WVU Charleston Campus Hosts Gold Humanism and Women in Medicine Summit

Nationally Recognized Speaker Gives Address on Strategies to Pursue Personal Health and Create a Culture of Wellness

CHARLESTON, W.VA. Medical students at West Virginia University’s Health Sciences Charleston Campus hosted a nationally recognized speaker on professional burnout and wellness strategies as part of the Gold Humanism Honor Society Summit held at the WVU Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center Charleston Campus on April 11, 2019.

Catherine Pipas, MD, MPH presented the keynote address entitled “Caring for Me – Caring for You: Strategies to Pursue Personal Health and Create a Culture of Wellness.”

Dr. Pipas is a Professor in Community and Family Medicine at Dartmouth’s School of Medicine. Over the last 25 years, she has maintained a clinical practice at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and has served as Assistant Dean, Vice Chair, Chief Clinical Officer, and Director of the Office of Community-Based Education and Research and Director of Dartmouth’s Regional Primary Care Center. She has been recognized as a leader in education, research and clinical care with awards including: 2017 and 2018 New Hampshire Top Doctor, Dartmouth Medical School Master Educator, Clinical Teacher of the Year, Humanism in Medicine and AOA Honor Society.

Dr. Pipas is author of A Doctor’s Dozen: 12 Strategies for Personal Health and a Culture of Wellness. Her book delivers the perfect framework for a wellness curriculum for Health Professionals – and Everyone Else! Dr. Pipas is committed to improved health nationally and internationally and provides training across professions to promote healthy individuals and healthy organizations. Her vision is for Healthy Individuals Contributing to Healthy Communities. She received her medical degree at Jefferson Medical College, and completed residency at Medical University of South Carolina, Faculty Development Fellowship at UNC- Chapel Hill and an MPH at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. Dr. Pipas contributes to the development of undergraduate and medical students, nurses, resident, faculty and community members across the institution and regionally. She teaches Experiential Public Health and The Culture, Science and Practice of Wellness courses at Dartmouth College, directs Dartmouth’s Leadership and Culture of Wellness Curriculum and teaches Applied Leadership for the Leadership Preventive Medicine Residency at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.

Dr. Pipas speaks, consults and collaborates locally, nationally and globally with medical schools, residency programs, hospitals and other organizations including the 2019 Tuck School of Business, Center for Healthcare Initiative: Health is Everyone’s Business.

The Gold Humanism Summit concluded with a discussion of effective wellness strategies, led by WVU Charleston’s James Griffith, MD, and including John Linton, PhD, ABPP, Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, Associate Vice President for Health Sciences and Dean, WVU School of Medicine Charleston Division, Norman Ferrari, MD, Vice Dean for Medical Education, Chair of the Department of Medical Education, WVU School of Medicine, Beth Emrick, MD Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Core Council Leader of the Women in Medicine group, WVU School of Medicine Charleston Division, Chantel Weisenmuller, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, Council Representative to the American Psychological Association, WVU School of Medicine Charleston Division, Jessica Luzier, PhD, ABPP, Associate Professor in the Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, Director of the WVU Disordered Eating Center of Charleston, WVU School of Medicine Charleston Division, Darrin Nichols, MD, PGY-2 Resident Physician in the Department of Family Medicine, WVU School of Medicine Charleston Division, and Catherine Pipas, MD, MPH, Dartmouth College Geisel School of Medicine.

Students at the West Virginia University School of Medicine in Charleston coordinated the summit as part of their Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) work.

The Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) is a national honor society that honors senior medical students, residents, role-model physician teachers and other exemplars recognized for demonstrated excellence in clinical care, leadership, compassion and dedication to service. It was created by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation for Humanism in Medicine.