Berger wins national honor for graduate medical education

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Roseanne C. Berger, MD, senior associate dean for graduate medical education in the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, is one of three leaders nationwide to be honored with a 2015 Parker J. Palmer Courage to Lead Award.

The honor, presented by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), recognizes individuals for outstanding leadership, management, innovation and improvement of residency and medical fellowship programs.

Berger will receive her award Feb. 27 during the 2015 ACGME Annual Educational Conference in San Diego, Calif.

“This award is an honor because the nomination came from colleagues and residents,” says Berger, also an associate professor of family medicine and a geriatric medicine specialist.

“Health care delivery is undergoing a transformation that is influencing the way residents are trained. Patient safety, preventive medicine and chronic disease management are just some of the challenges residents will be expected to address in their careers.  It is exciting to work with dedicated, bright faculty physicians and residents in Buffalo on these issues. Graduate medical education is never dull.”

For more than two decades, Berger has overseen 63 UB-sponsored medical specialty training programs that annually enroll more than 750 residents.  Throughout her career, she has worked to foster improvement in clinical education through faculty development, granting funds for research and resident training, and teaching.

Berger has initiated, led or helped secure funding for numerous activities, including the UB-Royal College of Physicians Educator Program, which works with the Royal College of Physicians in London, U.K., to develop the teaching skills of clinical instructors, and Scholarly Exchange Day, an annual research poster session that allows trainee-researchers to receive feedback from UB faculty.

She also helped launch one of the nation’s first 10 Arnold P. Gold Humanism Honor Society chapters, and directs the university’s Mini Medical School, a free lecture series that brings medical and healthcare education to Buffalo community members without a medical background.

“Dr. Berger is an indispensable member of our school leadership team,” says Michael E. Cain, MD, vice president for health sciences and dean of the UB Medical School.

“Her initiatives have changed the way we approach medical education at this university and have national ramifications. Her leadership style values inclusion, collaboration and the importance of the individual to the success of the program.”

Berger lives in Williamsville.