UIC family medicine educator named Macy Scholar
Dr. Memoona Hasnain, director of the Patient-centered Medicine Scholars Program and Health Disparities Scholars Program. Photo: Roberta Dupuis-Devlin/UIC Photo Services (click on image for larger file size)
Dr. Memoona Hasnain, associate professor and director of the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine’s Patient-centered Medicine Scholars Program and the Department of Family Medicine’s Health Disparities Scholars Program, has been named a Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation Faculty Scholar.
Hasnain will develop a team-based health disparities training program for medicine, pharmacy, nursing and public health students.
Hasnain says medical education takes place largely in “silos,” with limited opportunities for interaction among doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health professionals as they learn and begin practice. Her goal with the new interprofessional program is to get medical students used to working with professionals from other fields.
Trainees will participate in mentored community-based research and quality improvement projects focused on special-needs populations.
“The primary goal will be to identify health or quality-of-life issues of most concern to the patients,” Hasnain said. “This work will build on UIC family medicine’s foundation of educational innovation and excellence and provide new opportunities for collaborative work across various health profession disciplines.”
The Macy faculty scholars program supports reforms in medical education that align with the dramatic changes occurring in medical practice and health care delivery.
“My research, teaching and service converge on finding effective ways to ensure quality care, particularly for vulnerable populations in order to reduce health disparities,” Hasnain said. “This is a growing field, due in part to our improved understanding of vulnerable populations and their distinct needs and barriers when it comes to health care access and quality.”
Macy scholars are selected for the highly competitive award based on their prior accomplishments and future promise as educational leaders and innovators.
The Macy scholars “represent the future of health professions education and will help lead the educational change we need to meet the public’s changing health care needs,” says Dr. George Thibault, president of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation.
