Throughout March, Medical Bag collected stories from physicians about the women behind the white coat — women who work tirelessly to advance clinical research and the field of medicine one day at a time. Today, we are sharing your stories.
Editor’s note: Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Laura Mosqueda, MD — Interim Dean of the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California
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Dr Mosqueda is the Interim Dean of the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. She continues to perform her administrative roles as professor of family medicine and geriatrics at USC and, in addition, is a respected authority on elder abuse and care of both the elderly and the underserved. Dr Mosqueda also serves as the director of the National Center on Elder Abuse and is the principal investigator for a major study that addresses prevention of abuse in vulnerable older adults.
Dr Mosqueda’s outstanding academic expertise includes medical education curricula design, development, implementation, and measurement. As Dean, she is recruiting top-notch physicians and researchers, advancing the strategic plan of the medical school, and furthering the support and education of current medical students, while ensuring a respectful, compassionate, and world-class environment for the school of medicine itself! Dr Mosqueda is extremely worthy of this recognition. — Stewart Fordham, MD
Mary Travis Bassett, MD, MPH — Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Throughout her tenure, Dr Bassett has been an advocate for the poor and underserved residents of New York City. She has successfully guided Mayor Bill de Blasio and led the city through the recent unprecedented influenza outbreak. Dr Bassett was also challenged in 2016 with an outbreak of Legionnaire disease. She has promoted policies to encourage both childhood and adult immunizations and strives to maintain services that support persons infected with HIV and those impacted by addiction. Dr Bassett has also successfully maintained restrictions on tobacco use in public facilities, which has benefitted all New York City residents and visitors. — Dial Hewlett Jr., MD, FACP, FIDSA
Dr Anita Gupta, DO — Medical Director of the Division of Pain Medicine and Regional Anesthesiology at Hahnemann University Hospital and Drexel University College of Medicine
Dr Gupta’s resolve and approach to pain management — using leading-edge science and clinical practices such as pharmacogenetics as a means to precision prescribing for individuals — is exemplary. Her willingness to step outside of common prescribing practices and approach patients’ individual well-being first and foremost is a testament to her commitment to providing the best possible path when treating patients with physical pain. Dr Gupta demonstrates her passion through solution-oriented, practical means, right in the midst of the opioid epidemic. Hats off to Dr Gupta and all of those willing to step outside the norm in favor of the multifaceted benefit of personalized medicine. — Anonymous
Rachel Naomi Remen, MD — Professor Emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco
Dr Remen, professor emeritus UCSF, pioneered the teaching of collaborative medicine to medical students in 1992. She founded The Healer’s Art, an elective course now taught in close to 100 medical schools across the United States and internationally. Her work continues at the Remen Institute for the Study of Health and Illness, a part of the Boonshoft School of Medicine at Wright State University. — Betty Joan Maly, MD, UCSD School of Medicine
Do you work on an outstanding team? Do you have a colleague who works consistently to advance clinical research or the field medicine? Share your nominee for Colleague of the Month. Medical Bag will continue to share your stories throughout the year.
