Wide and deep influence

CREATING A NEW TOOL KIT: Dr. Angela M. Caliendo, University Medicine Foundation vice president, with foundation President Dr. Louis B. Rice, spearheaded the group's creation of a leadership academy for its physicians. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
CREATING A NEW TOOL KIT: Dr. Angela M. Caliendo, University Medicine Foundation vice president, with foundation President Dr. Louis B. Rice, spearheaded the group's creation of a leadership academy for its physicians. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Medicine is still a male-dominated field. The United States has nearly twice as many male doctors as females, according to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, and the ratio is even more skewed in leadership positions.

“More than half of medical-school students are women, but we’re nowhere near that at the chair level or the dean level,” said Dr. Angela M. Caliendo, vice president of Rhode Island’s University Medicine Foundation Inc. and professor of medicine at Brown University. “We’re slowly improving, but there’s still work to be done.”

And Caliendo is the one to do it.

A practicing infectious-disease specialist for more than 20 years, she came onboard as the executive vice chair of the department of medicine at Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School three years ago. It was a landmark hire – she’s the first woman to hold that position, and now she’s focused on helping other doctors succeed in leadership roles.

- Advertisement -

Caliendo recently spearheaded creation of the University Medicine Leadership Academy in collaboration with Bryant University. The academy is unique to Rhode Island and aims to train physicians and hospital administrators in how to become effective leaders, focusing on the skills not often taught in medical schools.

“We’ve had sessions on finance, on health care reform, on negotiation, on conflict management, on leadership and influence, and on leading a team,” Caliendo said.

The academy, which launched in January of this year, includes 15 students from University Medicine. They will graduate this May. Eventually, Caliendo would like to expand the program to physicians throughout the state.

“This academy is a natural extension of her mentorship philosophy, which is to provide the tools necessary for individuals to succeed,” said Dr. Louis B. Rice, president of University Medicine and chairman of the medicine department at Brown. “This has been so valuable for so many professionals in the health care field, but especially important for women in medicine who are looking for advice and guidance.”

“Working with her on the creation of the University Medicine Leadership Academy has been wonderful,” said Jennifer Hyde, senior administrator at University Medicine. “Her vision for enhancing the leadership skills of the physicians of Rhode Island has become a reality through her unwavering commitment to and belief in the pursuit of excellence.”

While Caliendo has made quite an impression on the health care industry in Rhode Island, her influence extends well beyond state lines. Prior to University Medicine, she served on the faculty of Emory University’s School of Medicine in Atlanta. She joined Emory in 1999 as the medical director of the microbiology and molecular diagnostics laboratories, eventually becoming the director of Emory Medical Laboratories and professor and vice chair of pathology and laboratory medicine.

She also serves on the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria. Members provide information and recommendations to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Matthews Burwell.

Caliendo was one of 15 people chosen for the council out of about 300 nominated by the Infectious Disease Society of America. While the council’s representatives have backgrounds spanning research, pharmaceuticals, patient advocacy and more, Caliendo is the committee’s expert in diagnostics.

Despite her heavy workload as an administrator, a professor, a researcher, an editor of two medical journals, and her role as a nationally and internationally renowned specialist, she still maintains her medical practice in infectious diseases and internal medicine at Rhode Island and The Miriam hospitals.

“Her patients and her research remain an integral part of her professional foundation which is so wonderful to see in a senior executive in health care,” said Tammy Lederer, chief human resources officer at University Medicine.

“Being a physician really is a privilege,” Caliendo said. “You interact with people sometimes at the worst time of their lives. That’s a very important aspect of medicine, and something that shouldn’t be lost.” •

No posts to display