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James McDeavitt, MD, GME Physician Leader

James McDeavitt, MD, GME Physician Leader

Current position(s) and title(s)

Senior Vice President of Education and Research for Carolinas Medical Center

Educational background

  • Residency (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation), Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, 1991
  • Internship (Internal Medicine and Pediatrics), North Carolina Baptist Hospital, Winston-Salem, 1987
  • MD, The Bowman Gray School of Medicine of Wake Forest University, 1986
  • BS, magna cum laude, Duke University, 1982

Special area(s) of clinical/research/educational interest

Faculty reimbursement strategies, integrating clinical academic departments and clinic support infrastructure, business planning for residents, faculty leadership evaluations

Why are you a program director/DIO/leader in GME?

I am a DIO because it places me in a position to drive real change. I have the fortune of serving both as DIO and as a senior executive with one of the nation’s largest health care systems. With over two dozen hospitals, and more than 1,000 employed physicians over a wide and economically diverse geography, I am in a tremendous position to link GME to the health care needs of my region. 

What are the most important issues today in GME?

  • Sustainable funding of programs, including adequate reimbursement for clinical teachers
  • Attracting qualified students to primary care
  • Recruiting and retaining residents who reflect societal diversity--racial, ethnic, cultural, economic
  • Promoting practice-based process improvement and population management

If you only had a minute, what advice would you give to a physician in training?

There is a lot of noise out there about the future of health professions. Ignore it. You are making the right choice. Although you will no doubt experience tremendous change over your career, in the 21st century this will be true of all careers, in all fields of endeavor. You are joining a profession where you can come to work every day, meet strangers on a very personal level, and make a huge impact on their lives.

In addition, always remain something of a generalist (even if you are a specialist). The days are over when you could expect to learn to do one procedure well and turn it into a career. Aside from ultimately becoming bored doing the same thing every day for years, in today’s world advances in technology and changes in reimbursement will probably render part of what you do obsolete.  Be a generalist, and always look to see what your community needs, and match your skills to those needs.

What advice do you have for aspiring GME leaders?

  • Concentrate on being a strong clinician first
  • Foster partnerships. You cannot approach GME in isolation and expect it to thrive. Look at your practice (department, division) and put your GME program in the context of the larger environment.  If you spend your time thinking about how GME can help improve the health of the population you serve, and advance the needs of your larger organization, you will ultimately be successful.

AMA member since

1986

Personal

  • Married to Mary,  23 years
  • Two daughters, Kathleen and Grace, 19 and 17
  • Leisure activities include golf, reading, crossword puzzles