Impact, Not Attention

UH Research & Education Update | May 2022

Susan Nedorost MD, University Hospitals GME Designated Institutional Official and System Director leads with resourcefulness, unity, professionalism and integrity

Susan Nedorost, MD, was interested in medicine because she was intrigued by biology and complexity. At Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, she discovered her passion for immunology and how the mechanisms of immune response determine the appearance of inflammatory skin diseases.

Susan Nedorost, MD

Following her dermatology residency training at the Cleveland Clinic, she joined a large private practice. But after eight years, Dr. Nedorost craved to ask and answer her own research questions. So in 1999, she joined University Hospitals Department of Dermatology, which was at the time one of the top 10 National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded dermatology departments in the nation.

In the early 2000s, Susan developed the University Hospitals Dermatitis Clinic and obtained industry and CDC (NIOSH) funding for her translational research. She also greatly enjoyed serving as Dermatology Program Director, where she implemented resident portfolios, including reflective writing in each of the ACGME competencies. Residents were hesitant about this at first, but many later commented this was of great benefit to their growth as physicians.

Meanwhile, Dr. Nedorost sought an opportunity to advance her career in other ways. She was a member of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Choosing Wisely Task Force and participated in AAD academic leadership training.

She was honored to be a Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) fellow in 2010-2011 and realized that she could bring resourcefulness, her ‘quick study” mind, and integrity to a leadership position without needing to stand out. “I much prefer impact to attention,” she says.

She applied for the Designated Institutional Official/ System Director for Graduate Medical Education position. Her goal was to facilitate teaching competencies beyond those measured by the ACGME, including critical thinking to reduce diagnostic error and improve the value of care for patients and populations.  

Unity, Community, and Professionalism

One of Dr. Nedorost 's first accomplishments as the Graduate Medical Education Designated Institutional Official and System Director was developing a GME strategic plan. The guiding principles included unity, community, and professionalism, and the resulting strategic plan continues to guide the GME Committee’s improvement plans today. 

As the GME Director, Dr. Nedorost successfully developed a health system science curriculum. With the help of an advisory committee and focus groups, the health sciences curriculum was defined and included three major categories of experiential learning, Leadership, Stewardship, and Population Health. The University Hospitals health system science curriculum is a set of experiential learning activities that ‘brand” GME training in all of it's programs. Of note, is that University Hospitals was the first in the nation to create a GME health system science curriculum at the institutional level.*

The future of UH GME

When asked where UH GME will be in the next five to ten years, Dr. Nedorost replied, “It will depend on the evolution of UH’s identity. I believe we are moving toward community service, quality improvement (high-value care, disaster preparedness, etc.), and translational science excellence. The strengths of UH serve as the basis for our clinical learning environment, and GME will align with those strengths to flourish.”

The next phase 

We are genuinely grateful for Dr. Nedorost's past 20 years of dedication to patient care, trainee development, and graduate medical education program success. After retirement in June 2022, she plans to move to Columbus, OH, with her husband to be closer to their grandchildren. Susan will continue to serve as a consultant for complex medical dermatitis cases.

Feel free to send Dr. Nedorost a "happy retirement" at message at Susan.Nedorost@UHhospitals.org.

*The UH Health System Science Curriculum is available for viewing on the UH Intranet via UH Network connection.