Baystate Health’s Dr. Amy Gottlieb Receives 2020 Elnora Rhodes Service Award

SPRINGFIELD — Dr. Amy Gottlieb of Baystate Health has received the 2020 Elnora Rhodes Service Award from the Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM).

Gottlieb, associate dean for Faculty Affairs and professor of Medicine and Obstetrics & Gynecology at UMass Medical School – Baystate and chief Faculty Development officer at Baystate Health, was due to accept the prestigious award at the SGIM annual meeting in May, but the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The award recognizes the highest level of service to SGIM and is given annually to an individual for outstanding contributions to the society in upholding its missions of clinical care, research, education, and community service in primary-care internal medicine. It was established in 1997 to honor Rhodes and her contributions to the society during her 10 years as executive director.

“I am honored and deeply moved by this award,” Gottlieb said. “The Society of General Internal Medicine has been a professional home for me for almost two decades. It is a wonderful community of colleagues who have been a tremendous source of inspiration and camaraderie.”

Nationally recognized for her work on gender equity in academic medicine, Gottlieb has been a member of SGIM since 2005. She was elected to become a member of the SGIM Women and Medicine Commission in 2008 and served as co-chair from 2013 to 2015 and chair from 2015 to 2017.

“Dr. Gottlieb has made tremendous contributions to our organization with measurable results in career advancement and sponsorship for women faculty. Rarely does a single SGIM member have as great a positive impact on the organization and the field as Dr. Gottlieb,” her nominators wrote.

During her tenure as commission co-chair, Gottlieb conceptualized, championed, proposed, created, and implemented the SGIM Career Advising Program (CAP), a nationally recognized sponsorship program within SGIM. The first program of its kind nationally, CAP has enrolled more than 300 SGIM members since its inception. Medical associations nationwide, including the American College of Physicians and the Assoc. of American Medical Colleges, have adopted the CAP strategy to improve gender equity in medicine.

In addition to her work on behalf of SGIM, Gottlieb is an elected member of the Assoc. of American Medical Colleges group on women in medicine and science steering committee. She is currently editing a book on how organizations can close the gender pay gap in medicine.