Newswise — Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 24, June, 2013 – In a national competition that garnered over 50 proposals, The Arnold P. Gold Foundation (www.humanism-in-medicine.org) has chosen Louise Aronson, MD, MFA of the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, and Alexander Green, MD, MPH and Jennifer Kesselheim, MD, EdM of Harvard Medical School to each receive a $150,000 three-year grant to support projects that further the foundation’s mission of developing doctors who provide compassionate and respectful patient care.
The purpose of The Arnold P. Gold Foundation Professorship Program is to promote the importance of humanistic medicine and the values of professionalism in medical education. The award honors and supports faculty who embody these attributes through clinical practice, teaching, and scholarship including research and curriculum development. The Gold Foundation defines the humanistic doctor as one who demonstrates respect for patients’ concerns and values and provides compassionate care for their physical and emotional well-being.
During the three year grant period, each Gold Professor will complete a project that contributes to the body of knowledge about how to instill the habit of humanistic healthcare. Dr. Aronson will explore educational strategies which support self-reflection and through a narrative advocacy program will encourage physicians to become active change agents for improving health outcomes and care. Dr. Green’s work will focus on the “hidden curriculum”, a term used to describe the unofficial learning of both good and bad behaviors and attitudes that occur as students are socialized into organized medicine. Specifically, he will conduct a first-of-its-kind study exploring the “hidden curriculum” as it relates to patients with limited English proficiency. Dr. Kesselheim will create a novel curriculum to address a gap in the humanism training in pediatric fellowships. This curriculum will have applicability to other fellowship programs across a range of medical subspecialties.
“The research of these exemplars of humanistic care will enrich the work of The Gold Foundation immeasurably,” said Dr. Richard I. Levin, President and CEO of the foundation. “They are adding to the burgeoning data about the vital importance of the doctor-patient relationship needed to promote better healthcare outcomes and lower costs. We are proud to support their work, especially during this time of reform.”
About the Arnold P. Gold Foundation: The Arnold P. Gold Foundation, established in 1988, is a not-for- profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of healthcare by enhancing the healthcare professional-patient relationship. It encourages the development of physicians who combine the high tech skills of cutting-edge medical science with the high touch skills of communication, empathy and compassion. Learn more at humanism-in-medicine.org. ###
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