Promotions Bolster Einstein's Medical Education

Dr. Allen M. Spiegel, the Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean at Einstein, recently announced two promotions important to medical students and their education: Dr. Allison Ludwig, formerly assistant dean for students is now associate dean for student affairs, responsible for overseeing the office of student affairs; and Dr. Pablo Joo, formerly assistant dean for medical education is now associate dean for medical education and curricular affairs.

Tapping into Student Needs

Allison Ludwig, M.D.During her tenure as assistant dean, Dr. Ludwig focused on developing innovative solutions to issues affecting Einstein medical students, including managing stress and promoting resiliency, optimizing the medical student learning environment, and improving group communication skills among medical students. She championed two signature programs related to student welfare: An ombuds program that allows students subjected to mistreatment to confidentially report inappropriate behavior on the part of residents or faculty and insures that the matter will be carefully investigated; and Einstein’s WellMed Program, which offers a variety of services aimed at keeping students physically and emotionally well balanced as they pursue their medical training.

“I’m excited about the initiatives we’re working on,” said Dr. Ludwig, adding: “Among current projects, we’re developing enhancements to the career advisory program and to the mental health component of WellMed. I want to be sure that we look at the whole student and help each to identify and understand what works best for them as they navigate the various stages of their education.”

Dr. Ludwig is also assistant professor of medicine in the division of hospital medicine. She was director of the hospitalist program at Jacobi before joining the office of student affairs, and site director for the internal medicine clerkship, both based at Jacobi Medical Center. A member of Einstein’s Class of 2004, Dr. Ludwig completed her residency training in internal medicine at University of California San Francisco and returned to Einstein as an attending in 2007. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University.

Spearheading Medical Education Quality and Innovations

Pablo Joo, M.D.As assistant dean for medical education for nearly six years, Dr. Joo has made significant contributions to the College of Medicine’s education processes. These include developing the Teaching Star program, which aims to elevate the excellence of all Einstein educators; incorporating more active learning into the curriculum; and enhancing education on diversity, primary care, health systems and patient advocacy.

As associate dean, he will continue to advance processes to enhance the quality of the Einstein educational experience through novel evaluation and assessment approaches. He also maintains his research programs on assessment, curricular innovations and educational quality improvement.

“Medical education is undergoing a major renaissance around the globe,” said Dr. Joo. “The curriculum initiatives we’ve implemented thus far couldn’t have happened without a team effort and I’m grateful to fellow faculty and the medical students for their support, flexibility and energy in helping them flourish. I hope to continue collaborating with colleagues and students to enhance best practices, such as supporting advancement in active learning, establishing a developmental student assessment system and promoting evaluation of our programs linked to measurable learning outcomes. Together, we can expand Einstein’s leadership in medical education, as we continue to produce outstanding, patient-centered physicians and physician-scientists.”

Dr. Joo is also associate professor of family and social medicine. He earned his medical degree at Medical College of Wisconsin and did his residency training in family medicine at Montefiore.  Prior to assuming his assistant dean position, Dr. Joo served as clerkship director for family medicine.

“Drs. Ludwig and Joo have demonstrated their strengths in contributing to the excellent educational standards we strive to offer Einstein students, and their capabilities in leading their departments to evolve and progress,” said Dr. Spiegel. “I am confident they will continue to advance Einstein’s social justice mission to train compassionate doctors dedicated to caring for all members of our diverse society. Please join me in congratulating them.”