Doctor Hinchey clenches national Stethoscope award
SPRINGFIELD A national leader in medical education, Dr. Kevin Hinchey, program director of the internal medicine residency programs at Baystate Medical Center, has received the 2007 Dr. Oliver Wendell Homes Stethoscope Award.
The annual award, recognizing "innovative medical educators, researchers and campaigners for scientific health care," was presented to Hinchey by the Hampden District Medical Society at their Winter District Meeting on Jan. 30, at the Best Western Sovereign Hotel and Conference Center in West Springfield.
Holmes' contributions were not confined to physical medicine, and it was at his urging that Harvard Medical School made the first appointments in what today would be called neurology, psychiatry and psychology. His structure of medical education remains at the core of American medical training today.
In his nomination of Dr. Hinchey, Dr. Michael Picchoni, associate program director of the Internal Medicine Residency programs at Baystate Medical Center, noted it was his understanding that "Dr. Holmes was known for his humane sensitivity and for contributions to medicine and society that were both broad and profound. When it comes to physicians of the current era, Hinchey can be described in these same ways."
"In caring for patients, he always demonstrates the utmost of care and attention in attending compassionately to their needs. While extremely knowledgeable and a skilled diagnostician, Hinchey addresses the emotional and spiritual issues pertinent to his patients with the same importance and practicality as their medical condition. In response to this, his patients routinely express their appreciation and gratitude, and so should we as his colleagues," Picchoni wrote.
Dr. Hinchey's contributions to patient care are also reflected through his dedication to medical education. As program director of the largest medical training program in the area at Baystate Medical Center, the region's only teaching hospital and the Western Campus of Tufts University School of Medicine, he has taught hundreds of physician residents to practice the same high-quality, compassionate medicine he has become known for. He also shares his outstanding skills and inspires many young medical students who study at the hospital each year.
A resource for other medical educators within the field of medicine, Dr. Hinchey is bringing national attention to the training of physicians in Western Massachusetts as a leader within a nationwide project to redesign the way graduate medical education is conducted and how assessments of clinical competence are verified among trainees.
"We have a strong team of educators at Baystate looking at how to redesign our training system to maximize patient care and education. In our first year of a 10 year process, we are focusing on patient safety and teamwork, both essential components of high quality patient care and resident education. Our results will be shared with other training programs here and throughout the country," Hinchey said.
Dr. Hinchey came to Baystate Medical Center in 1988 where he completed his residency training and was named as chief resident. He has served on the hospital's faculty since completing his residency, first as associate program director of the internal medicine residency programs and then as program director beginning in 2000, and he is also medical director of Baystate High Street Health Center. Board certified in internal medicine and a fellow of the American College of Physicians, Dr. Hinchey has received numerous teaching awards from medical students and residents at the hospital.
"Recognition like this award can only happen when you have a good team around you, and I want to thank my partners at the hospital for their support," said Dr. Hinchey about receiving the award.
Recognized as a major teaching and research facility, Baystate Medical Center has some 277 residents in residency and fellowship programs, clinical clerkships for medical students and millions of dollars in sponsored research and grants.
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