Daniel J. Schumacher, MD, PhD, MEd

Biography

Pediatric emergency medicine is my specialty. I have always been interested in illnesses that tend to affect children. Working with children is incredibly rewarding, and I believe that clinicians and researchers can genuinely make a difference in their lives.

My research is in the area of competency-based medical education. Specifically, I study patient-focused approaches to physician performance assessment. These factors include entrustable professional activities and resident-sensitive quality measures — the latter of which I developed as the focus of my PhD work. The goal of my research is to ensure that training and educational outcomes prepare physicians to achieve the outcomes that patients need.

During my chief residency year, I developed an interest in resident assessment. I became one of eight people in a working group that developed the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Pediatric Milestones. We use this assessment approach with residents and fellows in all ACGME-accredited pediatric training programs. This work illuminated our need for better ways to assess trainees in medicine than our traditional models. Moreover, I believed we needed a way to assess physicians that demonstrates the efficacy of the care they provide to patients, as this is another gap in traditional approaches.

I am one of a select number of Americans who is a member of the International Competency-based Medical Education Collaborators. I have received Academic Medicine's Excellence in Reviewing Award as well as multiple top reviewer awards from the Journal of Graduate Medical Education. I was Cincinnati Children's first recipient of the prestigious and competitive Macy Faculty Scholar Award from the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, and I also received Cincinnati Children's Educational Achievement Award in 2018.