The Arnold P. Gold Foundation is delighted to announce the 2019 Gold Humanism Scholars at the Harvard Macy Institute Program for Educators:
- Dimitrios Papanagnou, MD of Thomas Jefferson University, whose project focuses on “Fostering Provider Resilience and Empathic Patient Care in the Emergency Department”
- Reeni A. Abraham, MD of University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, whose project focuses on “Reflection Rounds Curriculum Quality Improvement Project”
“These important projects investigate how to make a real and measureable difference in resilience for ED physicians and medical students,” said Elizabeth Cleek, PsyD, Chief Program Officer at the Gold Foundation. “Such work is critical to understanding and impacting systemic factors that ultimately affect both healthcare professional well-being and patient care. We are proud to support the work of Dr. Papanagnou and Dr. Abraham.”
2019 Gold Humanism Scholar at the Harvard Macy Institute: Reeni A. Abraham, MD of University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, left, and Dimitrios Papanagnou, MD of Thomas Jefferson University,
For this prestigious award, the Gold Foundation selects healthcare educators whose work helps develop or evaluate educational projects focused on humanistic patient care that can be replicated across a variety of healthcare settings.
The Gold Humanism Scholars receive partial scholarships of $5,000 to attend the Harvard Macy Institute (HMI) Program for Educators in the Health Professions. This highly interactive faculty development program meets twice a year in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Gold Humanism Scholars learn innovative methods to teach and assess their projects, as well as to steer and champion their projects successfully through the maze of requirements.
HMI creates a community of international educators. The passion for humanism brought by the Gold Humanism Scholars permeates the educational environment and helps spark new collaborations.
The Gold Humanism Scholars are also mentored by a member of the Harvard Macy Institute Program for Educators faculty who has previously been a Gold Humanism Scholar. This year, Gregory (Greg) S. Cherr, MD, FACS, who was a 2012 Gold Humanism Scholar, will join the program as a faculty member and mentor. Dr. Cherr is Associate Professor and Assistant Dean for GME at Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences – University at Buffalo.
Fostering Provider Resilience and Empathic Patient Care in the Emergency Department
Dimitrios Papanagnou, MD, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Associate Dean for Faculty Development, Thomas Jefferson University
Dr. Papanagnou’s project addresses burnout among healthcare providers by bringing training directly into the clinical workplace. Emergency departments remain one of the most operationally complex settings with a hospital. Inter-professional clinical teams in the emergency department will undergo a variety of training experiences. The clinicians will have the opportunity to physically pause from their work duties to reflect, discuss coping strategies, build resilience, support teamwork and connect with patients.
Reflection Rounds Curriculum Quality Improvement Project
Reeni Abraham, MD Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, Co-director Internal Medicine Clerkship, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Medical education has a history of implicitly passing down behaviors and attitudes modeled by residents and senior faculty to medical students. This modeling has been termed the hidden curriculum, and can include both the best of empathic relationships and the most distressing and desensitized treatment of patients and even other team members.
Dr. Abraham and her team are developing the Reflection Rounds Quality Improvement Project to identify and address the negative effects of the hidden curriculum in order to mitigate the distressing elements of the hidden curriculum, and ultimately enhance resilience and empathy over the course of medical student training.
Read more about the Gold Humanism Scholars at the Harvard Macy Institute Program for Educators.
