St. Christopher's Physician Receives 2014 APA Miller-Sarkin Mentoring Award and Co-Leads Multi-Center Collaborative

Dr. Nancy Spector Receives 2014 APA Miller-Sarkin Mentoring Award & Chair of National I-PASS Handoff Study. End Quote

Philadelphia, PA-NJ (1888PressRelease) November 25, 2014 - Nancy Spector, MD, ambulatory pediatric attending physician and pediatric residency program director at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children and professor of pediatrics at Drexel University College of Medicine, has been awarded the Miller-Sarkin Mentoring Award by the Academic Pediatric Association (APA). Dr. Spector received the award in May at the Pediatric Academic Societies' Annual Meeting in Vancouver.

According to the APA website, the Miller-Sarkin Award recognizes the contributions of an APA member who has provided outstanding mentorship to learners or colleagues, locally and nationally. The award was first given in 2006 and has been presented each year since. This is the first time that Dr. Spector has received this award.

"Mentoring is truly a passion for me and I demonstrate that passion by promoting and broadening the concept of mentoring to enhance personal and professional development for colleagues in academic pediatrics," says Dr. Spector. "Many of my own mentors have received the Miller-Sarkin Mentoring award, so it's truly an honor."

Dr. Spector says that the selection process involves a nomination, a personal statement, a letter of support from a national leader and two letters of support from the nominee's mentees.

As an attending physician at St. Christopher's and a professor of pediatrics at Drexel University College of Medicine, Dr. Spector is the Pediatric Residency Program Director at St. Christopher's. In this role, she provides mentorship and pro-development to all residents, as well as to the chief residents. Additionally, she leads a junior faculty and professional developmental program and provides mentorship in collaboration with section chiefs to many mid-level and junior faculty.

Dr. Spector is also the chair of the executive council of the I-PASS Handoff Institute, which oversees the I-PASS Handoff Study. In this role, she co-leads a multi-center collaborative that includes faculty from 11 institutions and has helped to professionally develop junior faculty in that study, as well as develop several peer mentoring experiences. St. Christopher's was one of nine children's hospitals to implement I-PASS. I-PASS seeks to reduce medical errors by improving caregiver-to-caregiver communication. The system consists of standardized communication and handoff training, a verbal handoff process centered around the mnemonic I-PASS (illness severity, patient summary, action list, situational awareness and contingency planning, and synthesis by receiver), computerized handoff tools to share patient information between providers using the I-PASS structure, engagement of supervising physicians to oversee handoffs, and a campaign promoting the adoption of I-PASS. The study was recently featured in New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

"Whether in her role as the pediatric residency program director guiding pediatricians-in-training, facilitating a group of junior faculty in ongoing meetings focused on professional development, or providing individual counsel and advice to more established faculty, Dr. Spector is a much valued mentor who is always available to provide excellent mentorship and support," says David Schonfeld, MD, Pediatrician-in-Chief at St. Christopher's. "She joins an illustrious group of 10 prior award recipients nationally and we are very proud to have her represent St. Chris' strong history of educators and mentors."

For more information about the APA Miller-Sarkin Mentoring Award, visit https://www.academicpeds.org/aboutUs/about_awards_millersarkin.cfm.

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