At a ceremony on Oct. 14 in the Medical Historical Library at Yale School of Medicine (YSM), Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences Elena Ratner, MD, was presented with the 2024 David and Cindy Leffell Prize for Clinical Excellence. Three other longtime faculty members received Distinguished Clinical Career Awards: Leigh Evans, MD, associate professor of emergency medicine; John Fahey, MD, professor emeritus of pediatrics; and Leslie Scoutt, MD, professor of radiology and biomedical imaging.
Leffell Prize for Clinical Excellence
Each year, the David and Cindy Leffell Prize for Clinical Excellence recognizes a Yale Medicine faculty member who best exemplifies clinical expertise, a commitment to teaching, and the highest standards of care and compassion for patients.
Elena Ratner, MD
Ratner, who is co-chief of the Section of Gynecologic Oncology in Ob/Gyn and a member of Yale Cancer Center, is an internationally recognized gynecologic oncologist with special interests in chemotherapy-targeted drug development, patient quality of life programs, and early cancer detection.
“Dr. Ratner's quality of care and clinical outcomes are unsurpassed, and satisfaction among her patients is extremely high,” YSM Dean Nancy J. Brown, MD, said at the award ceremony. “Patients praise her professionalism and responsiveness. Dr. Ratner extends herself so that patients can meet with her as soon as possible, and she is available to them around the clock.”
Since beginning her residency at Yale in 2003, Ratner has been very active in the educational mission of her department, the school, and the health system. Among her many roles, she serves as vice chair for gynecology in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, and as director of Women's Health System Development for Yale New Haven Health System. She is course director of the gynecologic oncology sub-internship, a role she has held since 2011, and director, since 2015, of the fellowship in gynecologic oncology.
Ratner is co-director of Discovery to Cure, which advances the prevention, early detection, and treatment of women's reproductive cancers, and she is a co-founder and director of the Sexuality, Intimacy, Menopause and Cancer Survivorship Program at Smilow Cancer Hospital.
After being presented with the Leffell Prize, Ratner described it as “an incredible honor.”
“I believe so strongly in women’s health and women’s rights and women’s care, and this institution has given me an amazing ability—not just to practice . . . but to take care of women the way that I’m so passionate about and the way that I feel they deserve to be taken care of,” Ratner said. “I cannot wait to spend the rest of my career here.”
Distinguished Clinical Career Awards
The Yale Medicine Distinguished Clinical Career Award was created in 2020 to recognize and honor the careers of physicians marked by significant accomplishments, exemplary dedication, and important contributions in advancing Yale Medicine, the overall medical profession, and the community.
Leigh Evans, MD
Evans is associate professor and medical simulation section chief in the Department of Emergency Medicine and executive director of the Yale Center for Health Care Simulation.
Evans conceived of and designed what was originally called the Yale Center for Medical Simulation, or YCMS. Initially housed within the Department of Emergency Medicine, the center focused on training medical students and clinicians. But her work was quickly noticed by other departments, who saw the benefit of simulated learning experiences within their own fields. Evans and her team were asked to develop simulation cases and modules for those other departments, and YCMS evolved into the Yale Center for Health Care Simulation, a unique integrated program of both Yale School of Medicine and Yale New Haven Health System.
Evans now serves as executive director of the Yale Center for Health Care Simulation, with an educational focus on simulation-based curriculum development in clinical decision making. She and her team have designed and implemented over 100 simulation scenarios for medical and physician associate students.
On a community level, Evans designed and established the Yale Simulation Academy, a hands-on, after-school outreach program for under-represented New Haven high school students. Now in its ninth year, the academy initially provided the opportunity for students from Hill Regional Career High School to come to the Yale Center for Health Care Simulation, see STEM education in action, and learn first-hand about careers in the health care profession. In August 2023, Evans received a five-year NIH Science Education Partnership Award to expand the program to four high schools and to include an expanded mentoring program provided by Yale undergraduates and Yale medical students.
“Through her vision, innovation, and leadership, the Yale Center for Health Care Simulation has emerged as the model for innovative medical education around the country,” wrote Arjun Venkatesh, MD, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine, who nominated Evans for the award.
John Fahey, MD
Fahey is professor emeritus of pediatrics, director of the Pediatric Cardiology Exercise Stress Testing Laboratory, and former director of the pediatric cardiology fellowship program, which he led for more than 20 years.
Fahey joined the Yale faculty in 1985, and over the past four decades, he has had a tremendous impact on patients throughout the region, as well as on numerous trainees in Pediatrics and Pediatric Cardiology. He has earned the respect and referrals of countless physicians in the area, and he is a well-known name among pediatricians throughout the state.
Fahey has been instrumental in building the clinical program for the Section of Pediatric Cardiology, and he has worked to bring clinical care to patients living far beyond New Haven. He has spent decades building practices in New London and Norwich, drawing patients from both eastern Connecticut and Rhode Island. He also opened the first pediatric cardiology clinic in Fairfield County, in Norwalk, over a decade ago.
Fahey established the Adults with Congenital Heart Disease Program at Yale, ensuring that patients with congenital heart disease continue to receive comprehensive care as they move from childhood into adulthood. He has been a pioneer in many innovative interventional therapies offered through trans-catheter procedures and the Pediatric Exercise Laboratory.
“His impact on the lives of patients he has taken care of cannot be overstated,” wrote Dina Ferdman, MD, associate professor of clinical pediatrics and director of the Pediatric Echocardiogram Program, and one of several colleagues who nominated Fahey for this award.
Leslie Scoutt, MD
Scoutt is professor of radiology and biomedical imaging and medical director of the Non-Invasive Vascular Laboratory.
Scoutt is highly regarded locally, nationally, and internationally for her deep knowledge, enthusiasm, and expertise in diagnostic ultrasound. When Scoutt retires in December 2025, she will have been at Yale for 40 years, having started as a fellow and instructor in 1985. Throughout her four decades as a faculty member, she has been deeply committed to providing the best quality of care for her patients, her trainees, her colleagues, and her specialty.
In addition to being a superb clinician, Scoutt is a highly effective educator and mentor, and has received numerous teaching and mentorship awards over the years. Generations of sonographers have benefited from her practical and technical know-how, be they students or senior technicians. She also excels in non-radiologist teaching, having trained many vascular surgeons, cardiologists, medical and surgical physicians, and emergency physicians on a wide variety of ultrasound applications.
Scoutt has significantly enhanced the reputation of Yale Medicine through her innovative program development in ultrasound. As an example, she was instrumental in starting the ultrasound non-invasive vascular diagnostic lab that is embedded in the vascular clinic. This has been tremendously beneficial in providing on-the-spot continuation of care and decreasing repeat visits for innumerable patients.
“She has a conviction to help ultrasound evolve and works hard to catalyze its widespread application,” wrote Rob Goodman, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging and one of several people who nominated Scoutt for the award.