WALTHAM
– Dr. Luanne E. Thorndyke, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and professor of
medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, has been honored by
the Massachusetts Medical Society as the 2018 recipient of The Woman Physician
Leadership Award, an honor recognizing outstanding leadership and contributions
to patients and the medical profession by a woman physician.
In
her role as Vice Provost at the medical school, Thorndyke has led several
initiatives that have had a direct impact on woman physicians. She created programs to assist faculty
pursuing academic promotion, led a process to revise the criteria for promotion
to recognize physicians engaged in healthcare delivery, and developed workshops
to educate faculty and administrators about the new processes.
Additionally,
Thorndyke initiated the UMMS Faculty Scholar Award, which aids young physicians
in pursuit of an academic career while maintaining family responsibilities, and
multiple career development programs initiated as a result of winning the
prestigious ACE/Sloan Faculty Career Flexibility Grant. These programs, while benefitting all
faculty, preferentially assist female physician faculty who often struggle of
work/life integration.
“Dr.
Thorndyke led an in-depth review of faculty recruitment processes and
implemented a procedure to promulgate best practices in faculty recruitment
that incorporates training in unconscious bias and competency-based
interviewing,” said Dr. Terence R. Flotte, the medical school’s Dean, Provost
and Executive Deputy Chancellor. “She is an ex officio member of all
search committees for leadership positions such as department chairs and she
gently but firmly advocates for the consideration of appropriate capable women
candidates. In 2008, UMass Medical School only had one woman chair and now we
have six. Dr. Thorndyke has been a big part of that transformation.”
The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) is the
statewide professional association for physicians and medical students,
supporting 25,000 members. We are dedicated to educating and advocating for the
physicians of Massachusetts and patients locally and nationally. A leadership
voice in health care, the MMS contributes physician and patient perspectives to
influence health-related legislation at the state and federal levels, works in
support of public health, provides expert advice on physician practice
management, and addresses issues of physician well-being. Under the auspices of
the NEJM Group, the MMS extends our mission globally by advancing medical
knowledge from research to patient care through the New England Journal of Medicine, NEJM Catalyst, and the NEJM
Journal Watch family of specialty publications, and through our education
products for health care professionals: NEJM Knowledge+, NEJM Resident 360, and
our accredited and comprehensive continuing medical education programs.
