MarySarah Thanas, program coordinator for the Department of Internal Medicine’s Combined Medicine/Pediatrics residency program, was named Program Administrator of the Year from the Association of Med-Peds Program Administrators (AMPPA) as part of their national meeting in April 2022.
“This award meant so much to me, more than I thought it would,” said Thanas. “I am so thankful. Each year, I get four new residents. This year we have 17 residents. Residency is such an active time in their lives; they’re dating, getting married, having children. And I get to be a part of it all.”
Benjamin R. Doolittle MD, MDiv, professor of medicine (general medicine), pediatrics and divinity; and director, Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency Program, nominated Thanas for the award. Doolittle gushed over Thanas’s impact on the program in his nomination letter.
“To many, she is the ‘Cruise Director.’ Throughout the year, she organizes many large, complicated program-related events and always pitches in where there is a need. She plunges in with a smile and the smallest details always seem to work out,” he explained. “Most importantly, to the residents, she is the ‘Den Mother.’ She is the shoulder they cry on, the embrace they seek, and the kind word that makes a hard day disappear.”
Thanas has worked in this role for Department of Internal Medicine for 20 years, although she will admit the job has changed greatly. Prior to joining Yale School of Medicine (YSM), she worked for the cities of Darien and Waterbury in special education. Thanas is working towards her master’s degree in public health at Southern New Hampshire University. She also is staff representative within the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Medicine. Outside of YSM, she sits on the Program Planning Committee for the Medicine Pediatrics Program Directors Association (MPPDA).
Doolittle credits Thanas’s warm and generous spirit for making the Med-Peds residency program a family. “MarySarah possesses a wellspring of love, an unflappable kindness, that is our balm of hope amidst a weary day. This award is a big deal, the highest honor for a med-peds program administrator. MarySarah represents the very best of us at Yale. She is what makes our institution a great place in which to live, to grow, and to serve,” Doolittle said.
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