Mark Siegler,MD ,the Lindy Bergman Distinguished Service Professor, Director, MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics and Director, Bucksbaum Institute for Clinical Excellence, has been named as the recipient of the 2021 Arthur Rubenstein Mentorship Award. Dr. Siegler was presented with this award by Everett Vokes,MD, Chair of the Department of Medicine, on September 14, 2021 at the Department’s Annual Award Ceremony.
Dr. Siegler has had a significant impact on the Department, Division and University during his distinguished 50 + year career. He has dedicated a major portion his career to mentoring the next generation clinical ethicists, as well as countless residents and fellows that he has worked with on the inpatient wards to a growing number of the scholars in the Bucksbaum Center for Clinical Excellence. Dr. Siegler is a true pioneer and a leader in academic medicine who is exceptional in his ability to inspire his mentees and foster broad level thinking about the role of the physician in the doctor-patient relationship.
Dr. Siegler is internationally known for his work in the field of clinical medical ethics, a field he created and named in 1974. He helped established the first medical intensive care units at our medical center and it was this early experience in the intensive care units, and the ethically defining moments derived therein, which served as the impetus for his subsequent groundbreaking work establishing the field of clinical medical ethics.
In 1984, he established the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, which quickly became the largest and most prestigious program in clinical ethics in the world and has attracted trainees from across the globe. More than 500 physicians and other health professionals have trained under Dr. Siegler, many of whom now direct ethics programs and/or hold endowed chairs at institutions across the United States, and in Canada, Europe, Australia, Africa and China.
As a mentor, Dr. Siegler is personally committed to each fellow’s training and career development. He “has a natural ability to mentor and foster the very best in others. Dr. Siegler leads by example and works extremely hard to support his mentees, and the mentees of his mentees.” In addition to his personal mentorship he promotes collaboration among fellows both with each fellowship cohort and across fellowship classes. For the past 31 years, Dr. Siegler has hosted a two-day reunion conference each November for all current and past fellows which have fostered extensive collaborations over the years and greatly advanced the field of Clinical Medical Ethics.
The Rubenstein Mentorship Award is named in honor of Arthur Rubenstein, MD who served as Chair of the DOM from 1981-1997. He is well known for his inspirational mentorship and this award was established in his honor in 2007 to recognize a single member of the faculty who exemplifies the role of a mentor to students, housestaff and faculty in their development of academic physicians.