March 6, 2017

Elizabeth Lahti, M.D. R '07, assistant professor of medicine, OHSU School of Medicine, will be given the 2017 Exceptional Mentorship Award at the American Medical Women's Association's 102nd annual meeting on April 1 in San Francisco. This award celebrates those who have made an impact on the lives of students in medicine. An "Exceptional Mentor" goes above and beyond what is required and actively reaches out to those around her to help guide them in their career path.

"Dr. Lahti is the physician I want to become. Dr. Lahti understands the essence of medicine," said Megan Furnari, M.D., instructor in pediatric neonatology, OHSU School of Medicine, who nominated Dr. Lahti for the award. "By embracing her story, the story of patients, and by encouraging physicians to write and understand our own stories, we can profoundly revolutionize and evolve the current medical system. As a mentor, she offers gentle guidance at just the right moments."

Dr. Lahti is a clinician educator and hospitalist at OHSU, and the director of narrative medicine in the YOUR M.D. curriculum. She teaches narrative medicine and reflective practice to interprofessional students, residents and faculty with a particular interest in identity formation and resilience through story. Dr. Lahti co-founded the Northwest Narrative Medicine Collaborative which hosts an annual conference and monthly series where students, patients, caregivers and health professionals explore the experience of illness through story.

The American Medical Women's Association seeks to advance women in medicine and improve women's health by providing and developing leadership, advocacy, education, expertise and mentoring and through building strategic alliances. Founded in 1915, AMWA is the oldest multi-specialty organization of women physicians. As the vision and voice of women in medicine for nearly a century, AMWA empowers women to lead in improving health for all, within a model that reflects the unique perspective of women.