MEDICAL BULLETIN

AAMC president stresses importance of professionalism

Steven Emancipator, M.D., professor of pathology, right, accepts the Gender Equity Award from Robert Haynie, M.D., Ph.D., associate dean for student affairs and 1978 alumnus of the medical school. Mark Robbin, M.D., assistant professor of radiology, also received the award but was not in attendance.

The vice president of Uganda, Gilbert Bukenya, Ph.D., right, accepts an honorary doctor of science degree from Case President Edward M. Hundert, M.D., at the university-wide convocation preceding the medical school diploma ceremony. Dr. Bukenya is an adjunct professor in the division of general medical sciences at the School of Medicine and a professor of health at Makerere University in Uganda. He is a supporter of the Case-Makerere collaboration in HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis research, established in the late 1980s, which has been associated with a decrease in the incidence of AIDS infection in Uganda. With Case faculty members, Dr. Bukenya developed a manual for used in Makerere’s Institute of Public Health curriculum and adopted by the country for its district health offices.

From left: Class of 2005 members Lloyd Runser, David Sedory, Brendan Masini, Chris Graybill and Aaron Clark were among those formally commissioned into military service by Sgt. 1st Class Todd J. Churchill (holding the flag) and Capt. Mark Seufer, at the reception following the medical school diploma ceremony.

Joel Peerless, M.D., associate professor of surgery, right, accepts the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award from C. Kent Smith, M.D., senior associate dean for students.

Dean Ralph I. Horwitz, M.D., left, makes the inaugural presentation of the Ted Castele Award for Civic Professionalism. In future years, the award will be given to a graduating student, but this year, it was bestowed upon its namesake, much to his surprise. Dr. Castele is an alumnus of the medical school’s Class of 1957 and a clinical assistant professor of radiology.

Class of 1980 alumni Ewen McEwen, M.D., and Cecil Parker, M.D., prepare to march in the medical school’s diploma ceremony. They came from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and Mobile, Ala., respectively, in observance of the 25th anniversary of their medical school graduation.

From left: Daniel Wolpaw, M.D., associate professor of medicine and 1977 alumnus of the medical school; Phillip Hall, M.D., clinical professor of medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University; and Timothy O’Brien, M.D., assistant professor of medicine, receive Kaiser-Permanente Awards for excellence in teaching. This was the first year that the award recognized teaching at the Lerner College, launched in 2004.

Jordan J. Cohen, M.D., president of the Association of American Medical Colleges, was introduced by Dean Ralph I. Horwitz, M.D., as “an icon in American medicine.”

Professionalism is the field of medicine’s defense against “the onslaught of commercialism” and is crucial to maintaining patient trust, Jordan J. Cohen, M.D., president of the Association of American Medical Colleges, told those attending the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine diploma ceremony at Severance Hall May 15.

A new Charter of Medical Professionalism, endorsed by almost 150 professional organizations in the United States and Europe, expresses three core principles – the primacy of patient welfare, patient autonomy and social justice – and elaborates 10 categories of physician responsibilities in pursuit of those principles, he said. “Trust is earned, not owed,” Dr. Cohen told graduates. “And the only way to earn it is to be trustworthy. By respecting to the principles and fulfilling the responsibilities outlined in the new Physician Charter on Professionalism, I’m confident that each of you will earn the trust of your patients and, in so doing, ensure that our profession remains true to its ethical heritage and moral purpose.”

The diploma ceremony at which Dr. Cohen spoke was preceded by a university-wide commencement convocation at the Veale Convocation, Recreation and Athletic Center and was followed by a reception for medical graduates and their families at the University Hospitals of Cleveland atrium. A ceremony at which awards were bestowed upon medical students was held the preceding evening in the university’s Strosacker Auditorium.

Among the 139 students awarded medical degrees, 10 were part of the Medical Scientist Training (M.D./Ph.D.) Program, and 14 were part of the Primary Care Track. Two completed accelerated residencies at University Hospitals of Cleveland, and nine earned master’s degrees in areas such as public health, applied anatomy and bioethics in addition to their medical degrees.