Harvey W. Meislin, MD, professor of emergency medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, has been awarded the 2016 Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine (AACEM) Lifetime Achievement Award. The award will be presented at the AACEM annual retreat dinner Feb. 22 in Tempe.
“Dr. Meislin has dedicated a lifetime to promoting the specialty of emergency medicine through his leadership, mentoring and creative spirit. He has altered the course of the specialty for the better in many ways,” said Samuel Keim, MD, professor and head of the UA Department of Emergency Medicine.
Dr. Meislin was appointed head of the Section of Emergency Medicine when it was established by the UA College of Medicine in 1980. He advanced the section to full department status in 2001 and continued as the Department of Emergency Medicine head until 2011. Dr. Meislin founded the Arizona Emergency Medicine Research Center (AEMRC) in 1990 and served as the center’s director.
Among the many leadership roles he has held during his career, Dr. Meislin served as president of the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) and president and chair of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), the umbrella organization over all medical specialties in the United States.
“I am honored to be awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine. Such an accolade by one’s peers and colleagues is humbling and I thank the association for this recognition,” said Dr. Meislin.
Dr. Meislin is the second UA Department of Emergency Medicine faculty member to receive this distinguished award; Peter Rosen, MD, clinical professor of emergency medicine, received the first AACEM Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.
AACEM members are full, acting, interim and emeritus chairs and directors of departments of emergency medicine, who work to improve and support academic departments of EM in the advancement of health care through high-quality education and research.
