Winter 2021’s Awards, Appointments & Announcements in Rheumatology

Mary Chester Wasko, MD, MSc, Appointed to ABIM Rheumatology Specialty Board

Mary Chester Wasko, MD, MSc, division director of rheumatology at Allegheny Health Network’s (AHN’s) West Penn Hospital, Pittsburgh, joined the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM’s) Rheumatology Specialty Board in May. She spoke with TR about her decision to continue service with ABIM, after completing two three-year terms on the ABIM Rheumatology Board Exam Committee. 

When invitations to apply to the specialty board arrived, Dr. Wasko reasoned that her career to date had prepared her for the position. “I’ve been an educator myself ever since I finished fellowship [at the University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Center],” she says. “In addition, AHN is strongly patient-care oriented, and the division I oversee comprises primarily clinicians with busy outpatient practices. This recent 10 years of experience, superimposed on nearly 20 years at the University of Pittsburgh, has put me in a great position to understand both community-based clinician and academia-centric perspectives.”

During her time on the Exam Committee, Dr. Wasko became further attuned to the challenges faced by community-based colleagues, who must negotiate a recertification process fraught with high preparation demand, high pressure and high stakes. Dr. Wasko explains that, for academic clinicians, preparation for the recertification exam is interwoven with the learning environment. But a busy, community-based rheumatologist, who may be putting in a 50- to 60-hour workweek, doesn’t have ready access to the built-in educational resources, formal didactics or journal clubs that are part of the academic learning environment. 

The ABIM has been listening to concerns about the time-intensive preparation required and the high stakes involved (i.e., pass/fail, with more time required for a retest), and is aggressively working to address the situation for community-based rheumatologists. The recertification process, which entailed an all-day, multiple-choice exam every 10 years, is being reformatted to offer more options for rheumatologists.

“The board has heard the concerns and has tried to be sensitive and respond in tangible ways,” Dr. Wasko notes. And because of her involvement with community rheumatology organizations, Dr. Wasko believes she has insight that will allow her to be an advocate for both academic and private practice rheumatologists. 

Salahuddin Kazi, MD, Now Chair of ABIM Subspecialty Rheumatology Board

Since his appointment in May as chair of the ABIM Rheumatology Board, Salahuddin (Dino) Kazi, MD, has been combining his new duties with his ongoing appointment as professor and program director of the internal medicine training program at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Houston. 

The three-year appointment provides Dr. Kazi with the opportunity to build relationships, he says. “I find it [sort of] fascinating to move outside of my UT Southwestern bubble and have these deep interactions with people from all over the country and from different backgrounds—community, academic and public.”