Baer Award RecipientEric Denys

Not many neurologists go around paraphrasing Kierkegaard. But Eric Denys does. “He said that people can understand their lives looking backwards,”

says Denys, “but that life should definitely be lived looking forward.”

Dr. Denys, Associate Clinical Professor at UCSF, is the 2011 winner of the Char-lotte Baer Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Since his early days in Belgium, Denys has lived his life with purpose, always moving forward and continuing on what he calls a lifelong journey of learning. Trained at one of the best medical schools in Europe, Belgium’s University of Leuven, Denys discovered early on that he wanted to become a neurologist.

“It was because of a superb professor I had,” says Denys. “Professor P. Van Ge-huchten helped me to see neurology as an intellectual challenge, which I still do. To some extent, it has almost engineering qualities. It’s a way to solve a puzzle.”

When Denys saw that the United States offered the greatest opportunities for practicing neurology and doing research, he and his wife Sonja Declercq (an accomplished ophthalmologist herself) moved to California in 1969.

It was a good call. Once he was in neurology, he saw the need for better electrodiagnostics, in particular electromyog-raphy (EMG), to evaluate the symptoms of neuromuscular injuries and diseases. Again, Denys knew what he wanted to do. After an additional postdoctoral fellowship in neurology at Stanford University and training at the Mayo Clinic, he began educating other neurologists and physicians through the American Association of Neuromuscular and Elec-trodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM), the premier organization dedicated to advancing neuromuscular, musculoskeletal and electrodiagnostic medicine.

In 1974, Denys joined the staff at Pacific Medical Center (now CPMC) in San Francisco. His work with patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis led him to explore the effect of temperature – a critical factor – on the function of the nerves. Essentially, Denys’ efforts put the issue of temperature control on the map and led to critical advances in the diagnostic accuracy of neuromuscular diseases. Denys participated in the first successful plasma exchange for patients with Myasthenia Gravis, an autoimmune disorder that weakens the body’s skeletal muscles. He also discov-ered a transferable factor in the serum of patients with Lambert-Eaton syndrome, a similar, poorly understood disease, thereby establishing the basis for an autoimmune etiology. Denys’ considerable involvement in ALS research, both clinical and basic, led to him serving as Associate Director of ALS Research Center at CPMC and as chairman of the ALS and Neuromuscular Research Foundation. In 1990, he was part of a 25-person international group of scientists who established what became the standard criteria for ALS diagnosis.

Denys has remained at CPMC ever since, working in a variety of capacities, including Director of Education and Train-ing in the Department of Neurology, Director of the EMG Laboratory and Director of the Institute of Neurological Sci-ences at the Medical Research Institute. He has been a member of the Ethics committee at CPMC since its inception in 1986.

A former president of the Association of Clinical Faculty (ACF) at UCSF, Denys has served as president of the San Francisco Neurological Society and secretary/treasurer of the Association of California Neurologists, currently the Cali-fornia Neurology Society. He is also a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology and the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine.

In 2006, Denys received the prestigious Dr. J. Elliott Royer Award for Excellence in Neurology at UCSF. And he has been listed in the “Best Doctors in America” every year since 1994. His clinical excellence alone is not what has netted Denys so many accolades and awards. Throughout the years, Denys has shown an unflagging commitment to com-munity health care.

“As one of the original physicians of the San Francisco Free Clinic, which was established in 1993, Dr. Denys became a leader in providing expert care to the uninsured in the Bay Area, often encouraging other physicians to volunteer their time,” says Dr. Stephen Hauser, Distinguished Professor and Chair of the UCSF Department of Neurology. “He is also a beloved educator who has taught residents and medical students for over 30 years, and has been organizing Grand Rounds at California Pacific Medical Center for over 20 years. He continues to make a remarkable difference in the community by bringing health to those who are less fortunate with cheerfulness, creativity and vitality.”

Michael Aminoff, MD, Distinguished Professor and Executive Vice Chair of the UCSF Department of Neurology, adds that Denys, “does all the things you’d hope a faculty member would.”

“For the last 17 years, he has participated in our Brain, Mind and Behavior Program, teaching the clinical neurological examination to medical students,” he says. “Students have rated him remarkably well for the clarity of his teach-ing and the utility of time spent under his preceptorship.

“These days, many doctors don’t seem to have enough time to focus onthe patients,” Aminoff continues. “But Dr. Denys understands he’s treating more than diseases; he’s treating people. He combines clinical excellence with great kindness and is able to effectively impart his wisdom to others.”

His students agree. As one student put it, “Dr. Denys was an incredible preceptor and a pleasure to learn from.” An-other added, “His enthusiasm for his work was inspiring.” Dr. Denys says that the human contact with his patients is what gives him the most pleasure in his work.

“The rewards come daily. That’s the reason I’m still practicing at 71,” he says. “Medicine is a profession of lifelong learning. Along the way, we acquire certain insights and we use them in our work. If we only kept those insights to ourselves, the next person would have to acquire them the hard way. It would be a shame if we didn’t transfer that knowledge.”

There is another quote from Kierkegaard and that is, “Be that self that one truly is.” Dr. Eric Denys is most definitely his truest self, passionate about his work and committed to practicing and teaching medicine at the highest level. Because he has done so – and done it so well – for much of his career, the effects of his extraordinary talent will carry forward for generations to come.

From the PresidentWade Aubry, MD

A year ago the ACF began an important transi-tion, changing our status as an independent

entity and moving into the UCSF Office of Medical Education. Becoming part of the university’s fabric has strengthened our role and presence within this great institution.

We strengthened in number by expanding our member-ship to include all of the more than 2,000 clinical faculty members who vol-unteer their time to teach at UCSF. We strengthened our operations by streamlin-ing our administration and

improving channels of communication. Most im-portant, we strengthened the ACF’s ability to serve its members. As “insiders,” we can better advocate for our clinical faculty.

Looking back at 2011, one of the big changes was the retirement of David Irby, Vice Dean for Educa-tion. In his 13 years at UCSF, David spearheaded extraordinary educational innovations that helped UCSF become a worldwide leader in medical education. He was the ACF’s “go-to guy,” providing an open channel and a willing ear for ACF. As you know, Catherine Lucey has succeeded David and, having already worked with her, I know she’ll provide capable leadership going forward.

In the coming year, I expect the ACF’s role will continue to evolve to better support our members’ teaching activities and work with colleagues. To that end, I’d like to congratulate our incoming president Susan Obata and wish her all the best in taking the ACF to the next level.

Of course, any organization is only as good as the people in it. I encourage all of us, as clinical faculty

members, to become more involved in this association that serves us. Get to know the ACF representatives in your department. By all means, consider taking on a leadership role by joining

the ACF administrative council. With your participa-tion, the ACF can be worthy of the passion you bring to your work.

Profile

The Charlotte Baer Award is named for the UCSF clinical faculty member who died in

1973. Baer moved to California after fleeing Nazi Germany in 1938. Her practice in internal medicine was characterized by her devotion to her patients, and tenacity and vigor in her pur-suit of obscure diagnostic problems. Her many accomplishments included helping to set up the peer review process used by the California Medical Association and Blue Shield, and orga-nizing a synchronized swimming group in San

Francisco — she had been the intercollegiate breaststroke champion of Europe but was not allowed to compete in the Berlin Olympics because she was a Jew.

After her death, her family asked that money be donated to UCSF in lieu of flowers. The campus and School of Medicine decided that the best way to memorialize her was to establish an award to recognize clinical faculty contributions to the School of Medicine.

AwardDr. Charlotte Baer Memorial

Juan Guerra For Dr. Juan Guerra, taking his grandparents to their doctors appointments in the 1970s meant so much more than giving them a ride. Having immigrated from El Salvador to the United States in 1967, Guerra was his grand-parents’ translator and witness to a medical system that didn’t provide equal access to all.

“Realizing that was powerful. It transformed my life in terms of pursuing a career,” he says.

An ob/gyn at Kaiser Permanente East Bay in Oakland, Guerra has dedicated his career to providing quality, culturally competent health care to patients in need.

“When patients can understand and follow your plans for their care, it makes all the dif-ference,” says Guerra. “A health care system that transcends language and culture gives access to everyone.”

Dedicated to improving the system from within, Guerra continues to advocate for a diverse medical work force. In 2009, he founded Salud en Español, a multi-specialty Kaiser-based clinic staffed by bilingual and bicultural physicians.

An ACF member for five years, Guerra volunteers as a Clinical Profes-sor at UCSF, working with third-year medical students in their ob/gyn rotations. He is also co-director for the Kaiser Longitudinal Inte-grated Clerkship, in which he mentors eight UCSF medical students who spend an entire year at Kaiser Permanente. And, along with UCSF Professor Patricia Robertson, M.D., Guerra provides a research internship and mentorship to underrepresented minority pre-medical students.

“It’s an absolute joy to collaborate with the UCSF School of Medi-cine. I feel very fortunate to be in such a diverse and complementary professional setting,” he says. “At the end of the day, we know it’s all about serving the community.”

Non-Profit OrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDSan Francisco, CA

Permit No. 925

Association of the Clinical FacultyUCSF - School of MedicinePatricia Ramirez, CoordinatorCampus Box 0410521 Parnassus Avenue, C-254San Francisco, CA 94143-0410Tel: 415-476-5169www.medschool.ucsf.edu/acf

Year in Review2012

2012 Officers

Susan Obata President

Andrea SelloPresident-elect

Juan GuerraSecretary

Don KittTreasurer

Quarterly MeetingsFebruary 23rd

April 19thJune 7th

September 13th

Submit agenda items topatricia.ramirez@ucsf.edu

Photography: Elisabeth FallWriters: Linda Gebroe unless otherwise noted.Graphic Design: Michael Warren, At Your Printer

Wade and Susanne Aubry

Wade Aubry and Eric Denys

Wade Aubry and Jacob Johnson

Special Recognition Award

Allen Dekelboum

Say the word “dive” to Dr. Allen Dekelboum, and his face lights up. As someone who has averaged about a hundred scuba dives a year for the last three decades, he has seen much of the world underwater. As one of the top otolaryngologists in the country, he has cultivated an unparalleled expertise in ears, nose and throat (ENT) health. He’s had the good fortune to apply that expertise to the field of diving medicine. And as a member of the UCSF clinical faculty, he has

been able to impart his vast store of knowledge to ENT residents and medical students with grace and humility.

“Dr. Dekelboum is a perfect example of how to balance private practice with clinical teaching,” says otolaryngologist and past ACF president Dr. Jacob Johnson.

A former mentee of Dekelboum, Johnson adds, “He’s a true caregiver. By that I mean Dr. Dekelboum genuinely takes care of people, always staying grounded amid de-mands and distractions. Under his guidance, I learned that staying grounded within myself would enable me to do a better job of caring for others.”

A San Francisco resident since 1939, Dekelboum was educated in the city’s public schools. He served in the Navy during the Korean War, returning stateside to pursue a career in medicine. After completing his residency at UCSF, Dekelboum went into pri-vate practice in otolaryngology from 1965 until his retirement in 1997. His was a note-worthy career, including serving as Chief of Otolaryngology at Mount Zion Hospital.

“He was one of the leading practitioners in San Francisco,” says otolaryngologist and Clinical Professor Dr. Brian Schindler, who has known Dekelboum for more than 40 years.

Throughout his career and even after his retirement, Dekelboum served as a clinical professor, supervising residents at San Francisco General Hospital, the San Francisco VA Medical Center, UCSF, Children’s Hospi-tal and Mount Zion Hospital.

“To say he was dedicated would be an understatement. Dr. Dekelboum has always given his time and knowledge without hesitation,” says Schindler. “He did all of his teaching without any compensation, dutifully pulling out his projector and slides for lectures, actively teaching residents in the operating room.”

Dekelboum says it was his pleasure to do so.

“There’s nothing greater than to give your knowledge to someone else,” he says.

In 1980, Dekelboum’s life and career took on the added dimension of diving. That was when a patient who owned a dive shop encouraged the doctor to take a scuba class. Dekelboum was instantly hooked.

“My wife saw me come out of the water and said, ‘I think I better learn to do this, too,’” he says.

The Dekelboums went on to travel the world, diving in some of the Earth’s most exotic seas. The doctor spent much of the rest of his career focused on diving medicine.

“It’s a natural for ears, nose and throat doctors,” he explains. “Divers face a whole gamut of challenges, not the least of which are ENT problems and decompression illness.”

Of course, his love of teaching stayed with Dekelboum. In 1984, when the scientists at the California Academy of Sciences invited him to lecture on the physiology of diving, Dekelboum eagerly accepted.

“I had three huge cases of slides ready to go,” he says.

Now his lecture material can fit on a flash drive. He has become a prominent member of the Academy’s Diving Control Board. But what hasn’t changed is his eagerness to continue exploring science. This past November, Dekelboum and colleague Dr. Robert Van Syoc published a paper in Zootaxa on several new species of a particular type of barnacle. It was the same week Dekelboum received his Special Recognition Award from the ACF and it was hard to tell which pleased him more – the award or the publication.

“The genus we studied was originally described by Charles Darwin in 1851. I got to dis-sect one of his specimens,” says Dekelboum.

“I love science and medicine,” he adds. “They’re just glorious.”

Robert Nachtigall

For anyone who receives a diagnosis of infertility, the emotional and physical stress are often overwhelm-ing. And, for anyone training in the field of reproduc-tive endocrinology and infertility, working with such patients can be daunting. Fortunately, there are doc-tors – and teachers – like Robert Nachtigall.

An active member of the UCSF clinical faculty for 31 years, Nachtigall has consistently brought a human-

istic approach to his practice, his research and his teaching. His clinical expertise has been recognized at the highest professional levels. Just as important, it has been passed on to an entire generation of UCSF medical students and house staff who can make his good practices their own.

“Dr. Nachtigall is an outstanding mentor,” says Linda Giudice, M.D., Professor and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences. “His gentle nature helps patients feel comfortable with him. His exceptional empathy helps trainees feel comfortable with him, too.”

Nachtigall’s students repeatedly echo Giudice’s sentiments. Evaluations by his stu-dents are often glowing, as in the following:

“Dr. Nachtigall is one of the best lecturers and teachers I’ve had. He conveys the scientific complexities of infertility side by side with the emotional and cultural com-plexities, with a brilliance and humanity that quite honestly moved me to tears. He is an inspiring role model.”

Nachtigall began practicing at Children’s Hospital (now California Pacific Medical Center) in San Francisco in 1979, after completing his Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology at UCSF. He was appointed CPMC’s Chief of Medical Education in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 1980.

When Nachtigall started his reproductive endocrinology and infertility practice, he was immediately struck by the intense social and emotional turmoil experienced by his involuntarily childless patients. Within a year he co-founded the Bay Area chapter of RESOLVE, the national, non-profit consumer-based infertility support and education organization; he was also a charter member (and one of only two physicians) of the Mental Health Special Interest Group of the American Society of Reproductive Medi-cine.

Nachtigall also saw, early on, that there was a paucity of knowledge about the prob-lems that low-income minorities faced in their efforts to create families. And he realized that this population remained invisible to practitioners, social scientists, and policy analysts. Recognizing that infertility was a universal human problem, Nachtigall and his fellow researchers successfully completed the first in-depth study, funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD, that exam-ined the experiences of low-income Latinos with infertility.

Director of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertil-ity at San Francisco General Hospital. There, he personally provided one-on-one supervision and teaching of medical students and residents in the departments of Medicine, Family and Community Medicine, and Obstetrics and Gynecology. His lead-ership was key to revitalizing Northern California’s only infertility clinic serving low-income patients.

Despite his many accomplishments in clinical prac-tice and clinical research, Nachtigall’s greatest love has been teaching. In more than three decades on the job, he has received 18 student teaching awards including an unprecedented three department-wide Clinical Faculty Teaching Awards.

“I always remind myself that I was once a medical student, too, and that I didn’t have the confidence and years of experience that I do now. A career in medicine is a lifelong learning opportunity,” says Nachtigall. “Teaching it is a great privilege.”

Robert Franklin

Bob Franklin is one of those people who loves to get up and go to work. As a family physician at San Fran-cisco’s Southeast Health Center, Franklin treats some of the city’s poorest and most underserved residents.

“It’s why I went into medicine,” he says. “I wanted to do something important for people who had nowhere else to go.”

Franklin has been doing something important. Since 1995, when he began working at the Southeast Health Center, Franklin has gained great insight into the medical and psychosocial challenges facing low-income inner city residents. Applying those skills and understanding to his medical practice has literally helped save lives.

His compassion and enthusiasm have been as much a part of his work as his stetho-scope.

“The patients are what makes the work worthwhile,” he says. “They’re dynamite.” Apparently, the love goes both ways.

“It’s like a light turns on when patients hear his name,” says Dr. Ronald Goldschmidt, Vice-Chair of the UCSF Department of Family and Community Medicine. “When we go on rounds and say we know Dr. Franklin, patients universally brighten up.”

In addition to providing quality medical care, Franklin also teaches UCSF medical stu-dents at the Southeast Health Center.

“In all the years he’s been there, Bob has been an incredible role model for students learning about working with medically underserved populations,” says Dr. William Shore, Professor of Clinical Family and Community Medicine. “His dedication to teach-ing is just remarkable. In the context of working in a very busy inner city clinic with challenging patients and situations, he has consistently taken medical students to work with him.

“That’s unusual. Often, clinical faculty will need a break, saying that taking on stu-dents is too time consuming,” Shore continues. “But Bob has consistently and enthu-siastically worked with them.”

Franklin’s love of medicine and of helping those who need it most has made an enor-mous impact on those he teaches. As one of his students put it:“In every way possible, Dr. Franklin modeled the professional qualities that I hope to achieve as a physician in the future. He engaged me in thought-provoking discussions about patient care, disease pathology, social justice and health care reform. I could not have chosen a better clinician to work with during my Family and Community Medicine rotation.”

After receiving his M.D. from the George Washington School of Medicine in 1991, Franklin completed his internship and residency in Family Medicine at the UCSF/SFGH Family Medicine Residency Program in 1993. For most of the 1990s, he was employed as an emergency department physician at St. Luke’s Hospital; he continues to serve in that capacity at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in South San Fran-cisco.

But practicing family and community medicine, as he does at Southeast Health Center, is where Franklin’s heart lies.

“It can be exciting to work with acute cases in the emergency room,” he says. “But you don’t get the same feeling of accomplishment that you do when you’re working with people who are most in need.”

To that end, Franklin is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Physicians for Social Responsibility. He was also the recipient of the 1998 Henry J. Kaiser Award for Excellence in Teaching.

“Bob is the quintessential positive example of a community preceptor,” concludes Shore. “We need clones of Bob Franklin who do it, love it and continue to serve as role models.”

Recipients

UCSF School of Medicine Names Vice Dean of EducationCatherine Reinis Lucey, MD, has been appointed vice dean for education in the UCSF School of Medicine, effective September 1, according to Sam Hawgood, MBBS, dean of the UCSF School of Medicine who announced the appoint-ment today (May 27).

Lucey will succeed David Irby, PhD, who will take a well-deserved sabbatical and then return to work on specific educational initiatives (see last year’s announcement.) Under Irby’s leadership, medical education at UCSF has flourished and garnered national and international recog-nition, Hawgood noted.

Lucey is looking forward to coming back to the UCSF community. After earning her med-ical degree from the Northwestern University School of Medicine, she completed her residency in internal medicine, including service as chief resident, at the UCSF-affiliated San Francisco General Hospital.

“I am excited about returning to UCSF because I honestly believe that this institution has developed the best medical education system in the country,” Lucey said. “This is the

institution that will be able to develop educational innovations that help our students and trainees become the types of physicians who will solve our current and future health care challenges.

“On every visit I made to UCSF, I found faculty, residents and students who were actively engaged by the educational opportunities already in existence and excited about build-ing on the many successes of the institution. The Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators, the new teaching and learning facilities, and the center for interprofessional education provided me with tangible evidence that UCSF takes great pride in setting the standard for medical education.”

“I am excited about returning to UCSF because I honestly believe that this institution has developed the best medical education system in the country,” Lucey said. Lucey outlined a few of her priorities as the new vice dean of medical education.

“My top priorities as vice dean will be to continue to support our students, trainees and faculty, to advance interprofessional education with colleagues in the other health sciences schools, to identify strategies to build a more seamless continuum of medical education and to work with the leaders in biomedical science and clinical care to ensure that our students and residents are a part of the exciting work that is going on here.”

A Passionate Advocate for EducationLucey’s areas of expertise include professionalism, clinical problem solving and learner remediation. She has been a passionate advocate for using education to ad-vance the quality and safety of patient care and to prepare leaders capable of solving current problems in health care and health care delivery.

She has advanced faculty development and support within the College of Medicine and has been instrumental in recognizing the contributions of faculty in all mission areas. Under her leadership, Ohio State has employed a novel paradigm of profes-sionalism across the medical center.

Before joining Ohio State in 2002, Lucey was a clinical instructor at Harvard Univer-sity School of Medicine; assistant professor of medicine at the University of Texas, San Antonio; and associate professor of medicine at the George Washington Uni-versity School of Medicine and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

Lucey has won numerous honors and awards during her career, including several teacher of the year awards, a mentor of the year award and the Faculty Teaching Award in 2009.

Written by Lisa Cisneros, Editor-in-Chief, Web Communications

Allen and Joan Dekelboum

Robert Franklin, Bill Shore, Susan Obata

Linda Giudice, Robert and Andrea Nachitgall

Past Presidents