Dr. Joseph Martinez Appointed Associate Dean for Medical Education and Student Experience

Appointment Will Drive Successful Implementation of New ‘Renaissance Curriculum’

University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Vice Dean for Academic Affairs James B. Kaper, PhD, along with Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, announced today that Joseph P. Martinez, MD, Associate Professor in the Departments of Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine, has been appointed Associate Dean for Medical Education and Student Experience. The appointment became effective February 1, 2020.

In his new role, Dr. Martinez will lead and manage the Office of Medical Education with broad oversight over the School’s curriculum, including structure, content, delivery, and assessment. A chief focus will be the implementation of the new Renaissance curriculum for MD degree students, which is expected to be fully in place by August 2020. The new curriculum takes a systems-based approach to learning, combining instruction in both the healthy and disease processes of the body into related organ systems such as heart, lung, and kidneys. The curriculum aims to not only produce excellent physicians, but with an exceptional foundation enabling them to become excellent clinicians, researchers, scholars, and critical thinkers who compassionately care about social justice issues and the need for diversity. Dr. Martinez also will be responsible for monitoring and enhancing  the students' learning environment throughout their time at the UMSOM.

Dr. Martinez has been a member of the Dean's Office since 2005 when he was appointed to the position of Assistant Dean of Student Affairs. His responsibilities subsequently expanded to include the Office of Medical Education in 2016 when he assumed the additional role of Assistant Dean for Clinical Medical Education and Residency Programs Liaison.

“We are extremely fortunate to have someone with Dr. Martinez’s many years of experience in both student affairs and medical education at the UMSOM to assume the critically important role of Associate Dean for Medical Education,” said Dr. Kaper, who is also the James & Carolyn Frenkil Distinguished Dean’s Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology & Immunology.

Mallott Recognized for Many Years of Service

Dr. Martinez succeeds David B. Mallott, MD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Dean for Medical Education, who is retiring this year after many years of outstanding service to the UMSOM.  A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine who completed his residency at Tulane University Hospital, Dr. Mallott served on the faculty of Tulane University School of Medicine before joining the UMSOM as an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in 1986, with a promotion to Associate Professor in 1995. A member of the American College of Psychiatrists and the American Psychiatric Association, he has received a number of outstanding teacher awards, most recently the “Educator of Excellence” from the Pass-Susel Academy of Educational Excellence.

At UMSOM, Dr. Mallott has served as Associate Dean for Medical Education since 1997 and has overseen significant advances in UMSOM’s medical education program, particularly in the area of technology and interdisciplinary education. He will continue as a volunteer faculty member with clinical activities in the Department of Psychiatry and with various educational activities.

“We are deeply grateful to Dr. Mallott for his many years of service and dedicated commitment to the School of Medicine,” said Dean Reece, who is also Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor. “In particular, he has played a critical role in managing the LCME process over the years, as an important liaison between LCME and the UMSOM.”

Dr. Martinez Has Played Major Role in Curriculum Development

Dr. Martinez has had broad involvement in educational programs at the UMSOM.  In 2019, he was named Lead Physician for the Program for Excellence in Patient-Centered Communication (PEP), an evidence-based curriculum developed by the Academy of Communication in Healthcare (ACH).  The focus of the PEP program is to enhance communication between faculty physicians and their patients. He is a Certified Trainer for the program and has conducted numerous PEP workshops since 2016.

“Dr. Martinez has been a key member of the Curriculum Council which is leading the development of our Renaissance Curriculum,” said Donna L. Parker, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education, and Associate Dean for Student Affairs. “His effective leadership and administrative skills make him an ideal choice to assume this new role in medical education at the UMSOM.”

Graduating from the University of Notre Dame in 1993, Dr. Martinez then attended medical school at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He completed a combined residency in Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine in 2003, and afterwards joined  the UMSOM faculty. He has helped to develop and edit several books related to teaching in the clinical arena, while contributing to many peer-reviewed journals including Academic Medicine, Medical Teacher, Journal of Emergency Medicine, and Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America.  In addition to his clinical and administrative duties, Dr. Martinez is an active lecturer on the local, national, and international level, with a particular interest in abdominal and gastrointestinal emergencies, as well as medical student education.

“I've always felt very passionately about education in general,” Dr. Martinez said. “This new role affords me the chance to really make that the focus of my career and to prepare the next generation of students to be the best physicians that they can be.”

“Dr. Martinez’s longstanding commitment to excellence in medical education is one from which the UMSOM has greatly benefitted,” said Dean Reece.  “I congratulate him on his new appointment and deeply thank Dr. Mallott for his 22 years of outstanding service.”

About the University of Maryland School of Medicine

Now in its third century, the University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 as the first public medical school in the United States. It continues today as one of the fastest growing, top-tier biomedical research enterprises in the world -- with 45 academic departments, centers, institutes, and programs; and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians, scientists, and allied health professionals, including members of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and a distinguished two-time winner of the Albert E. Lasker Award in Medical Research. With an operating budget of more than $1.2 billion, the School of Medicine works closely in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide research-intensive, academic and clinically based care for nearly 2 million patients each year. The School of Medicine has more than $540 million in extramural funding, with most of its academic departments highly ranked among all medical schools in the nation in research funding. As one of the seven professional schools that make up the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine has a total population of nearly 9,000 faculty and staff, including 2,500 student trainees, residents, and fellows. The combined School of Medicine and Medical System (“University of Maryland Medicine”) has an annual budget of nearly $6 billion and an economic impact more than $15 billion on the state and local community. The School of Medicine faculty, which ranks as the 8th highest among public medical schools in research productivity, is an innovator in translational medicine, with 600 active patents and 24 start-up companies. The School of Medicine works locally, nationally, and globally, with research and treatment facilities in 36 countries around the world. Visit www.medschool.umaryland.edu