Alumni Return for Marshall Wolf Weekend

From left: Joel Katz, distinguished BWH physicians Marshall Wolf and Eugene Braunwald and BWH President Betsy Nabel enjoy the Marshall Wolf Weekend festivities.

An enthusiastic crowd of BWHers and alumni filled the Bornstein Amphitheater last Friday for the official start of “Celebrating Marshall Wolf, MD,” a two-day BluePrint event recognizing the distinguished BWH physician and former Medical Residency Programs director and his legacy of outstanding leadership in medical education.

As part of the celebration, Wolf’s successor, Internal Medicine Residency Director Joel Katz, MD, took attendees on a 100-year journey through landmarks, luminaries and lessons in medical education innovation at BWH for a special Medical Grand Rounds.

“Marshall is a mentor and friend who has helped me to become the physician, administrator and person that I am in every regard,” Katz said in his introduction. He also assured attendees that Wolf was not yet retiring as a physician; the event was rather a celebration of his many achievements and continued engagement at BWH.

Peppered with vibrant anecdotes and jokes tailored to those who trained under Wolf, all met with laughter and applause, Katz’s presentation traced the history of Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, the BWH predecessor hospital in which “all Department of Medicine education occurred,” he said. He painted a picture of how the evolution of medical training since the 19th century, led in many respects by the hospital’s earliest leaders, has helped shape what we now know as academic medicine.

“Our then-small hospital had a profound effect on medicine,” said Katz. “As a 1963 TIME cover story about the 50-year anniversary of the Peter Bent Brigham stated, ‘This little place, with only 284 beds, has made more contributions to progress, per brick per patient, than any other hospital in the world.’”

More than 1,000 Internal Medicine Residency alumni returned to BWH to honor Wolf and participate in the celebration’s various events, which included a symposium, panel discussions, campus tours, dinners and receptions.

Marshall Wolf, MD: The Man, The Myth, The Bowtie

Marshall Wolf, MD, is legendary for his decades-long commitment to teaching and launching the careers of some of medicine’s biggest stars. Known as the “dean of medical residency program directors,” Wolf has shaped the careers and values of more than 2,000 physicians, including many who now hold full professorships at the country’s leading medical schools and leadership posts in the nation’s most prestigious academic medical centers.

After attending Harvard College and Harvard Medical School, Wolf completed his medical residency in the Department of Medicine at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital and cardiology residency at the VA Hospital in West Roxbury. He was named director of BWH’s Medical Residency Programs in 1972 and led the program, now considered one of the best training programs in the world, for 28 years.

In addition to changing the way residents learn their craft, Wolf created the world’s first residency program for would-be primary care physicians, and was among the first to publish research on how resident fatigue and patient care transitions affect patient safety, leading to national changes in residents’ work schedules. In addition, Wolf was an early leader in successful recruitment of minority and female physicians.

Wolf is emeritus vice chairman for medical education at BWH, donning his trademark bow tie and white coat to teach medical students, mentor residents and care for patients.