Drake honored with coordinator excellence award

Drake

Tia Drake, executive director of Graduate Medical Education (GME) at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, was honored Feb. 28 with the GME Institutional Coordinator Excellence Award.

The award, given by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), recognizes institutional coordinators who play pivotal roles in ensuring the success of institutions and their sponsored training programs. The ACGME awards website notes that the organization depends on these individuals “to wear the many hats of administrator, counselor, enforcer, coordinator, organizer and scheduler.”

A nominating letter for the award signed by Douglas Char, MD, associate professor of emergency medicine and the residency program director, and more than 80 GME program directors, said Drake “has been the driving force within the Washington University GME office since its inception.” Her organizational skills and attention to detail are “legendary,” the letter continued.

Said Drake, who has worked at the university for 25 years: “I’ve done a lot of things at the university, but this is by far the most rewarding job that I’ve ever had, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. You really see the impact you have on medicine.”

The GME office at the School of Medicine is responsible for the accreditation of 85 residency and fellowship training programs. Drake ensures the programs comply with regulations set out by ACGME, the main accrediting body for U.S. residency and fellowship programs.