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STFM International Committee Presents 2007 Gabriel Smilkstein Memorial Award

At the STFM Annual Spring Conference in Chicago, the International Committee of the Society for Teachers of Family Medicine proudly presented the 2007 Gabriel Smilkstein Memorial Award to Ronald Pust, MD. This Award is given annually to honor a member of the STFM community whose work exemplifies the work of Gabriel Smilkstein in furthering the development of family medicine education throughout the world.

Dr Pust’s 40-year career as an international health physician interfaces curriculum development with teaching, and field research with clinical practice. After 4 years with Centers for Disease Control (2 in Nigeria on TB and smallpox) and 6 years as a generalist in Papua New Guinea, he was board certified in both preventive medicine and family practice. 

In 1982 he designed the interdisciplinary Arizona intensive summer course, “International Health: Clinical & Community Care” course (www.globalhealth.arizona.edu). Revised annually, by 2006 this course had attracted and graduated 519 students from over 70 medical and health profession schools, who have gone to more than 70 developing nations. In 1991, Dr. Pust hosted in Tucson the founding meeting of IHMEC, now the Global Health Education Consortium (www.gh-ec.org), serving as its chair for curriculum and as its second president. 

On a 2004-5 sabbatical, he was founding head of Family Medicine at Moi University in Kenya (see Family Medicine, Oct., 2006).  His research deals with field assessment of lung disease, leprosy, family planning, and CHW diagnostic accuracy. Most of his other publications concern medical education for careers in underserved regions.