The Department of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has named Melvin Blanchard, MD, to the newly created position of vice chair for education.
Blanchard will continue in his role as director of the department’s Division of Medical Education until a national search is concluded and a replacement is named.
Regarding his role as director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program, the department has named Dominique Cosco, MD, an associate professor of medicine, as interim director of the program. Blanchard had held that role for 13 years.
The department’s head, Victoria J. Fraser, MD, the Adolphus Busch Professor of Medicine and head of the Department of Medicine, said the vice chair position was created to strengthen the School of Medicine’s commitment to undergraduate, graduate and continuing medical education. In his new role, Blanchard, a professor of medicine, will oversee and coordinate a broad portfolio of educational and training activities.
“Dr. Blanchard is a distinguished physician-educator who has received numerous awards based on his outstanding teaching, leadership and commitment to training several generations of medical students and residents,” Fraser said.
To allow Blanchard to focus on his new role, a national search for a new division director of medical education will be led by Eva Aagaard, MD, senior associate dean for education and the Carol B. and Jerome T. Loeb Professor of Medical Education.
While interim director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program, Cosco will continue as director of teacher development in the School of Medicine’s Academy of Educators and as program director of the primary care track in the Division of Medical Education.
“Dr. Cosco is a highly regarded medical educator who already has enriched our residency program since she was recruited here last fall from Emory University,” Fraser said. “We look forward to continued improvements and innovations under her leadership.”