VCU School of Medicine Physician Joins First Class of Macy Faculty Scholars

The Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation named Alan Dow, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Internal Medicine in the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, one of five medicine and nursing faculty members in its first class of Macy Faculty Scholars.

The Macy Faculty Scholar program honors up to five faculty leaders dedicated to advancing education in medicine and nursing. Scholars receive $100,000 per year for two years and will dedicate at least half their time toward a project that will affect the way medical and nursing information is taught.

“Dr. Dow is an outstanding teacher as well as an innovator in medical education. He has helped transform our curriculum, and his latest project is critical to training our students in the interprofessional, team-based practice of medicine,” said Jerome F. Strauss III, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the VCU School of Medicine.

Dow's project will look at how increased collaboration among health professionals can improve patient care, and how to teach team-based competencies that foster effective interprofessional practice. He will create an interprofessional curriculum that other institutions can use, providing them with a toolkit for instruction and assessment to ensure successful adoption.

"We have traditionally trained health care workers separately, and then we ask them to work together as a team. In interprofessional education, we bring the disciplines together to learn how they can collaborate better as a team," Dow said. "Studies have shown interprofessional care — when done well — improves patient outcomes. It will improve health care for patients and also make health care workers happier in their jobs.

"This award lets me spend half of my time developing interprofessional education,” he said. “It lets me jump in with both feet."

Last year, Dow received the Enrique Gerszten, M.D., Faculty Teaching Excellence Award – the school’s highest teaching recognition that honors extraordinary accomplishment in all aspects of education. The award is given to a faculty member who is an outstanding teacher with a compelling record of contributions to education.

In just the past six years, Dow has created several unique programs that have significantly enhanced the learning experience of medical school students and residents. One program created by Dow provides residents a learning opportunity in early patient assessment and intervention in the emergency department. He also developed a simulation-based intern orientation program and a theater-medicine curriculum that uses the technique of theater pedagogy to teach communication skills to health care workers.

For more information on the Macy Faculty Scholars, visit http://www.josiahmacyfoundation.org/news/entry/five-nurse-and-physician-academic-leaders-join-first-class-of-macy-faculty.