University of Tulsa President Gerry Clancy Visits UVA as 2017 Brodie Medical Education Scholar

By Evan Heald, MD (Chair, Brodie Medical Education Fund Committee)

President Jefferson regards President Clancy.

Gerard Clancy, MD, president of the University of Tulsa (referred to as “TU”) and a professor of community medicine known for his groundbreaking work in reducing health disparities and improving access to mental health services for low-income patients, was the recipient of this year’s Anne L. Brodie Medical Education Scholar award.

Clancy previously served as T.U.’s vice president for health affairs and as dean of the Oxley College of Health Sciences, and held the Oxley Foundation Chair in Community Medicine.

The Brodie Scholar award, presented annually since 2010, is intended to “advance medical education by bringing together the UVA education community with nationally recognized scholars who have demonstrated innovation, creativity and leadership in clinical education.” Selected by the Brodie Fund Committee in conjunction with the School of Medicine’s Academy of Distinguished Educators and UVA’s Center for Biomedical Ethics & Humanities, honorees receive a stipend and travel expenses.

True to tradition, Dr. Clancy’s visit to UVA began on Monday, February 27th, with a “Jeffersonian dinner” at the Colonnade Club. (Based on a model Jefferson himself devised, the Jeffersonian dinner consists of a moderator (myself) and 12 guests with a range of backgrounds and expertise, who are selected to attend and discuss a single topic.) This year’s guests included UVA Health System CEO Pam Sutton-Wallace, community leaders, an internal medicine resident, a patient, and a student, all addressing the topic of “earning trust in the communities we serve.”

On Wednesday, March 1, Dr. Clancy gave a joint Medical Grand Rounds/Medical Center Hour talk entitled, “A Story of Success in Reversing Urban Health Disparities,” detailing how T.U.’s medical school played a key role in addressing a 14-year life expectancy gap between two zip codes in the city of Tulsa. The topic of health disparities is widely discussed, but it is less common to hear about programs that have actually helped reduce them — or about medical schools that have this goal as part of their core mission.

The Medical Grand Rounds talk was followed by a poster session and reception on Wednesday evening, with remarks by Dr. Clancy and School of Medicine Dean David Wilkes. The poster session, which was part of UVA’s celebration of Medical Education Week, demonstrated the breadth of medical research at the University.

During Dr. Clancy’s visit he met with SOM’s education deans and residency program directors to discuss in more detail how the University of Tulsa medical school’s involvement in addressing health disparities has provided not just an important community benefit but also an opportunity for students to learn about population health in a hands-on way.

UVA School of Medicine Dean David Wilkes with visiting Brodie Scholar Gerry Clancy.

Clancy was the magnet for a gathering of Virginia mental health providers who were interested in learning more about his efforts to reduce disparities in life expectancy and how those lessons apply to disparities in access to mental health services — since lack of access to mental health treatment among the poor can be a significant contributor to lower life expectancy.

And Dr. Clancy helped a group of passionate medical students consider how to advocate for community-wide engagement with the issue of health disparities, and promote the study of population health as a structured part of their medical education.

Clancy was also the catalyst for a conversation involving leaders of four different UVA residency programs and representatives of various community agencies about how residents can become involved productively and sustainably in the Charlottesville community.

The learning was not all one-sided, however; Dr. Clancy took some of UVA back home as well. He eagerly inspected the School of Medicine’s Learning Studio, with hopes of creating something similar at T.U. He is enthusiastic about introducing the tradition of the Jeffersonian Dinner to the President’s house at T.U. And he carries home the Brodie Renaissance Physician pin — and a handmade wooden spoon that symbolizes his work in stirring our collective imaginations.