Meet the team behind the Northwestern Simulation Program in Healthcare Communication.
Julia H. Vermylen, MD, MPH, is an assistant professor in the Departments of Medicine and Medical Education. Her academic work centers on educational research surrounding communication skills training for undergraduate and graduate medicine trainees and practicing clinicians. She has a particular focus applying concepts of mastery learning to improve outcomes for communication skills training. She attended medical school and obtained a master’s degree in Public Health at Northwestern University. She completed residency training in Internal Medicine, served as a chief medical resident, and completed fellowship training in Palliative Medicine at the McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University.
Gordon J. Wood, MD, MSCI, FAAHPM, is an associate professor in the Departments of Medicine and Medical Education at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. He is Associate Director of the Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program and serves as Associate Director of the Education in Palliative and End-of-Life Care Program at Northwestern. His academic work centers on communication skills, including the application of mastery learning principles to communication skills training. He attended medical school at the University of Chicago and finished an internal medicine residency at the University of California, San Francisco. He completed a palliative medicine fellowship and obtained a Master of Science in Clinical Investigation at Northwestern University.
Jessica Montalvo, MD, is a systems clinician at Northwestern Medicine. She attended medical school at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and completed an internal medicine residency at McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University. Her work in hospital medicine on the inpatient oncology service led her to palliative care. She completed the Palliative Care Education Program through the Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care. She enjoys mentoring residents and fellows in skills around goals of care conversations. She is trained as a VitalTalk facilitator and has taught in both regional and national courses around serious illness communication.
Melanie Smith, MD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine. Her academic focus is communication skills training. She is a VitalTalk facilitator and develops courses to improve communication skills for clinicians. She attended medical school at Northwestern University and completed residency training in Internal Medicine at NYU. She returned to Northwestern for fellowship training in Hospice and Palliative Medicine.