Cincinnati Physician Receives National Honor for Teaching Excellence from the American Academy of Family Physicians

WASHINGTON – Philip M. Diller, M.D., Ph.D., a family physician in Cincinnati, Ohio, received the Exemplary Teaching Award from the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) at its annual meeting this week in Washington, D.C. The award was one of 10 presented for exceptional achievement in the field of family medicine. The AAFP’s Scientific Assembly, one of the largest gatherings of primary care providers in the country, was held September 27 – October 1.

Diller was one of four family physicians who received Exemplary Teaching Awards, which recognize AAFP members who have excellent teaching skills and who have implemented outstanding programs or developed innovative teaching models. The awards are given in three categories: full-time, part-time and volunteer. Diller received the Exemplary Teaching Award in the category of full-time faculty member.

Named the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians Educator of the Year for 2005, Diller has been involved in medical school and residency education for more than 15 years, serving as residency program director at the University of Cincinnati/Christ Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program since 1999.

Not content to simply replicate the work of others, as residency director Diller transformed the residency’s training program to focus on a conceptual model of medicine, and has helped shepherd the program to national recognition for its dedication to training physicians to care for underserved populations.

Early in his career, Diller also instituted a Family Medicine Scholar’s Program at the University of Cincinnati, encouraging students to view the art of medicine with the same curiosity and devotion as the science of medicine. The program, which still exists, is consistently one of the more popular student extracurricular activities at the University.

Striving to bring a humanistic component to all he does, Diller spent the last decade writing and fine-tuning a 800-page book, Acquiring the Medical Art: Lessons from Practicing Physicians, on the historical and contemporary views of the art of medicine. The book contains a compilation of excerpts from historical literature and thought-provoking questions and commentaries from Diller. Through this undertaking, Diller has strived to shape and define a model for the “art” of medicine so that it can be taught more readily.

In addition to his role as program director, Diller continues to maintain an active medical practice at Forest Park Family Practice in Cincinnati. He was named to the list of Cincinnati’s Best Doctors in 2005.

Diller is active in international health and is a founding board member of Shoulder to Shoulder, Inc., a Cincinnati-based non-profit organization that provides educational opportunities for health professionals in training, while providing health care for the poor in rural Honduras.

“Dr. Diller is one of the most scholarly family physicians I have ever known – deserving to sit with equality with the likes of Sir William Osler and Frances Peabody,” commented Jeffrey E. Heck, M.D., a colleague in North Carolina who heads Shoulder to Shoulder, Inc., and who has worked closely with Diller both clinically and academically.

And, in the words of Andrew T. Filak, Jr., M.D., the senior associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, “I can easily count on one hand those who are in a class with Phil. His humility is coupled with his strength of character. His concern for others comes straight from his heart. He has a keen intellect that is coupled with wisdom. In summary, he is an outstanding physician and educator, and most importantly, an outstanding person.”

Diller earned his undergraduate degree from the College of Wooster, Ohio, and his graduate and medical degrees from the University of Chicago. He is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine.