Interpersonal & Communication Skills: Educating for Relationship Competency

Elizabeth A. Rider, MSW, MD, FAAP is Director of Programs for Communication Skills at the John D. Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH); Director of Academic Programs for the Institute for Professionalism and Ethical Practice, Children’s Hospital Boston; and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School (HMS). A graduate of Harvard Medical School, Dr. Rider completed her pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital Boston, and fellowship in General Academic Pediatrics at MGH. She also holds a Master’s degree in clinical social work from Smith College. A former child and family therapist, she is board certified in both pediatrics and clinical social work (LICSW, BCD), and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and of the American Academy on Communication in Healthcare. She practices pediatrics at Roslindale Pediatric Associates in Boston. Dr. Rider designs and leads educational programs at 3 Harvard Hospitals and did similar work at HMS as Coordinator of Faculty Development, Resident as Teacher Programs. She has received teaching awards, and is faculty for the Harvard Macy Institute. Dr. Rider is Section Editor (Reflective Practice) for the international journal, Patient Education and Counseling, and an Associate Editor for Medical Encounter. Dr. Rider is Co-Chair of the Medicine Academy, National Academies of Practice, and co-author of the book, “A Practical Guide to Teaching and Assessing the ACGME Core Competencies”. (HCPro, Inc, 2007).

Margaret L. Stuber, MD is the Jane and Marc Nathanson Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She received her medical training at the University of Michigan, and her psychiatric training at UCLA. She is Board certified in Psychosomatic Medicine, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry as well as Psychiatry. She was instrumental in the recent restructuring of the two year Human Biology of Disease curriculum and is the Director of the three year Doctoring curriculum and Co-Chair of the second year Medical Neuroscience course at the David Geffen School of Medicine UCLA. Her clinical work and research has been focused on the impact of serious medical illness on children and their parents.

Assessing Professional Behavior in Residency

Peter Katsufrakis, MD, MBA has experience in undergraduate and graduate medical education and has done extensive research in areas of HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, and physician education. In his current role as Associate Vice President, Post-Graduate and Developmental Programs at the NBME, Dr. Katsufrakis participates in implementation of the Assessment of Professional Behaviors and works closely with the Center for Innovation. Dr. Katsufrakis served as Associate Dean for Student Affairs at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and was a member of the faculty in the Department of Family Medicine. At the Keck School he taught the following courses: professionalism in medicine, introduction to clinical medicine; and human sexuality. Nationally, Dr. Katsufrakis was active within theAAMC’s Group on Student Affairs, serving as national chair, on numerous GSA committees and task forces, and as a member of the USMLE Step 1 Committee. Dr. Katsufrakis received his MD degree from the University of California, San Diego and completed an internship and residency in family medicine at the Santa Monica Hospital in Santa Monica, California. He also earned an MBA degree from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business.