A symposium honoring the installation and investiture of J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD, as the Lewis Landsberg Dean of the Feinberg School of Medicine In honor of the installation and investiture of J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD, as the inaugural Lewis Landsberg Dean, Christine Cassel, MD, led a symposium on leadership on October 11, 2007. Dr. Cassel’s presentation, “Professionalism and Accountability: Twin Agendas for a 21st Century Medical School” was enjoyed by attendees including faculty and staff, alumni, associates from peer institutions, donors, and the invited family and friends of Dr. Jameson and Lewis Landsberg, MD, esteemed former Dean of the Feinberg School. A friend and associate of Dr. Jameson’s, Dr. Cassel is President and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) and the ABIM Foundation. A foremost expert in geriatric medicine, medical ethics, and quality of care, she was invited personally by the Dean to lead the afternoon’s discourse on the most noble of the applied sciences. Opening the symposium with a quote from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”, Dr. Cassel went on to describe and analyze the changing face of American healthcare and medical education. “The 21st century physician plays many roles,” she said, acknowledging the complex and complicated challenges faced by physicians at academic medical centers today. She implored that only through measurement can healthcare achieve accountability, and only with compassion, analysis, and responsibility can physicians be “whole doctors.” As the first female dean of the School of Medicine and vice president for medical affairs at Oregon Health and Science University, Dr. Cassel has unique leadership experience on which she has built her expertise. In her 10 years at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Dr. Cassel was chief of the Section of General Internal Medicine, professor of geriatrics and medicine, founding director of the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, and founding director of the Center for Health Policy Research. Her recent books include Medicare Matters: What Geriatric Medicine Can Teach American Health Care (2005), Ethical Patient Care (2000), Geriatric Medicine (Fourth Edition), and A Practical Guide to Aging (1997), described as “a forthright advice book” by The New York Times. |
