As part of the search committee for The Commonwealth Medical Colleges founding president and dean, longtime Scranton-area physician Dr. Robert Tracy says his colleagues, as well as other interviewees, were well aware of the top competitor for the post, Robert DAlessandri from West Virginia Universitys school of medicine.
Whats more impressive than DAlessandri getting the job and pulling off a fast-tracked opening of the Scranton-based school this past summer is his commitment to the entire medical community in the region. Its why the Lackawanna County Medical Society honored DAlessandri with its Presidential Recognition Award late last month. The prestigious award recognizes physicians for the lifelong commitment to excellence in medicine, patient care and medical education in improving the quality of medical care to all residents in Northeast Pennsylvania.
DAlessandri hasnt quite accomplished a lifetimes worth of work in NEPA yet, but hes off to an awfully good start. That began from his first interview, when Tracy drove him to Scranton after a long day of travel and DAlessandri insisted on attending a medical society meeting that night.
He was tired. He was brilliant. The doctors got the message that he was here to get everybody involved, says Tracy. He has had the impact of really being a leader for stimulating a tremendous amount of interest in medical education.
As a result, Tracy says almost 90 percent of its students have joined the Pennsylvania Medical Society, roughly double than most schools participation. In addition, close to 600 area physicians have volunteered to provide instruction at the school and the school has solicited more scholarship funds than anticipated.
The way DAlessandri led the development of curriculum has given students an opportunity to tackle things like taking patient histories and giving physical exams much earlier than most, and helps them with what Tracy calls the bread and butter of medicine, or how to talk to a patient.
This is DAlessandri driving these innovations, says Tracy. Its not just him, but hes the tip of the iceberg. He has assembled a very good team.
Source: Dr. Robert Tracy, Lackawanna County Medical Society
Writer: Joe Petrucci
