LEADERSHIP
Midway News
Vineet Arora, MD, AM’03, named Dean for Medical Education BY AMANDA PARKER, PHD
N Vineet Arora, MD, AM’03
“Times are tough, and medical education is no exception. We are in a pandemic, facing structural inequities and racism, and an epidemic of gun violence, including at the hands of those who should protect us. We need future doctors to be ready to not only treat and lead with science, but also lead with and treat with humanity.” Vineet Arora, MD, AM’03
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ationally recognized medical educator Vineet Arora, MD, AM’03, has been named Dean for Medical Education of the University of Chicago Biological Sciences Division. Arora is Herbert T. Abelson Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago, Assistant Dean for Scholarship and Discovery and Associate Chief Medical Officer for Clinical Learning Environment. She is a Master of the Academy of Distinguished Medical Educators — a lifelong membership that honors University of Chicago faculty for extraordinary contributions to medical education. As Dean for Medical Education, she will oversee all aspects of the medical education continuum, including undergraduate, graduate and continuing medical education, and will be a key leader in the simulation program. In collaboration with faculty, program directors and department chairs, she will ensure active engagement in providing an outstanding educational experience for students and trainees. She will also serve as the leader and voice for medical education both within the institution and with key outside stakeholders, including the Association of American Medical Colleges, Liaison Committee on Medical Education, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and others. Arora’s appointment is effective July 1, 2021 — 20 years ago to the day from when she finished her own medical training. She received her MD from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and completed her residency in internal medicine, a year as chief resident and fellowship in general internal medicine at the University of Chicago. She also received a master’s degree from the University’s Harris School of Public Policy. She joined the UChicago faculty in 2005. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and serves on the board of directors of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the Joint Commission. Throughout her career, Arora has demonstrated profound personal and academic investment in
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO MEDICINE AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES DIVISION
the quality of medical education. With a particular focus on the learning environment for medical trainees, she works to simultaneously improve the quality of learning and clinical care delivered by trainees in academic hospitals. Her pioneering work on resident sleep, fatigue and handoffs has informed changes in residency duty hours. She is the principal investigator of an AMA Accelerating Change in Medical Education grant to integrate health systems science into medical education and is a Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation Faculty Scholar for her work improving the interprofessional clinical learning environment at UChicago Medicine. Her academic work, including studies on improving sleep for patients as they transition from hospital to home, has been cited over 10,000 times. “I am humbled by this prospect of working with an amazing team to shape the future of our profession with the ultimate goal of improving the care for the patients they will serve,” Arora said. “Thank you to the amazing professional and personal teams who have supported, coached and mentored me so I can use this opportunity to pay it forward.” Arora’s dedication to the highest standard of medical care and training is deeply connected to her commitment to equal opportunity in medicine. She has received NIH R01 funding to study novel methods for using social media to expose minority youth to medical research careers, and leads an NIH grant funded by the Diversity Program Consortium to improve mentor training for women and minority medical students at eight medical schools. She is a member of many groups working for gender equity in medicine, including Women of Impact, and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education. She succeeds Halina Brukner, MD, who has held the position of Dean for Medical Education since 2018. The search for a new dean was informed by a faculty search committee, led by Jeffrey Matthews, MD, Dallas B. Phemister Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery.
