Rabkin Fellows named

The Shapiro Institute for Education and Research at BIDMC has named the 2011-2012 Rabkin Fellows in Medical Education, a program designed to enable physicians to launch or advance careers in academic medicine.

The newest class includes BIDMC physicians: Mary Buss, MD, MPH, Palliative Care and Hematology/Oncology; Jonathan Crocker, MD, Hospital Medicine; Alok Gupta, MD, Acute Care Surgery; Jeremy Richards, MD, MA, Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine; Anita Vanka, MD, Hospital Medicine; Carolyn Kloek, MD, Ophthalmology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary;

Christopher Smith, MD, General Medicine, and Lori Newman, MEd, serve as teachers and mentors for the program.

"Thanks to a tremendous number of extraordinarily qualified applications from throughout the Harvard system, each year our selection committee is challenged to select only six new Rabkin Fellows," says Smith. "It is a joy to work with and learn from each of our Fellows, and Lori and I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to work with such talented and enthusiastic medical educators."

The Rabkin Fellowship was established in 1998 to provide Harvard Medical School faculty with dedicated time to develop further the expertise and skills needed to launch or advance academic careers in medical education and/or academic administration. The Fellowship in Medicine Education is named for Mitchell T. Rabkin, MD, Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the Shapiro Institute.

"The fellowship has created a community of dedicated medical educators who continue to participate in the Fellowship even after they have graduated," Newman says. "Alumni teach and serve as mentors for new Rabkin Fellows, attend our 'Building Bridges' reunion sessions, and support each other in educational research, teaching and innovations."

Rabkin Fellows are required to undertake an analytic study, research or an educational project focusing on an important issue in medical education. Fellows select a mentor to help guide their work in developing this project. The fellows provide additional support and peer review for each others' projects over the course of the year. Rabkin Fellows present the results of their projects in a written report as well as orally at a concluding symposium.

The Fellows have welcomed the opportunity to grapple with medical education topics not typically considered in their usual roles within the academic medical center. The Fellowship provides an experiential learning laboratory in which the Fellows can implement the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed for organizational change and leadership with peer and faculty feedback and support. Many graduates of the program have subsequently led significant curricular and programmatic changes at their respective affiliated institutions. Moreover, a number of graduates have assumed educational leadership positions at the local, regional and national levels.