Rising to the Leadership Challenge
Marie A. Bernard, MD
Deputy Director, National Institute on Aging
Dr. Marie A. Bernard
“Early in my medical career I was most interested in older patients, who have more complex health problems and more life experiences than younger adults,” says Marie A. Bernard, MD. The daughter of two physicians, Dr. Bernard demonstrated an early aptitude for leadership when she was appointed chief resident at Temple University. While there, Dr. Bernard completed a mini-fellowship at the Geriatric Education Center (GEC) of Pennsylvania in 1987.
“The mini-fellowship was an epiphany for me,” says Dr. Bernard. “Prior to that I thought that I knew geriatrics, because I was skilled in diagnosing and treating hypertension, diabetes, and other conditions common among older adults. The training at the GEC opened my eyes to the fact that there is a lot more to the care of the elderly.”
Dr. Bernard joined the faculty of the University of Oklahoma in 1990, when the geriatrics program was in the Department of Internal Medicine. “In 1997 we decided to start a separate Department of Geriatric Medicine after an unsuccessful attempt to obtain grant funds from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation,” says Dr. Bernard. The Reynolds Foundation later provided an $11.2 million grant to enhance the department, with Dr. Bernard as founding chair.
“I was given the challenge of developing a small operation of just a handful of physicians into a much larger department that would provide a required four-week geriatrics rotation for all third-year medical students, as well as geriatrics training for trainees at all levels,” says Dr. Bernard.
Dr. Bernard had held leadership positions throughout her early career, but the challenges of being a department chair with a large mandate tested her abilities. It was then she learned of the Association of Directors of Geriatric Academic Programs (ADGAP): Geriatrics Leadership Scholars Program. As a recently appointed department chair, she qualified for the first cohort.
“Through this program, I learned that there is a literature, a discipline, an approach to leadership—just as there is to geriatric medicine,” says Dr. Bernard.
“Sometimes leadership training can help people take full advantage of their natural talents. Dr. Bernard is a clear example of such a talented geriatrician,” says David Reuben, MD, Director of leadership efforts at the Association of Directors of Geriatric Academic Programs.
Dr. Bernard continued to raise her profile within the field of geriatrics. Recently, she was chosen to serve on the committee that wrote an Institute of Medicine report titled Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforce. This report warns that the health care workforce lacks the size and the skill to care for the unique needs of the growing older population and offers strategies to address this critical issue.
As Dr. Bernard pondered her role as a leader, her desire to exert more influence in the field of aging grew. To gain assistance, Dr. Bernard applied for a scholarship in a new Hartford initiative—the Senior Leadership Scholars Program, which guides senior academic geriatrics leaders as they advance to nationally prominent positions.
With guidance from an executive coach, she decided to pursue an opportunity at the National Institute on Aging (NIA). In October 2008, Dr. Bernard became the Deputy Director of the NIA, where she helps direct the nation’s research and training programs on aging and on age-related cognitive change.
“Ultimately, this will be an opportunity to serve as a role model for future leaders,” says Dr. Bernard. Leadership in geriatrics has never been more urgently needed.
The interview with Dr. Bernard was conducted for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement of the Hartford Foundation or its programs by the National Institute on Aging, the National Institutes of Health, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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