior faculty member leading the group. Those participating in the program are required to meet at least once a year to review the mentee’s CV. Each pair is encouraged to sign an agreement that provides expectations for the relationship, as well as topics that will be addressed in mentoring sessions.

Monica Farley, MD, Infectious Diseases, and Juliet Mavromatis, MD, General Medicine, co-chaired the Mentoring Subcommittee of the Faculty Development Committee. (Adnana Ioachimescu has since taken over from Mavromatis.) They, along with subcommittee members representing the divisions, defined the new mentoring program requirements as well as additional mentoring tools. The program was designed around the following framework: enhance the probability of academic success, faculty satisfaction, retention, and promotion of junior faculty members.

When Juliet joined the faculty 12 years ago, "I quickly became so busy clinically that I overlooked the importance of immediately seeking out a mentor," she remembers. "At the time there was no program in place to encourage or require this. Over the years I have had several important mentors, and I realized that the success of the relationship is dependent on both the mentor and mentee’s persistence."

"Academic medicine is a complex environment in which to negotiate and many junior faculty members find it overwhelming," Monica adds. "We see good mentoring relationships as key ingredients for career success and satisfaction. In its best form, mentoring is give-and-take in both directions. We are excited with the support we are receiving for our efforts to enhance the mentoring opportunities in the department and are hoping for measurable, long-term benefits for our faculty."

In future issues, this publication will explore the dynamics of mentoring relationships within the Department of Medicine.

Need more information on mentoring? Click here

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DOM-IT

DOM-IT staffers Mubarak Pasha, manager Meggan Levitt, Kevin Braun, and Eric Harris

DOM IT is Now In-house

By now, everyone should be familiar with the in-house IT team, let by IT manager Meggan Levitt and her team of desktop consultants. The decision to bring IT in house was made with a goal of better servicing the entire Department.

• Kevin Braun joined DOM after working with Digital Link. He is responsible for serving Endocrinology, General Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Rheumatology, and the DOM administration in the EUH suite.
• Eric Harris comes to the department from Purdue University. His service areas include Cardiology, the Women’s Health Initiative, and the Lowance Center for Immunology.
• Mubarak Pasha most recently worked at Georgia State University. Among his responsibilities are Digestive Diseases, Geriatrics, Pulmonary, Renal, and DOM administration.

How to Request Technical Support for DOM-IT
By Email (Preferred Method)         
Email: domhelpdesk@emory.edu

By Phone
During Business Hours: DOM-IT Phone 404-712-1443
24/7: After hours limited support is available via the University's Helpdesk at 404-727-7777

aCColades

DOM Awards and Honors

Congratulations to:

The 2009 Faculty Award Winners

The 2009 Staff Award Winners

General Medicine’s Daniel D. Dressler, MD has been elected to the 12-member Board of Directors of the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM). He began serving his three-year term in May. SHM, with membership of nearly 10,000, is the primary professional organization representing the 28,000 practicing hospitalists in the United States. The organization is committed to enhancing the practice of hospital medicine by promoting education, research and advocacy. Dan was one of the five original developers and editors of the Core Competencies in Hospital Medicine, published in 2006, that helped define the field of Hospital Medicine.

Endocrinology’s Guillermo E. Umpierrez, MD, is the 2009 recipient of the "Outstanding Service Award for the Promotion of Endocrine Health of an Underserved Population" by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE). This award is given to an individual for exceptional contributions to the care, health and service to an underserved population via leadership, long-term commitment, vision, innovation and impact/outcomes.