ACGME Honors Doug Smink, MD, and Diane Kovacev
Each year, the ACGME recognizes leaders in medical education via several prestigious awards presented to the winners at the Annual Conference. This year, two members of the Partners GME Community have been recognized with this national honor for their contributions to medical education.
Dr. Douglas Smink, Program Director of BWH General Surgery Residency Program, has been selected to receive the Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award. The award recognizes program directors who have fostered innovation and improvement in their residency programs and served as exemplary role models for residents.
Dr. Smink, a graduate of the BWH surgical residency program, assumed the Program Director role in 2011. His natural ability to inspire and innovate quickly made him a treasured leader for his trainees. In the words of his chief residents: “Rather than relying on a formulaic technique for his teaching and leadership duties, Dr. Smink tailors each intervention to the specifics of the scenario and trainees involved. The commonality in these situations has been his unwavering integrity and firm identity as a surgeon, educator, and father. He is generous with his time and is not afraid to take a personal stake in the success of his trainees.”
Doug’s dedication to surgical education innovation led him to develop a new simulation curriculum, and stimulated several research projects focused on implementation of novel procedural and non-technical skill training programs. At the Brigham, he serves as a Surgical Director of the STRATUS Center for Medical Simulation and as Associate Chair for Education for the Department of Surgery, alongside his Program Director role.
Dr. Smink is also active at the national level. He is a member of the Procedural Learning and Safety Collaborative (PLSC), and serves on committees for the Association of Program Directors in Surgery and the Society of University Surgeons. As a co‐investigator in the “SIMPL” trial, he is advancing the application of mobile technology to enhance procedural learning. In addition, Dr. Smink plays an important role in surgical education community as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Surgical Education.
The Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award provides well-deserved recognition of Doug’s talent, dedication, and love of teaching.
The second Partners ACGME honoree this year is Diane Kovacev, Education Manager of the Harvard Combined Dermatology Residency Program. Ms. Kovacev received the GME Program Coordinator Excellence Award, which recognizes program coordinators who have an in-depth understanding of the accreditation process, excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and engage in projects to improve residency programs.
Since 1981 Diane has managed a complex program that now includes 31 trainees and over 150 faculty across 6 affiliated hospitals. As the dermatology program director, Jennifer Huang, MD, noted: “with her institutional memory and natural warmth, Diane acts as a centralized advisor to the faculty and residents”. Diane’s outstanding organizational skills, communication style, and hard work make her widely regarded as a key anchor of the program. Rumor has it that Diane’s presence in the program manager role is one of the “must have” recruiting tools mentioned when faculty have interviewed for the program director position.
While the program leadership team cherishes Diane’s knowledge of the ACGME requirements and her ability to meet an array of deadlines, the trainees rely heavily on her guidance. “On top of being a never-ending source of information and institutional memory, Diane manages to keep tabs on each and every resident in the program, ranging from knowing about important life events to career goals to residency concerns or questions. As Diane perpetually has her finger on the pulse of resident-wellbeing, she will also often be the first to detect when a resident is struggling and help create a plan to get them back on track. In this way, Diane treats the residents as if they part of her family”.
This award is an appropriate honor for Diane’s remarkable 37-year tenure and ongoing contributions as program manager.
Please join us in congratulating both awardees!
Note: The 2020 cycle of the ACGME awards will open in January 2019. More information about the award categories and nomination process can be obtained on the ACGME website.
This page was created on 12/30/18.