The Academy was founded to promote, support and recognize excellence in teaching in the continuum of health professions education.

The Academy, through its programs, will help advance careers in health professions education. The Academy, through its members, will support and inspire innovations in the educational mission of MaineHealth, provide advice to the education leadership and promote the importance of teaching and programmatic excellence at MaineHealth.

Find a Program

Academy Scholars

Academy Scholars participate in a two-year program with protected time to enhance and broaden their education and teaching skills and knowledge. Scholars attend bi-monthly seminars and complete a scholarly project in health professions education.

Academy Graduate Scholars

Academy Graduate Scholars have typically completed the Scholars program. They remain active within the Academy while furthering their professional development as educators and scholars in health professions education.

Associate Educator

Academy Associate Educators are active, interprofessional educators. Typically they are ready to pursue a faculty appointment at the instructor level or higher and have key teaching responsibilities and an interest in scholarship.

Academy Fellows

Academy Fellows are educators who have demonstrated excellence in teaching and educational leadership roles. Fellows provide service as mentors, presenters and workshop leaders, are active in professional development of junior faculty, and are educational role models.

Academy Master Educators

Academy Master Educators are role models in health professions education who have had a lasting impact on education and the organization, a history of substantive scholarship, and help steer the overall direction of the Academy.

About the Academy

All Academy members are active participants as teachers, education scholars and leaders throughout the continuum of health professions education at MaineHealth and its affiliated institutions.  As a component of the MaineHealth Institute for Teaching Excellence (MITE) the members of the Academy actively support the programs of MITE.

Mission: The mission of the Academy at MITE is to develop, promote, and recognize excellence in teaching throughout the continuum of health professions education.

Vision:The Academy will transform the MaineHealth academic environment and culture to establish MaineHealth as a national leader in medical education.

Goals of the Academy:

  • Promote diversity within the MaineHealth community of educators
  • Advance careers in academic medicine
  • Cultivate leaders and mentors
  • Foster innovation, research and scholarship in health professions education
  • Recognize teaching excellence
  • Develop collaborative interprofessional educational models
  • Define and advocate for policies that advance the academic mission

More Information: The Academy at MITE Charter (PDF)

Leadership

Kathleen Fairfield, MD, MPH, DrPH

Kathleen Fairfield, MD, MPH, DrPH

Kathleen Fairfield, MD, MPH, DrPH

Co-Director, the Academy at MITE
Vice Chair for Education and Professional Development, Department of Medicine

Professor of Medicine, Public Health & Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine

Dr. Fairfield is an internist, medical educator, physician coach, and scientist studying approaches to improve health equity. She completed an M.D. at Boston University School of Medicine, followed by internship and residency at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. She then completed the Harvard Medical School fellowship in General Medicine, earning her Master’s in Public Health, followed by a Doctorate in Public Health focused on Epidemiology and Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health. After serving on the faculty at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Dr. Fairfield joined MMC in 2002.

Dr. Fairfield serves as Co-Director of the Academy. Her education work has included leading development and implementation of the Introduction to Research course for residents and fellows, completed by more than 500 trainees at Maine Medical Center. She also lead the development of, and directed the Certificate in Healthcare Improvement, training interprofessional teams across MaineHealth. Dr. Fairfield serves as Vice Chair for Education and Professional Development in the Department of Medicine at MMC.

Dr. Fairfield sees patients and supervises residents in the International and Travel Clinics at MMC. She served as Medical Director for the Portland Community Free Clinic for 16 years where she has volunteered since 2002. Her professional focus is improving the health of the people of her home state of Maine through excellent clinical care, medical education, and community-engaged research.

Email: Kathleen.Fairfield@mainehealth.org

Robert Bing-You, MD, MEd, MBA

Robert Bing-You, MD, MEd, MBA

Director of Continuing Interprofessional Development, Department of Medical Education at Maine Medical Center
Co-Director of The Academy

Dr. Bing-You is a graduate of George Washington University School of Medicine. He completed his Internal Medicine residency training here at Maine Medical Center, followed by a clinical and research fellowship in Endocrinology. He then went on to obtain a Masters in Adult Education at the University of Southern Maine. He completed his MBA degree through the University of Massachusetts. For eight years, Dr. Bing-You served as Residency Program Director and Clerkship Director for the Department of Internal Medicine. Dr. Bing-You served as MMC Vice President for Medical Education for 29 years. He helped establish MITE in 2015 and has served as Co-Director of the Academy since its initiation. He has been active at the leadership level of several educational committees, such as MMC Graduate Medical Education Committee, CME Advisory Committee, and Maine Track Admissions Subcommittee, to name a few. Dr. Bing-You has a small endocrinology practice at PenBay Medical Center.

Contact Information:

Email: Robert.bing-You@mainehealth.org

Office: 207-662-7060

Founding Co-Director

Denham Ward, MD, PhD

Denham Ward, MD, PhD

Professor of Anesthesiology and Peri-Operative Medicine, TUSM
Emeritus Professor and Chair of Anesthesiology
University of Rochester, Rochester NY
Founding Co-Director of The Academy

Dr. Ward received his BS(EE) from the University of Maine and his Ph.D. from UCLA in System Science. His medical degree is from the University of Miami where he did an internal medicine internship. He completed his anesthesiology residency at UCLA where he remained on the faculty. While at UCLA, he served as the residency program director. In 1992, he moved to the University of Rochester to become Chair of the Anesthesiology department. He also served as Associate Dean for Faculty Development – Medical Education and directed several medical school basic science courses. In 2011, Dr. Ward “semi-retired” to his family home in Bowdoinham. He serves on the Tufts Medical School Promotions Committee (CLINPAC). Dr. Ward (retired) is a Founding Co-Director and in addition to helping co-create the Academy, he is still a guiding force for the programming.

Contact Information:

Email: Denham.Ward@mainehealth.org