Daniel J. Schumacher, MD, PhD, MEd
- Director, Education Research Unit
- Member, Division of Emergency Medicine
- Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
- daniel.schumacher@cchmc.org
- Board Certified
About
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.
MD: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, 2005.
Residency: Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics, Madison, WI, 2008.
Chief Residency: Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics, Madison, WI, 2009.
Fellowship: Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, 2012.
MEd: University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 2012.
PhD: Maastricht University School of Health Professions Education, Maastricht, Netherlands, 2020.
Services and Specialties
Interests
Competency-based medical education; physician performance assessment; qualitative methodologies
Research Areas
Publications
A realist evaluation of prospective entrustment decisions in paediatric residency clinical competency committees. Medical Education. 2025; 59:292-301.
An Untold Story: The Feelings of Pediatric Residents Early in the COVID-19 Pandemic and What They Can Teach Us Today. Academic Pediatrics. 2025; 25:102602.
Public Board Score Reporting Undermines Holistic Review for Residency Selection. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2025; 40:17-21.
A retrospective observational study - exploring food pantry referral as a clinical proxy for residents' ability to address unmet health-related social needs. Medical Education Online: an electronic journal. 2024; 29:2404295.
Variation in Case Exposure During Internal Medicine Residency. JAMA network open. 2024; 7:e2450768.
A Rollercoaster of Grades Versus Growth in the Clerkship Year: A Phenomenological Study of Medical Student Experience with Competency Development. Perspectives on Medical Education. 2024; 13:592-601.
Digital Evidence: Revisiting Assumptions at the Intersection of Technology and Assessment. Perspectives on Medical Education. 2024; 13:553-560.
What Are We Made For? Mobilizing Medical Education Research for Impact. Academic Medicine. 2024; 99:1177-1180.
Curriculum development for postgraduate training with entrustable professional activities. Entrustable Professional Activities and Entrustment Decision-Making in Health Professions Education. : Ubiquity Press; Ubiquity Press; 2024.
Entrustable professional activities and transitions across the continuum of training and practice. Entrustable Professional Activities and Entrustment Decision-Making in Health Professions Education. : Ubiquity Press; Ubiquity Press; 2024.
From the Blog
Schumacher Invited to Elite Medical Education Fellowship
Daniel J. Schumacher, MD, PhD, MEd6/12/2023
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