OMEDI: The Office of Medical Education, Diversity, and Inclusion

New Residency Program Interns pose for a picture.

Department of Pediatrics Annual Report – 2022

Education

The Office of Medical Education, Diversity, and Inclusion (OMEDI) embodies the department's commitment to ensuring diversity, inclusion, and equity among our learners, training programs, faculty, staff, and leadership.

The OMEDI team is continuously working to improve, innovate, and create an environment that ensures:

  • Learning in the context of humanistic patient care
  • Positive interactions among faculty, residents, fellows, nursing staff, and students
  • Inclusion of diverse perspectives and voices, which is essential to successful and collaborative work
  • Support for well-being and resilience to both prevent and mitigate burnout

OMEDI has a unique structure. OMEDI serves as an umbrella office in the department, includes educational programs across the continuum, and seeks to engage all those involved with the department as learners or educators, including:

A New Initiative: CAPE (Columbia Academy for Pediatric Educators)

In 2022, OMEDI faculty Marina Catallozzi, MD, MSCE and Shoshana Friedman, MD launched CAPE to build a community where members could gain skills in interactive teaching; educational theories and principles; educational program planning, implementation, evaluation and dissemination; and educational scholarship all with an inclusive, anti-racist and adult-learning framework.  

Based on the results of our initial CAPE interest survey, sessions on Teaching Skills and Works in Progress launched in 2022. All sessions have been offered in a hybrid platform (both in-person and via zoom). Teaching skills sessions have covered a variety of skills in teaching to build confidence and a repertoire of approaches to clinical and didactic teaching. Works in Progress & Educational Scholarship Skills sessions have offered the opportunity to get feedback on ideas, presentations, grants or papers. Half of the session is devoted to building skills in medical education research.

We have a committed interdisciplinary membership and look forward to continuing engaging together this coming year.

OMEDI Leadership

To ensure that learners at every level receive and deliver training that best benefits our learning environment, patients, and community, the OMEDI leadership team includes:

Departmental Leadership Council

  • Marina Catallozzi, MD, MSCE, Vice Chair for Education
  • Linda Aponte-Patel, MD, Associate Vice Chair for Education and Diversity & Inclusion
  • Hetty Cunningham, MD, Associate Vice Chair for Education and the Learning Environment
  • Sarah Lusman, MD, Director, Fellowship Program and Fellows’ Academy

Residency

  • Sumeet Banker, MD, MPH, Interim Program Co-Director
  • Candace (Cece) Johnson, MD, Interim Program Co-Director
  • Mariellen Lane, MD, Associate Program Director
  • Shoshana Friedman, MD, Director of Resident as Teacher Program and Director of RAMP (Resident Academic Mentored Projects)

Fellowship

  • Karen Soren, MD, Adolescent Medicine
  • Ramsay Fuleihan, MD, Allergy and Immunology
  • Julie S. Glickstein, MD, Cardiology
  • Alejandro Iglesias, MD, Clinical Genetics
  • Linda Aponte-Patel, MD,  Critical Care Medicine
  • Cindy Roskind, MD, Emergency Medicine
  • Patricia Vuguin, MD, Endocrinology
  • Sarah Lusman, MD, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition
  • Prakash Satwani, MD, Hematology, Oncology, and Stem Cell Transplantation
  • Steven Lobritto, MD, Hepatology
  • Sumeet Banker, MD, MPH, Hospital Medicine
  • Natalie Neu, MD, MPH, Infectious Disease
  • Tina Leone, MD, Neonatology
  • Natalie Uy, MD, Nephrology
  • Melissa S. Stockwell, MD, MPH, Primary Care Clinician Research Fellowship in Community Health
  • Aliva De, MD, Pulmonology

Medical Student Education

  • Marguerite (Maggie) Costich, MD, MS, Pediatric Clerkship Director
  • Kathleen Brennan, MD, MS, Associate Pediatric Clerkship Director
  • Elizabeth (Beth) Prabhu, MD, Associate Pediatric Clerkship Director in Pediatric Emergency Medicine Education
  • Elaine Dinolfo, MD, Pediatric Clerkship Director at Harlem Hospital
  • Steve Caddle, MD, MPH, Director, Pediatric Electives and Sub-Internships
  • Joseph A. Picoraro, MD, Co-Director of the Foundations of Clinical Medicine Tutorials  

Honors and Awards

Members of the OMEDI team are committed to be both learners and leaders in medical education. Their innovations were recognized in 2022 in a number of areas, highlighted below:

Linda Aponte-Patel, MD

  • Promoted to Associate Professor of Pediatrics
  • Selected as Treasurer for the VP&S Latino Association, and will serve on the founding Board of Directors
  • Selected as a new member of the Columbia VP&S Virginia Apgar Academy of Medical Educators

Sumeet Banker, MD, MPH

  • Promoted to Associate Professor of Pediatrics

Kathleen Brennan, MD, MS

  • Selected as a new member of the Columbia VP&S Virginia Apgar Academy of Medical Educators

Steve Caddle, MD, MPH

  • Promoted to Associate Professor of Pediatrics

Marina Catallozzi, MD, MSCE

  • Elected to the Association of Pediatric Program Director’s Vice Chair Executive Committee

Marguerite Costich, MD

  • Received the Major Clinical Year Outstanding Teacher Award
  • Co-lead for APA National Workgroup on Health Literacy Curriculum 

Hetty Cunningham, MD,

  • Educational Research Grant by the Apgar Academy for Medical Educators: Building the Capacity of Healthcare Professionals Toward Anti-Racist and Inclusive Interprofessional Care

Shoshana Friedman, MD

  • Promoted to Associate Professor of Pediatrics
  • Director of APA Medical Education Journal club

Mariellen Lane, MD

  • Promoted to Professor of Pediatrics

Sarah Lusman, MD

  • Appointed as the Vice-Chair of the Training Committee for the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN)

Joseph A. Picoraro, MD

  • Promoted to Associate Professor of Pediatrics

Taylor Sewell, MD, MBA

  • Received the Provost’s Interdisciplinary Teaching Award (in conjunction with is co-instructors Carri Chan, PhD and Peter Tollman, PhD, MBA). This course, housed at Columbia Business School, enrolls health professions students alongside MBA students to help real-world healthcare organizations answer real-world strategic questions through short-term consulting engagements