Sharon Dooley profile

Dr. Sharon Dooley, the Feinberg School's senior associate dean for graduate medical education, oversees 1,000 residents and fellows in 72 GME programs.

When Sharon Dooley, MD, GME '77, MPH, took over as the "go-to" person in the Office for Graduate Medical Education (GME) in fall 2000, the office needed a boost, and Dr. Dooley was just the person for the job. "We had to do a heck of a lot of growing in a short time because of so many new accreditation requirements," she says.

Small but feisty, Dr. Dooley rolls three careers into one. Besides being a first-rate administrator, the senior associate dean for GME is a nationally renowned physician and researcher in maternal-fetal medicine and an award-winning teacher who received the Feinberg School's Magnus P. Urnes, MD, Resident Teaching Award in 1993.

At any given time, about 1,000 residents and fellows receive postgraduate medical training at the Northwestern McGaw Center for Graduate Medical Education, and every year more than 250 arrive to begin study in 72 residency and fellowship programs. Says Dr. Dooley, "Our role is multifaceted. We undertake a multitude of tasks to provide resident support and proper program oversight."

Between Match Day in mid-March and first-year residents’ arrival in late June, the GME staff is in high gear, processing forms, arranging for visas, keeping track of stipends, and helping with licensing. "The tasks are so numerous, I can’t list them," she says. Within 24 hours of being matched with Northwestern, every individual is contacted. Residents soon receive information packets in the mail so they can begin the process for getting a medical license. "When they start at the end of June, we want to make sure they have everything they need," says Dr. Dooley.

Dr. Dooley credits Sandy Fernandez, director of GME, for new initiatives that help the office provide top-notch support to residents and fellows.

"The GME staff is wonderful," she remarks, mentioning a few by name. Sandy Fernandez, GME director, has introduced many initiatives, including a sophisticated database that tracks residents' and fellows' stipend sources and ensures all moneys are received and benefits accurately billed.

Another colleague Dr. Dooley praises is Rob Christopher, executive director of the McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University, who is a strong advocate for GME. One example of his help was assuring that residents and fellows who use the Northwestern child care facility received the same discount as other University personnel.

Asked how she balances her administrative responsibilities and her still-active clinical practice, she laughs. "When things get aggravating in clinical practice, I come over to my nice quiet office at 645 North Michigan Avenue," she shares, "and when things get aggravating here, I go deliver a baby."

Another source of comfort and pride is her home life, including husband Ralph Tamura, MD '75, GME '79, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and director of the department's ultrasound division, and their children, Luke and Holly, both graduate students.

Dr. Dooley has been at Northwestern since her residency in 1974. Dr. Tamura came to campus as a first-year medical student in 1971 and never left. They feel fortunate that they haven’t had to move. "So much time is lost in transition," says Dr. Dooley. "Although we've stayed put, we always have the opportunity to do something new in our careers."

With Dr. Dooley, "something new" usually means something more.

She has a reputation as a strong leader and credits her past involvement with the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) with the breadth and insight "that allow me to be more effective in interfacing with the programs and their directors." She explains, "I know what accrediting organizations are looking for, so I can help problem-solve with the directors—perfect training for the position I now hold."

At the GME office, located on the 10th floor at 645 North Michigan Avenue, Dr. Dooley answers questions for department assistant Mel Handy.

The ACGME assesses educational effectiveness of GME programs. As senior associate dean, one of Dr. Dooley’s most challenging responsibilities is ensuring that all programs meet or exceed accreditation standards. "Programs face common challenges in that regard," remarks Dr. Dooley, "so I encourage directors to network to problem-solve instead of reinventing the wheel."

In the last six years, GME has made tremendous progress, as Dr. Dooley can attest. "We received no citations from the ACGME for our recent institutional review, and an increasing number of our programs have achieved the longest accreditation cycle awarded—five years," she says with pride.

An excellent teacher as well as administrator, Dr. Dooley holds the title of Albert B. Gerbie, MD, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and identifies Dr. Gerbie as an important mentor. "I have been fortunate to have had many valuable mentors," she says, including Boyd Metzger, MD, professor of endocrinology, metabolism, and molecular medicine and an internationally acclaimed investigator. A researcher in perinatal medicine, Dr. Dooley has been working with Dr. Metzger on an international study of hypoglycemia and pregnancy outcome. The pair has collaborated on multidisciplinary research for almost 30 years.

As for GME, the field is undergoing rapid and significant changes in response to a variety of forces, including people’s health needs and expectations, new diagnostic and therapeutic technologies, and accompanying changes in accreditation requirements.

As examples Dr. Dooley cites the ACGME's initiatives on core competency requirements and reductions in duty hours. Residents in some specialties were working 120 hours per week but are now limited to 80 hours weekly and 30 continuous hours on-call. Remarks Dr. Dooley, "If we can’t train someone to be competent in 80 hours a week, we’re doing something wrong."

Reflecting on her tenure as senior associate dean for GME, she comments, "I’ve been on this job for six years, and you would think my learning curve should be complete, but medicine doesn’t stand still, and GME must change to meet new challenges. My goal is to strive for a new level of excellence in all our training programs. Officially, I am the ‘designated institutional official.’ The buck stops here."