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Mary Norine Walsh, MD, reflects on ACC presidency, changes in HF management
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In this issue, Cardiology Today interviews Mary Norine Walsh, MD, FACC, about her new role of president of the American College of Cardiology and the professional path that led to leadership in HF.
Walsh, a Cardiology Today Editorial Board member, is the medical director of the HF and cardiac transplantation programs at St. Vincent Heart Center in Indianapolis.
Walsh received her undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Minnesota before completing her internship and residency at the University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, and her cardiology fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. She began her career in practice at the Hospital University of Pennsylvania, where she was an assistant professor of medicine (cardiology) and assistant professor of radiology, before moving to what is now St. Vincent Medical Group in 1992.
While best known for her research and expertise in HF, Walsh has also published and lectured on women’s heart health, nuclear cardiology and systems approaches for quality improvement.
Walsh is on the board of WomenHeart — the National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease, the editorial board of the Journal of Cardiac Failure and an editorial consultant for the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Heart Failure. She also served the American Board of Internal Medicine on a residency review committee and a congestive HF committee, the American Heart Association as president of the Indiana affiliate and the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology as a board member.
Honors that Walsh has received include the Wenger Award for Medical Leadership in 2014 and election by her peers for inclusion in Best Doctors in America every year since 2005.
At the conclusion of the ACC Scientific Session on March 19, Walsh will become president of the ACC. She previously served as president of the ACC’s Indiana chapter and was a member or chair of numerous ACC committees.
Who has had the greatest influence on your career?
Dr. Walsh: I have had many mentors. Donald Seldin, MD, was chair of internal medicine when I trained at the University of Texas Southwestern. Our house staff training under Dr. Seldin was very rigorous and my experience at University of Texas Southwestern introduced me to the broader world of academic medicine. Burton E. Sobel, MD, and Steven R. Bergmann, MD, PhD, were my research mentors during my fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and they nurtured my development as a clinical investigator. Also, Mark Josephson, MD, who recruited me to the University of Pennsylvania early in my career, helped guide me in many important decisions.
Photo credit: St. Vincent Heart Center; printed with permission.
What was the defining moment that led you to your field?
Dr. Walsh: Probably my experience as a junior medical student on the VA cardiology service in Minneapolis. Traditionally, third-year students were advised to do an internal medicine ward rotation prior to a subspecialty service, but my schedule didn’t allow for that. I was blown away by cardiology, and the residents, fellows and attendings on the service took me under their wing that month. No rotation that I did after that seemed as interesting or challenging.
My route to my subspecialty in HF and cardiac transplantation was a bit circuitous. I had a lot of experience with HF and transplantation in my cardiology fellowship, but my early research focus was on myocardial perfusion and metabolism using PET imaging. That work continued to be my focus when I was at the University of Pennsylvania. When I came to my practice at St. Vincent in 1992, there was no specific, organized approach to disease management and I turned my attention to building a multidisciplinary approach for HF management. Our team of talented physicians and other clinicians has grown tremendously since then, and I continue to find my work with patients who have HF or need cardiac transplantation enormously gratifying.
What advice would you offer to a student in medical school?
Dr. Walsh: Medicine is in the midst of a great deal of change right now, with the evolution of payment models and a focus on population health. The most important advice I can give to a student is to focus first on becoming an excellent clinician in a field of medicine that really interests you. Loving what you do makes dealing with the hassles and hurdles that come with practicing medicine much easier.
But along with being clinically excellent, make sure that you understand all the forces outside of clinical medicine that influence healthcare delivery and health policy. Having some knowledge in these areas will help you in any future clinical practice. And lastly, make educating others part of your mission. If you aren’t at an institution with interns, residents and fellows, become a volunteer clinical faculty member at your local medical school. Having trainees with you keeps you sharp and allows you pass mentoring on to others.
What are your hobbies outside of practicing medicine?
Dr. Walsh: I am a runner. Running helps me remain healthy when I am traveling. I have a great group of women friends whom I run with on weekends when I’m at home in Indianapolis.
What’s up next for you?
Dr. Walsh: I become the president of the ACC in March. I have found my many years as a volunteer for our organization to be a very valuable and enriching part of my career. I am following a legacy of great leadership of our past presidents and I am looking forward to the challenge of being at the helm. The ACC has recently undertaken a transformation in governance, a process that that will be ongoing during my presidency. Also, the ACC has a diverse and growing membership. I look forward to making sure that we are serving the needs of all our members whether that member is a cardiologist in one of our international chapters, a nurse practitioner caring for patients in a lipid or HF clinic, or a cardiology program director overseeing the education of our fellows-in-training. The ACC is the professional home to all CV specialists and the care team, so I want to make sure that it continues to be welcoming to all. – by Erik Swain