AACOM Remembers Dr. Douglas L. Wood, Former President and CEO

Douglas L. Wood, DO, PhD, FACOI, passed away on October 6, 2019, surrounded by his family at his home in Annapolis, MD.

From 1995 to 2005, Dr. Wood served as AACOM’s President and CEO, the first osteopathic physician to hold that title in the association’s history.

Dr. Wood received his BS in Zoology from the University of Michigan in 1961. From there he received his Doctor of Osteopathy at the Kansas City College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kansas City, MO. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Mount Clemens General Hospital and in nephrology at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, MI. He was board certified in both specialties. As a nephrologist at Mount Clemens General Hospital, he developed and helped to open a dialysis unit at the hospital, then became the hospital’s Director of Medical Education in 1982. He received his PhD in Education Evaluation and Research in Medical Education from Wayne State University in 1986.

From 1991 to 1995, he held several leadership positions at Michigan State University, including Dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine, Lead Dean of the university’s Neuroscience Program, and Lead Dean of the W.K. Kellogg Community/University Partnership Program.

Beginning His Career at AACOM

In 1995, Dr. Wood left Michigan State to become President of AACOM, during which time he provided many invaluable contributions to the association and the osteopathic medical community at large.

“Dr. Wood was committed from the beginning to have AACOM be a conduit for sharing ideas in the community,” said Linda Heun, PhD, former Vice President of AACOM’s Medical Education department. At a time when AACOM primarily acted as a lobbying and application service, Dr. Wood worked to stress the importance of fostering medical education and sharing information among the member colleges.  

“Dr. Wood did the kind of work that was integral to bring osteopathic medical education (OME) into a national presence,” said Stephen C. Shannon, DO, MPH, former President and CEO of AACOM. “He was an innovative force in medical education and recognized the value that the nation’s osteopathic medical schools brought to the healthcare needs of our nation. He significantly moved our profession forward in many, many ways.”

Under Dr. Wood’s leadership, AACOM became more representative of an educational organization, instituting new programs and projects to promote collaboration and communication among its member colleges. After working on the transition for many years, AACOM’s governance was transformed from the Board of Governors, which comprised the Presidents of each college, to the Board of Deans, representing all colleges of osteopathic medicine. Recognizing the need for the member schools to come together and collaborate, Dr. Wood was also integral to developing the association’s first annual meeting, held June 26 to 28, 2003. Receiving 244 attendees in its first year, the annual conference is now Educating Leaders, a premiere event for the OME community that hosts programming and events for more than 650 professionals.

To further increase communication among the schools, Dr. Wood also worked closely with his staff to start using list servs to stay in contact and answer questions from colleagues. In the first year, 500 users from AACOM’s member colleges were using the system. Dr. Wood also brainstormed with his senior leadership to develop workable protocols to create electronic records for applications, and to use technology to help the community choose programming at the annual meetings. Dr. Wood and AACOM also worked closely with the American Osteopathic Association, helping to organize regular leadership meetings between the two organizations and advocacy efforts. His leadership saw the emergence of COM Day on Capitol Hill, the creation of the Osteopathic Health Policy Internship Program for medical students, and student involvement in DO Day on Capitol Hill.

National Initiatives

During his time as President, Dr. Wood further elevated the OME community’s national voice and perspective when appointed to the Council on Graduate Medical Education (COGME). Authorized in 1986 as an advisory council to Congress and the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), COGME commissioned studies on high-priority health workforce policy issues, and submitted its recommendations to Congress and the DHHS Secretary. At the time, no other public advisory body offered opinions formulated on these issues from the combined perspective of primary care and specialty care providers with the diverse professional representation that COGME held.

In particular, COGME’s major responsibility was to monitor the nation’s supply of physicians, and to recommend policy and program changes needed to assure the adequate size of the community. During the time Dr. Wood was participating in COGME, the council also issued reports on financing graduate medical education, under-represented minorities in physician training, and physician workforce policy guidelines.

Dr. Wood was a Project Director of UME-21, a five-year demonstration initiative involving 18 allopathic medical schools, funded at $7.6 million by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Created to address the challenges medical schools faced in training their graduates to practice in a rapidly changing healthcare environment, the project provided funding for 18 U.S. medical schools. AACOM was the organization that reviewed the grant applications and distributed the funds to chosen institutions.

The medical education community learned several key lessons from the UME-21 project, namely how essential effective communication was proving to be in the modern healthcare landscape, the importance of integrating new curriculum into traditional programming where schools were able, and how necessary collaboration would turn out to be in the years to come.

The project went a long way to furthering AACOM’s contributions and exposure to the field of medical education. “In a sense, our involvement with UME-21 put AACOM on the map,” Dr. Shannon said. “HRSA began to see AACOM as a partner in developing programs for primary care physicians.”

During his tenure as AACOM President, Dr. Wood served as a member and two-term president of the Federation of Associations of Schools of the Health Professions, representing virtually all health professional education associations in the U.S.

Councils and the National Academy

At AACOM’s first annual meeting, Dr. Wood proposed an idea for a society of osteopathic medical educators that would be open to all in the field as a further means of collaboration. This led to the formation of the Society of Osteopathic Medical Educators (SOME), an open-membership society of osteopathic medical faculty and staff involved in planning and providing OME programs along its full continuum. Today, SOME also offers two $1,000 annual awards for innovations in medical education. Other councils were also formed under Dr. Wood’s leadership that brought together professionals in finance, information technology, alumni relations, marketing and communications, and student financial aid.

Dr. Wood became interested in the idea of a national academy for osteopathic medical educators that would be centered around service to the community. Although not completed until after Dr. Wood’s departure from AACOM, the idea laid the groundwork for founding the National Academy of Osteopathic Medical Educators (NAOME), a community of outstanding educators (termed “Fellows”) who meet rigorous standards of academic excellence. Today, NAOME serves to foster and value the scholarship of teaching and learning, provide role-modeling and support for educators in OME programs, and foster networking and collaboration among OME institutions.

Leaving AACOM

Dr. Wood’s continuing legacy at AACOM is one of encouraging new methods of collaboration, along with sharing modern educational theories and practice. “Due to Dr. Wood’s leadership,” Dr. Shannon said, “AACOM grew from a small organization to one with a real presence among the medical education community.”

“It was a real time of change,” Dr. Heun said. “And Dr. Wood took us through it.”

“He was trying to promote collegiality and connections for the colleges, and to help them interact and collaborate with one another,” Nancy Cioffari, former AACOM CFO, said.

After leaving AACOM, Dr. Wood went on to become the Inaugural Dean of the A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (ATSU-SOMA) from 2005 to 2010 and eventually provost at the university. ATSU-SOMA, with its strong collaboration with that National Association of Community Health Centers and placement of osteopathic medical student cohorts within Community Health Centers beginning in the second year of medical school, was one of the most impactful innovations in decades, with a strong legacy of accomplishment. Dr. Wood then went on to serve as Dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine and Vice President for Health Affairs at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine until 2016.

During his career, Dr. Wood published widely, and received numerous professional and service awards, including the Great Pioneer in Osteopathic Medicine from the American Osteopathic Association, the Walter F. Patenge Medal for Public Service from Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, the Riland Medal for Public Service from New York Institute of Technology New York College of Osteopathic Medicine, and the Phillips Medal of Public Service from Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Dr. Wood is survived by his wife Janet, his four children, his grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. His lasting contributions to AACOM, the medical education community, and to his students and family will always be remembered and celebrated.

There will be a celebration of Dr. Wood's contributions to the OME community at this year’s Osteopathic Medical Education Conference (OMED) in Baltimore, MD. The celebration will be held on Sunday, October 27 in the Key Ballroom 1, 2nd Floor, Hilton Baltimore Hotel, 401 W. Pratt St. from 4:30 - 5:30 PM.

The family of Dr. Wood kindly requests that in lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to a scholarship fund to be awarded to a deserving medical school student.  Douglas Lee Wood was passionate about medical education, and this scholarship is intended to continue his passion. To contribute to the scholarship fund, please visit the Dr. Wood memorial website.