Candidate for Midwest SGIM Membership Chair -Elect

Richard H. Cartabuke, MD

Candidate for Midwest SGIM Membership Chair -Elect

PERSONAL STATEMENT

Dear Midwest SGIM Nominating Committee,

My interest in the membership-elect position initially surfaced during my involvement in the SGIM annual meeting, where I had the opportunity to participate and collaborate with numerous educators who share my passion for general internal medicine.

After completing an Internal Medicine residency at Cleveland Clinic, I accepted a position as Chief Medical Resident to continue my commitment to general internal medicine education and leadership under the guidance of Dr. Abby Spencer. After successful completion, I have taken a clinical position in academic general internal medicine with an added role of the Director of Recruitment for our Internal Medicine Residency Program.

My role as Director of Recruitment has prepared me well to serve in the Membership-Elect position. I have coordinated multiple institutional outreach initiatives to promote our own Internal Medicine Residency Program. Furthermore, the rigorous protocol we have adopted for selecting applicants has allowed me to refine and improve our efforts to identify and recruit outstanding candidates.

I believe that I can make a significant and positive contribution and we will continue to enhance our commitment to primary care as well as our shared vision of training well-rounded physicians who have a strong foundation in internal medicine within our regional cohort.

BIOSKETCH

Dr. Cartabuke completed his undergraduate study at Case Western Reserve University where he received a B.S. in Biology and a B.A in History. Following completion of his thesis, “The Evolution of Charity Care of the University Hospitals of Cleveland,” he was awarded a Master of Arts degree in History at Case Western Reserve University. He received his Medical Doctorate degree from the State University of New York – Upstate Medical University.

The residency program at the Cleveland Clinic was his first choice to pursue training in internal medicine. After completion of residency training, he served as Chief Medical Resident at the Cleveland Clinic. With an early interest in Gastroenterology, his initial research projects focused on the long-term esophageal and respiratory complications following repair of congenital tracheoesophageal fistula/esophageal atresia, as well as colon cancer screening techniques. As his career aspirations evolved towards a focus on medical education and general internal medicine, he developed an interest in systems based practice and improvement, where he became involved in the pursuit of a variety of quality and patient safety initiatives. The most prominent example of this was the revitalization of our multidisciplinary morbidity and mortality conference, which resulted in multiple posters and workshops at national meetings. More recently, he has focused on value-based care, effective transitions of care and resident wellness. One such example is a handoffs curriculum which was accepted as an AAIM Perspective article.

In July, he will assume his new position as an Associate Staff physician in General Internal Medicine and will serve as the Director of Recruitment for the Internal Medicine Residency Program, which was created because of his refinement and development of new recruitment initiatives for the program over the past year.