Pennsylvania GeriatricS Society

Geriatrics Society Recognizes 2018 Geriatrics Teacher of the Year Award Recipients

The 2018 Geriatrics Teacher of the Year Award presentation was held prior to the dinner symposium at the 26th Annual Clinical in Geriatric Medicine conference. Jordan F. Karp, MD and Heather Sakely, Pharm.D., BCPS, BCGP were honored with a special recognition for their dedication and commitment to geriatrics education.

Rollin Wright, MD, MS, MPH, awards chair, and Fred Rubin, MD, president, shared the podium to highlight the achievements and significant contributions each awardee has made to the education and training of learners in geriatrics and to the progress of geriatrics across the health professions. More than 65 attendees were on hand for the plaque presentation.

Jordan F. Karp, MD received the 2018 Geriatrics Teacher of the Year Award, recognizing a physician.

Dr. Karp has maintained a clinical practice of psychiatry since 2003, in which he focuses on the care of older adults and patients living with both psychiatric and chronic medical conditions, in particular, chronic pain.

He has served as medical director for psychiatry at UPMC Pain Medicine at Centre Commons from 2006 to 2017, is the director of Student Mental Health Services at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, serves as medical director for the UPMC LifeSolutions Employee Assistance Program, and is a staff physician at the VA Pittsburgh Medical Center.

He is a prominent teacher, mentor, and researcher in geriatric psychiatry and has worked to help strengthen the relationships between the educational missions of the geriatric psychiatry and geriatric medicine training programs at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He has provided scholarly mentorship to 20 trainees and serves as a faculty mentor on the University of Pittsburgh NIH-funded training grant, "Clinical and Translational Research Training in Geriatric Mental Health."

Heather A. Sakely, PharmD, BCPS, BCGP received the 2018 Healthcare Professional Geriatrics Teacher of the Year Award.

Dr. Sakely is a leader in teaching geriatrics to both physicians and pharmacists. She directs UPMC St. Margaret's PGY2 Geriatric Pharmacy Residency program and has developed a curriculum for a geriatric pharmacy residency that includes an integrated system

of collaborating pharmacists and doctors in inpatient, outpatient, and long-term care settings.

Dr. Sakely is faculty in the Family Medicine Residency Program and Geriatric Fellowship at UPMC St. Margaret and adjunct instructor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. Dr. Sakely complements her role as an educator with strong research experience.

She has been principal investigator and leader of the PIVOTs research (Pharmacist-led Reduction of Drug Therapy Problems in an Interprofessional Geriatric Practice) since 2012, which has helped assess the impact of collaboration between pharmacists and doctors in nursing home, assisted living and independent living environment for seniors.

A call for nominations for the 2019 Geriatrics Teacher of the Year award will begin in September 2018. Award eligibility, criteria and details will be available on the society website in August (www.pagswd.org).