WASHINGTON, D.C. — Each year, more than 90,000 physicians and medical students are trained at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities. To run this academic affiliations program, the largest and most extensive in the country, VA selected Dr. Stephanie H. Pincus, who took over recently as the chief academic affiliations officer.
"I began my medical career in 1974 as chief of dermatology at the Seattle VA Medical Center and was appointed a faculty member at the University of Washington School of Medicine," said Pincus. "Since then, I have devoted my career to academic programs and clinical medical care. At the same time, I firmly believe being a 'good' doctor is compatible with understanding the business world."
Before coming to headquarters, Pincus was the chief of dermatology at the Buffalo VA Medical Center in New York and a professor and chairman of the Department of Dermatology at the School of Medicine of SUNY at Buffalo. Pincus received her medical degree, cum laude, from Harvard Medical School University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University. She is board-certified as both an internist and dermatologist. She is the recipient of numerous grants and awards and she credits the career development program of the VA for stimulating her interest in academic medicine.
Additionally, Pincus has participated in more than 20 clinical research studies and written 53 articles, 38 abstracts and 16 book chapters. During her career, she has been appointed to 13 hospitals and 10 university medical faculty positions. She has lectured throughout the United States, Canada and Europe on dermatology research and issues, and was listed in Best Doctors in America in 1993.
The VA affiliation program began in 1946. Following World War II, the Veterans Administration became alarmed at the number of returning servicemen filling VA hospital beds, particularly in light of the fact that there was a critical shortage of doctors. In response, President Truman signed Public Law 79-293, creating the Department of Medicine and Surgery (forerunner of the Veterans Health Administration) on Jan. 3, 1946. The next day, Northwestern University and the University of Illinois placed 56 residents at Hines VA General Hospital in Chicago, followed by the University of Minnesota, which placed 26 residents at VAs Ft. Snelling facility.
Today, more than 150 VA facilities have affiliations with 107 medical schools, 55 dental schools and more than 1,200 other schools across the country. More than half the physicians practicing in the United States have had part of their professional education in the VA health care system. Additionally, VA doctors conduct hundreds of research studies in conjunction with their facilities' affiliated medical schools.
"I know this job will have its challenges and difficulties, but I understand how hospitals run and I know the academic medical world, " said Pincus. "The two are complementary and interdependent. This extraordinary, complicated delicate, linkage between VA hospitals and the country's medical schools has proved to be beneficial to VA as a guarantor of high quality health care and to many health professionals training in the United States. It's a legacy I am proud to continue."
