Focus
Student Scene
June 5, 2000
Daniel Federman Is Just Switching Hats at HMS, He's Not Tipping His Cap to the School
By Tom ReynoldsEveryone knows time-honored habits die hard. So it's no surprise that Daniel Federman, the outgoing dean for medical education, would find it difficult to leave Harvard after a half century here as a student and teacher.
Known for his eloquence, Daniel Federman strikes a familiar pose at the lectern.
To the relief and gratitude of many colleagues and friends, Federman will not be leaving HMS when Daniel Lowenstein takes over the position in July. Instead, he looks forward to his new role as senior dean for alumni relations and clinical teaching, which will allow him to devote more time to favorite projects.
"My life has been in this Quadrangle for 50 years," Federman says. His bond to Harvard was forged as a college freshman just after the Second World War. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College in 1949 and magna cum laude from HMS in 1953. Since then, he has spent nearly his entire professional career teaching, guiding, and healing at HMS, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Brigham and Women's Hospital.
A Wanted Man
Daniel Tosteson, the Caroline Shields Walker distinguished professor of cell biology and dean of the Faculty of Medicine from 1977 to 1997, recalls that when he assembled his leadership team, the Boston colleagues he consulted "were almost unanimous that 'you have to recruit Dan Federman.'" So he did, bringing the Harvard man back from Stanford University, where he had been chairman of medicine for four years, and making him dean for students and alumni. Tosteson calls Federman a peerless teacher and credits him with a crucial role in the transition to the New Pathway, the innovative system of problem-based learning the School instituted in the 1980s. He recalls Federman's skill in communicating clearly and supportively to the faculty the goals and methods of the New Pathway as well as modeling the teacher's changing role in the classroom and clinic. And he notes the interpersonal acuity that enables Federman to "reach through to the essence of people around him" and that helped him recruit and work effectively with a series of excellent deans for students.
Jules Dienstag, faculty associate dean for admissions, and Teri Orr, associate dean for admissions and student services, pose for pictures with a life-size cutout of Federman at his stepping down party on May 22.
Others who have worked closely with Federman echo this praise. Joseph Martin, dean of the Faculty of Medicine, calls him "the consummate clinical teacher and scholar," noting that with each patient he examines, Federman communicates his enthusiasm for the art and science of medicine and helps students develop a deep curiosity about the mechanisms of disease.
Core Competency
Federman says his career has always revolved around personal relationships and traces this interest back to his college days. He majored in psychology and sociology because he wanted to understand personality and human interactions. And, he recalls, "I entered the doctor–patient relationship very conscious of it as an interpersonal compact," an awareness that has remained paramount."What hasn't changed over the years is that connection is still at the center of both the doctor–patient relationship and the teacher–student relationship," he says. "What has changed is the setting in which this takes place, and the science that backs it up." The size of the faculty, the number of people involved in patient care, and the complexity of biomedical science have all grown enormously, and Federman worries that while physicians have more powerful tools than ever for healing their patients, the time available for human contact is steadily diminishing.
"One of the things Dan Lowenstein will have to think about is how to resolve this paradox of enormous diagnostic and therapeutic power coupled with inadequate personal interaction, both in health care and in medical education," he says.
Dr. Chips
Ronald Arky, the Charles S. Davidson distinguished professor of medicine and master of the Francis Weld Peabody Society, says, "There is nobody who typifies the teacher so well as Dan—in the lecture hall, at the bedside, or in the conference room. He has no equal in his ability to take a very complex subject and put it in simple, lucid, and precise terms." Daniel Goodenough, the Takeda professor of cell biology and master of the Oliver Wendell Holmes Society, observes that Federman displays not only superb oratorical skills, but a gift for direct and heartfelt expression of emotion that inspires listeners. Goodenough also admires Federman's ability to serve as "master of the society masters" with their different points of view and educational ideas: "With humor, Dan would corral our unruliness: 'OK, kids, let's get on with the agenda.' It is both nurturing and humbling to be called a 'kid' in the age range of 50 to 70—testifying to Dan's broad leadership skills and presence."Another of Federman's titles is director of alumni relations. Tosteson says both Federman's encyclopedic knowledge of the Medical School's history and his personal friendships with many of its alumni make him uniquely qualified for this job. Nora Nercessian, assistant dean of alumni affairs and special projects, has worked with Federman on both alumni activities and other programs, including a model center for women's reproductive health in the former Soviet republics and a series of multilingual medical phrase books for communicating with non–English speaking patients. She looks forward to working with him even more closely in the coming years. "Dan's generosity, his humanity, his profound sense of commitment to the patient–doctor relationship, and his ethical sensitivity propelled this project forward at every stage through many difficulties," Nercessian says.
Federman is admired as a staunch advocate for students. Nancy Oriol, associate dean of student affairs, lauds his selfless dedication to HMS and to improving the experience of the School for its students. "He has used his legendary eloquence both to advance the voice of the students, individually and collectively, and to help build an ethical and humane medical educational environment," she says. "As a mentor he has inspired, challenged, and modeled the best of academic medicine."
Students offer similar praise. "One gift Dr. Federman gives students is his sense that we are preparing not just for the next step in our training, but for a lifetime of being physicians," says Stephen Martin, HMS '02. "Students describe how he has influenced them to explore the ethics of a patient's care or the importance of a social history. At the core of Dr. Federman's perspective are the relationships of medicine—patient and doctor, teacher and student—which he models and honors for us in inspiring ways." Another student notes that "instead of relegating ethics to the 'touchy-feely' periphery of clinical care, Dean Federman made it central to our learning and fully deserving of our intellectual efforts."
Vita
Federman's major research interest is disorders of sexual development. His 1967 book, Abnormal Sexual Development, has been credited as the first clear formulation of these disorders, bringing order to a hitherto disorganized field of study. He was the cofounder and editor of Scientific American Medicine, a unique loose-leaf continuing education program and textbook. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and has served as regent, president, and master of the American College of Physicians. His awards include the Distinguished Teacher Award from the American College of Physicians, the Endocrine Society's Distinguished Educator Award, and Massachusetts Physician of the Year.Starting in July, Federman will focus his energies on two goals that he and Dean Joseph Martin are strongly committed to. The first is working with hospital faculty and house staff to find ways to enrich the clinical learning and teaching experience for everyone without adding to time demands. The second is working with the Office of Resource Development to raise money for student scholarships with the aim of reducing graduates' massive debt burdens. He also looks forward to traveling with his wife and to spending more time with both his infant grandson and his mother's rehabilitated piano. "I've just found a teacher who specializes in older people going back to music," he says delightedly.