ALL CAN BE VIEWED HERE.

! ! ! NEWS FLASH ! ! !
27-JAN-08: The Alumni of Stanford University School of Medicine are petitioning for reinstatement of Dr. Elliott Wolfe, MD, FACP.

This message went out to all alumni.
The text of the petition is available here (pdf).
You can sign the petition here.

14-JAN-08: A document from a member of the Stanford University Medical Center Alumni Association can be viewed here.

01-JAN-08: A copy of the speech delivered by Barbara Wolfe (Dr. Wolfe's wife) can be viewed here.

17-DEC-07: Stanford University School of Medicine Dean Phillip Pizzo, M.D. issues a statement entitled "Expressions of Support and Concerns from Students and Alumni" in the 17-DEC-07 edition of the Dean's Newletter, which you can read here.

17-DEC-07: Dr. Wolfe has been nominated for the American Medical Student Association National Golden Apple Award. You can read the here.

12-DEC-07: Rally in Appreciation of Dr. Elliott Wolfe will be held Friday 14 December 2007 from 12:00 - 2:00 PM in the Dean's Courtyard at Stanford University School of Medicine. All are welcome! More information is available here.

12-DEC-07: Too busy to craft a letter to the administration? Use this letter template.

11-DEC-07: Are you on ?: Join The Dr. Wolfe Appreciation Society group

10-DEC-07 @ 17:18 (PST): Statement from Elliott Wolfe, M.D., F.A.C.P.:

I grant full permission for any student, alumnus, or member of the faculty to speak to any medical school or university administrator and receive full information about my stipend and my contract with the University. I grant full disclosure of all personnel items, without exception.

Elliott Wolfe, M.D., F.A.C.P.

10-DEC-07 @ 15:06 (PST): Charles Prober, M.D. (Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education) issued this statement.
   
 

Dr. Elliott Wolfe's teaching contract at Stanford University School of Medicine is being terminated on August 31, 2008 due to a change in "programmatic need" with the creation of the Educators-4-CARE (E4C) program.

Educators-4-CARE "aims to foster the development in each of our students of four key qualities embodied in thoughtful and effective physicians: Compassion, Advocacy, Responsibility and Empathy (CARE). Each faculty member, working from a shared curriculum, will guide five to six students from each class through their acquisition and refinement of clinical skills. Patient-centered medical interviewing, bedside physical diagnosis, and evidence-based practice will be core features of the instruction. A student's E4C faculty mentor will serve as an ongoing role model for professionalism and the doctor-patient interaction throughout the student's time at Stanford." (19-NOV-07 Dean's Newsletter)

A statement from Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education Charles Prober, M.D. (issued 10-DEC-07 at 15:06 PST) is available here.

Firing a committed educator after over 37 years of training the next generation of physician leaders is not how Stanford should treat its long-time faculty. Dr. Wolfe embodies the principles of the new program that is being developed.

No one at Stanford Medical School has proven themselves more qualified for this position than Dr. Elliott Wolfe!
   
 

It seems that the administration unilaterally made the decision to terminate Dr. Wolfe without consulting the students, alumni, and faculty. Moreover, the administration has not made any formal announcement about the departure of Dr. Wolfe.

UPDATE: Charles Prober, M.D. (Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education) issued this statement at 15:06 (PST) on 10-DEC-07. This statement gives no indication that students, alumni, or faculty were consulted in deciding to terminate Dr. Wolfe's employment with the University.

Frustratingly, the administration appears not to have consulted its own Division of Evaluation. In the most recent edition (2005-2006) of the Annual Course Evaluation Report (SUNet ID needed to view), Dr. Wolfe is noted NINETEEN times as a positive asset that "deserves praise for [his] quality of teaching." Several students' comments are cited, including "Dr. Wolfe is great. It’s nice to be taught by a person who is so passionate that his students learn and understand” (page 37). Other comments include:

  • "Drs. Wolfe and Braddock were described as 'great teachers who really care about whether the students are learning'" (page 129)
  • "The clinical problems tutorial led by Dr. Elliot Wolfe earned very high overall ratings (74 percent of students gave high ratings while 12 percent gave low ratings). Students offered resounding praise for these sessions and for Dr. Wolfe’s leadership. One student wrote, "These sessions were incredibly helpful in providing more exposure and understanding of several very important common problems encountered by clinicians.'" (page 131)
   
 

Elliott Wolfe, M.D. is a Consulting Professor of Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine who is better known as a healer, teacher, mentor, colleague, and friend to all he encounters. Dr. Wolfe has been teaching Stanford medical students for more than 37 years during his time at Kaiser Permanente and Stanford.

Dr. Wolfe has substantial contact with first- and second-year students through the Practice of Medicine (POM) course (formally PCM), where he serves as a preceptor for POM small groups (~12-20 students). During the first year, Dr. Wolfe not only teaches his students how to perform the medical interview and physical examination, but also compassionate and open-minded medicine. During the second year, Dr. Wolfe continues to build upon principles instilled in these burgeoning physicians while incorporating clinical reasoning and medical decision-making. Dr. Wolfe also directs the Common Clinical Problems component of second-year POM.

Dr. Wolfe goes well beyond the requirement of his position. Dr. Wolfe has, in a novel way, incorporated radiological imaging (e.g., CT, MRI, ultrasound, echocardiography, and coronary arteriography) into bedside teaching. Dr. Wolfe provides supplemental resources for his classes, including Apple Keynote and Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, on his personally-run website (http://idisk.mac.com/e5s3w9/?view=web, username: e5s3w9 password: lupus1). Dr. Wolfe has also created a parallel, but more general, website, entitled "Attaining Clinical Acumen," (http://web.mac.com/e5s3w9/) to enhance the students' clinical education. This website continues to grow in popularity among current students. Additionally, Dr. Wolfe devotes time in second-year POM to ensure student competentcy in vectorcardiographic analysis of electrocardiograms.

Dr. Wolfe is famous for his course entitled "Physical Findings Rounds." This elective course is taught every quarter (four sections this Winter quarter) and enables students to master the physical examination while learning relevant physical findings. Anatomical renditions and radiological images have been incorporated into these rounds. Recently, Dr. Charles Prober started Pediatric Physical Findings Rounds.

In addition to teaching, Dr. Wolfe was one of the architects of the successful Stanford-Kaiser Permanente Emergency Medicine Residency Program. Dr. Wolfe, in collaboration with Stanford and Kaiser Permanente, has produced a professional video of the complete physical examination. This video is available on the Stanford Curriculum Web Portal (CWP) and is frequently viewed by students at all levels of training. More recently, Dr. Wolfe is collaborating with Noel Thompson, M.D. and Gary Gray, M.D. to revise a previously designed syllabus correlating anatomy and the physical examination. The new revision will include CT and MR images and will be available in online book format for use by Stanford medical students. Dr. Wolfe also the faculty advisor of H&P, the Stanford Medical Student Clinical Journal

Dr. Wolfe's commitment to teaching and compassion has been recognized in many ways. He has recevied:

  • National Golden Apple for Teaching Excellence from the American Medical Student Association (1998), the only current (perhaps ever) faculty member at Stanford University School of Medicine to receive this award
  • FOUR awards from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation for Excellence in Pre-Clinical Teaching (2004, 2000, 1995, 1986)
  • THREE awards from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation for Excellence in Clinical Teaching (2005, 1997, 1993)
  • Lance Armstrong Foundation award for Compassion in Medicine (2002)
  • Stanford University Graduate Student Service Recognition Award (2001)
  • TWO Arthur L. Bloomfield Awards in Recognition of Excellence in Teaching Clinical Medicine (2000, 1995)
  • Santa Clara County Medical Association Award for Outstanding Contribution in Medical Education (1990)
  • The first Compassion in Medicine Award from the Stanford Medical Scientist Training (MD/PhD) Program

Other noteworthy service to Stanford University School of Medicine includes serving as Director of the Office of Medical Student Professional Development (2003-2005) and as Associate Dean in the Office of Student Affairs (1994-2005).

Dr. Wolfe's complete CV is available here (pdf).
   
 
Whether you're a current student, alum, staff member, faculty member, colleague, or friend, please...
  1. E-mail a letter of support to the following administrators and The Stanford Daily
    Please CC your letter to SupportEW@gmail.com and DrWolfeAppreciation@gmail.com to record the level of support for Dr. Wolfe. We will contact you to see if we can post your letter on this site. You may choose to remove your name, etc. from the public version of your letter.

    Please click here to view some of the

  2. Help nominate Dr. Wolfe for AMSA's National Golden Apple Award. Contact Steven Lin, SMS II (linsteve@stanford.edu) by midnight (PST) on Saturday, December 15th with your comments on what Dr. Wolfe has meant to you!
  3. Visit this website often for news/updates.
  4. Send us (DrWolfeAppreciation@gmail.com) your ideas to affect change at Stanford University School of Medicine.
   
 
E-mail: DrWolfeAppreciation@gmail.com
   
© Copyright 2007 Stanford United in Support of Elliott Wolfe (SUSEW). All rights reserved.