Graduate council bestows top honor on residency dean

Residents at Yale-New Haven Hospital (YNHH) have a gifted mentor in Rosemarie L. Fisher, M.D., professor of medicine and associate dean for graduate medical education, according to the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), which named Fisher one of only two physicians nationwide to receive the 2006 Courage to Lead Award.

The award, granted for the first time this year, honors “exemplary leadership; dedication to promoting the professional, ethical, and personal development of residents; and commitment to safe and appropriate care of patients,” according to the ACGME.

In addition to serving as associate dean at the School of Medicine, Fisher is director of graduate education at YNHH. In 49 letters to the ACGME in support of Fisher’s nomination for the award, colleagues cited Fisher’s dedication to residents’ training and her unwavering commitment to an open-door policy in addressing their concerns.

“Rosemarie has brought great competence and warmth to her responsibilities as director of graduate medical education,” says Peter N. Herbert, M.D., clinical professor of medicine and vice president for medical affairs and chief of staff at YNHH.

Fisher has spent 31 years on the Yale faculty, including 12 as program director for the Department of Internal Medicine’s residency program, six as director of graduate medical education, and three as associate dean and director of graduate medical education.