October 29, 2004

MGPO honors its physicians at 10th anniversary celebration

The Massachusetts General Physicians Organization (MGPO) celebrated its 10th anniversary with a special dinner held Oct. 23, that showcased the organization and celebrated physicians for their work taking care of patients. The evening's highlight was the presentation of the Brian A. McGovern, MD, Award for Clinical Excellence.

"In the aftermath of Brian's terrible death, many patients and colleagues spoke about his clinical skills, his compassion and dedication to patients," said David Torchiana, MD, chairman and CEO of the MGPO. "We decided to develop a clinical excellence award to honor Brian and recognize our physicians." According to Torchiana, the response to the award was tremendous. The MGPO received 163 nominations for 91 different physicians. It was the first time in nearly 200 years of MGH history that an award has been given to physicians for clinical excellence. Below are the award recipients with excerpts from their nomination letters.

• Hasan Bazari, MD, of Internal Medicine, Nephrology "Hasan is one of the physicians whose presence on the floors extends from early in the morning to late at night. His trademark bedside manner is soft-spoken, thoughtful, unhurried, even late at night, or amidst the commotion of an intensive care unit."
  
  
• Daniel Doody, MD, of Pediatric Surgery "Every couple of weeks I see a family come to our clinic just so the child can say hello to Dr. Doody ... He never says "no" when a patient needs him, whether for his surgical skill, his clinical wisdom, or simply for compassion and his hand to hold."
  
  
• John Godine, MD, PhD, of Internal Medicine, Endocrinology "As an intern, I admitted one of John's patients, and we agreed I would draw her blood at 3 am to check a test. My beeper went off 20 minutes later. Was it the lab calling in an abnormal value? No, it was John — he had set his alarm so he could check the value. He wanted me to know it was OK."
  
  
• Annekathryn "AK" Goodman, MD, of MGH Vincent Obstetrics and Gynecology "About 15 years ago, late one summer Saturday evening, I saw AK, then an oncology fellow, at the hospital. I knew she was not on call. AK was there to be with a patient who had advanced gynecologic cancer. The woman had no family or friends. She told AK that her sole wish was not to die alone and asked if AK would be with her when her time came. And so, AK was keeping a vigil, honoring a solemn commitment to a near anonymous patient. The patient died early Sunday morning, AK at her side."