Fairfield resident Jillian Rose, the director of Community Engagement, Diversity and Research at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City, has received the Distinguished Educator Award from the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (ARHP).
The award honors an ARHP member "who has demonstrated sustained excellence in the teaching of patients and students/trainees, including health professional students, medical students, residents, graduate students, and/or fellows, with their primary focus being rheumatology-related content," according to the association.
Rose has been with the HSS since 2005 and has dedicated much of her time to understanding inequalities in rheumatology care and addressing them through educational programs for health professionals, as well as patients, in an effort to promote the highest quality of care for all.
"It is hard to imagine a more passionate, innovative, and committed rheumatology educator than Jillian," Roberta Horton, the assistant vice president of the Department of Social Work Programs at HSS stated.
"Her vision and implementation of rheumatology educational initiatives seek to engage others to be curious and to be passionate about discovering, learning and integrating new knowledge. Jillian accomplishes this not only through her teaching, supervision, presentations, research, and program development, but also by creating safe learning environments from which enhanced self-awareness and understanding emerge.”
A Guyana native, Rose moved to America when she was 11 and eventually went on to study at Providence College. Since joining HSS, she has “developed and implemented hospital-wide training for staff on working with multicultural populations and fostering an inclusive environment for the LGBTQ community.” She also chairs the LGBTQ Committee at HSS, which provides “ongoing leadership and support for the collection of data regarding gender identity, sexual orientation and race, ethnicity and preferred language.”
Rose said she was both humbled and surprised to receive the Distinguished Educator Award.
"To be recognized for doing work that is your life passion is an amazing honor," she said. "This award is especially meaningful to me as a social worker and a change-agent for people who are disproportionately affected by negative health care outcomes. I am committed to education as a platform to empower both patients and health care providers to achieve the best health care outcomes."
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