Fellow in Hospital Medicine Spotlight: Rachel Thompson, MD, FHM
Dr. Thompson is an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine and the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Washington in Seattle. She is director of the medicine consult service and the medicine operative consult clinic at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. She also is president of SHM’s Pacific Northwest chapter and a member of the National Chapter Support Committee.
Undergraduate education: Amherst College, Amherst, Mass.
Medical school: University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle.
Notable: Dr. Thompson says one of her greatest career achievements has been the development of collegial services with surgeons and researchers in order to look at surgical outcomes through the lens of a hospitalist. She also developed a glycemic-control center in her hospital to improve insulin ordering, a project for which she has been published and presented locally and nationally. She has served as a resident research project mentor since 2005, helping 13 students achieve their research goals. Dr. Thompson volunteers at the Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) Saturday Academy, an inner-city high school program for advancement in math and science, for which she won the 2007 MESA Saturday Academy Outstanding Volunteer Award.
FYI: Dr. Thompson enjoys hiking and takes part in two soccer leagues. Her children are following in her footsteps: Both are on their own soccer teams.
Quotable: “Becoming an SHM fellow shows that you have what it takes to be engaged as a hospitalist. Hospital medicine is not just a job; it’s a career and a dedication.”
