Macy Foundation Selects Associate Professor Jennifer Best for Faculty Scholar Program

Dr. Jennifer Best has been named a 2021 Macy Faculty Scholar. The Macy Faculty Scholars Program is designed to identify and nurture the careers of educational innovators in medicine and nursing. They select five faculty leaders each year to receive two years of funding to conduct an educational change project at their institution and participate in a career development program. Dr. Best’s educational project is titled “Adapting the ‘Social-Belonging Intervention’ to Improve Academic and Well-Being Outcomes in Graduate Medical Education.” Macy Scholars also receive mentoring the Macy Foundation National Advisory Committee.

As a Macy Faculty Scholar, Dr. Best will implement the "social-belonging intervention" in the transition from undergraduate medical education to residency, partnering with an interdisciplinary team to adapt its application for first-year residents across medical, surgical, and hospital-based specialties. The aims for the project are 1) to qualitatively define elements of belonging relevant to residents in GME training programs; 2) based on this research, to customize and implement the “social-belonging intervention” for the transition to residency, using a framework outlined by researchers Greg Walton and Geoffrey Cohen; and 3) to assess the impact of the SBI on academic outcomes and engagement, and psychological and physical well-being, with a focus on underrepresented learners.

Dr. Best also serves as the Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education in the UW School of Medicine and the Associate Program Director for Resident Professional Development for the Internal Medicine Residency Program.

The Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation is dedicated to improving the education of health professionals.