I am pleased to announce that Thomas Ciesielski, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM) has been appointed as Vice Chair of Patient Safety for the Department of Medicine. Dr. Ciesielski did his undergraduate training at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington where he was a collegiate athlete and accomplished swimmer. He received his medical degree from Oregon Health and Science University. We were fortunate to recruit him here for his internal medicine residency. Because of his outstanding performance as a resident Dr. Ciesielski was selected as a chief medical resident and then went on to complete a fellowship in patient safety and quality here at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WUSM, and received the Knowlton Award for Excellence. Dr. Ciesielski joined the Washington University faculty in 2013. He is currently an associate program director for the internal medicine residency training program and serves as the GME medical director of safety and quality education and the chair of the Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC) for the consortium. He has also been the Patient Safety Officer for the Division of General Medicine and serves on the department’s Operations Expert Council and is a member of the hospital’s Safety and Quality Council and Executive Sentinel Event Review Team (ESERT). He has received additional training and recognition from the AAMC in GME leadership. Dr. Ciesielski is active in numerous local and national safety and quality initiatives including being a current member of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Integrating Quality (iQ) Committee. Dr. Ciesielski’s has published and presented nationally on safe opioid prescribing and safety and quality education. He also serves as the executive editor for the Washington Manual series of textbooks.
In addition to his clinical contributions, Dr. Ciesielski has developed several safety and quality educational opportunities for residents and fellows in the department. As Vice Chair of Patient Safety, Dr. Ciesielski will work closely with leaders in the department, School of Medicine and hospital to build on the safety and quality program started by Dr. Odden. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Ciesielski on his new role as Vice Chair of Patient Safety.