Newswise — LOS ANGELES – The Keck School of Medicine of USC has appointed Donna Elliott, MD, EdD, as vice dean for medical education and chair of the Department of Medical Education, effective June 1. In her new role as vice dean, Elliott will oversee admissions and advise the Keck School’s dean on all academic areas related to medical students, including curriculum, educational policy and student affairs. As chair of the Department of Medical Education, Elliott will be responsible for leading faculty members who have expertise in course/program evaluation, curriculum development, clinical skills assessment, research design, psychometrics and statistical analysis. They also will provide mentoring and support to Keck School faculty and students who are interested in conducting research in medical education.
“Dr. Elliott has had a tremendous impact on the Keck School and our students since she first joined the faculty as an assistant professor of clinical pediatrics in 1989,” says Laura Mosqueda, MD, interim dean of the Keck School and professor of family medicine. “In addition to training generations of future doctors, she has helped shape the school’s curriculum and has been a tireless advocate for students. She was one of the first faculty members to integrate professionalism and the practice of medicine into our curriculum. I am delighted to welcome her to her new role.”
An expert in pediatric nephrology and a professor of clinical pediatrics, Elliott has had leadership roles in student and educational affairs at the Keck School for more than a decade, most recently as senior associate dean for student and educational affairs. She has led a number of initiatives aimed at increasing student diversity and promoting students’ well-being. In 2017, she launched a student wellness and stress reduction program that includes mandatory mental health evaluations to identify students in need of support. She also helped lead a two-year effort to renew the Keck School’s Liaison Committee on Medical Education accreditation, resulting in a full eight-year accreditation in 2018.
“It gives me great pleasure to be a part of such an outstanding academic institution, with such exceptional students, faculty and staff,” Elliott says. “I’m looking forward to working with the talented faculty and staff to lead the Keck School of Medicine’s medical education program to an even higher level of prominence while continuing to nurture and support our medical students on their professional journey of becoming a physician.”
Elliott is the national chair of the Association of American Medical College’s Group on Student Affairs Steering Committee, a member of the executive board of the National Board of Medical Examiners and a member of the board of the National Resident Match Program.
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About the Keck School of Medicine of USC
Founded in 1885, the Keck School of Medicine of USC is among the nation’s leaders in innovative patient care, scientific discovery, education and community service. It is part of Keck Medicine of USC, the University of Southern California’s medical enterprise, one of only two university-owned academic medical centers in the Los Angeles area. This includes Keck Medical Center of USC, composed of Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Cancer Hospital. The two world-class, USC-owned hospitals are staffed by more than 500 physicians who are faculty at the Keck School. The school has more than 1,750 full-time faculty members and voluntary faculty of more than 2,400 physicians. These faculty members direct the education of approximately 800 medical students and 1,000 students pursuing graduate and postgraduate degrees. The school trains more than 900 resident physicians in more than 50 specialty or subspecialty programs and is the largest educator of physicians practicing in Southern California. Together, the school’s faculty and residents serve more than 1.5 million patients each year at Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Cancer Hospital, as well as USC-affiliated hospitals, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center. Keck School faculty also conduct research and teach at several research centers and institutes, including the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine at USC, USC Cardiovascular Thoracic Institute, USC Institute of Urology, USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, USC Roski Eye Institute and Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute.
In 2018, U.S. News & World Report ranked the Keck School among the top 35 medical schools in the country.
For more information, go to keck.usc.edu.
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