The Ohio Academy of Family Physicians (OAFP) is pleased to announce that Katharine M. Conway, MD, MPH, of Dayton, OH, will receive its 2020 Family Medicine Educator of the Year Award.
The OAFP annually presents the Family Medicine Educator of the Year Award to a family medicine educator who exhibits extraordinary, beyond-the-call-of-duty merit, encourages students to pursue the ideals of family medicine, participates in research, and is an inspiring leader.
Dr. Conway has been an assistant professor for the Wright State University (WSU) Boonshoft School of Medicine’s Department of Family Medicine since 2014, and the department’s director of medical education and clinical clerkship since 2015. In her various roles, she serves as a mentor to medical students and residents throughout their family medicine journey.
“I want to create an environment where learners feel excited and inspired to do their best work while recognizing it is ok to say ‘I don’t know’ or ‘I made a mistake’ and ‘I’m feeling lost,’ said Dr. Conway. “Medicine has fostered a fear of failure for too long and our learners thrive when they feel brave and safe to be human first in their journey towards doctoring.”
Dr. Conway also serves the Boonshoft School of Medicine as its Director of Global Health. In this role, she provides didactic instruction for students and residents and expands their exposure to refugee health care through the founding of a medical clinic serving refugees at Fiver Rivers Health Center in Dayton, OH.
“She teaches leaners clinical skills, improves their medical knowledge, and refines their clinical reasoning, while modeling amazing humanism and professionalism as she provides health care of the highest quality for her patients,” said John F. Donnelly, MD, FAAFP, professor, WSU Boonshoft School of Medicine.
“Because of her indefatigable mentorship efforts, we have seen an increase in the number of our students electing to match into the specialty of family medicine,” said American Academy of Family Physician President Gary LeRoy, MD, FAAFP, associate dean of student affairs and admissions for the WSU Boonshoft School of Medicine. “Dr. Conway’s work as clerkship director and director of our Global Health Scholars Program have been the hallmark of her professional service to her department.”
Dr. Conway received her doctor of medicine from the WSU Boonshoft School of Medicine and completed her residency at the University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, OH. She stayed in Cleveland and received her Masters of Medical Science in Public Health from Case Western Reserve University, and completed a fellowship in academic medicine at the Northeast Ohio Medical University in Rootstown, OH.
“I have been so moved seeing all my physician colleagues out in the world living through and working within the stresses of this pandemic,” said Dr. Conway. “At the same time, they have showcased the power of physician advocacy by adding their voices to the public health crisis of racism and the health disparities we are seeing so clearly in our society right now. Our future physicians have so much to offer and I am humbled to be a part of their own story.”
The OAFP is proud to honor Dr. Conway in her achievements as a family medicine educator.
Dr. Conway lives in Dayton with her spouse, Ben Kimmel, and three children, Adeline, Charlotte, and Michael.
To learn more about the Family Medicine Educator of the Year Award, please visit the OAFP website.