Susan F. Kroop, MD, began her career as a clinician educator teaching medical students, residents, and fellows at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. For 15 years, she has continued her career at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center as an assistant professor of medicine. As a committed educator, Dr. Kroop has felt the Foundation’s impact on her ability to continue educating future rheumatologists.
Dr. Kroop learned about the Foundation’s grants and funding opportunities through events hosted by the ACR and guidance from her academic mentors. In 2013, she received the Clinician Scholar Educator Award, which supports educators dedicated to developing new and improved programs to enhance education in musculoskeletal and rheumatic diseases for future doctors and rheumatology health professionals. The award allowed Dr. Kroop to develop and implement a novel training program for residents and advance fellowship training in education. The award also helped advance her career, allowing her to become more involved in the medical educator community within her own institution and the ACR.
“The Clinician Scholar Educator Award has given me an opportunity to think rigorously about medical education and to develop and implement more effective teaching methods in rheumatology in a rapidly changing health care environment,” Dr. Kroop said.
Dr. Kroop believes the Foundation’s biggest impact has been its unique support of educational opportunities. The Foundation offers a wide range of support for education and training at various career levels for rheumatology professionals, which ultimately improves patient care. Over the next 30 years, Dr. Kroop hopes that the Foundation continues to advance patient care, support research, and help train a new generation of rheumatologists.
Dr. Kroop will be speaking about her project during Innovative Educators, Novel Techniques: A Rheumatology Research Foundation Special Session from 2:30 – 4:00 pm on Tuesday. The session features research conducted by CSE Award recipients.