Dr. Mark J. Rosen’s contributions to medicine included more than 4 decades in pulmonary and critical care, service as CHEST President from 2006 to 2007, leadership in CHEST education and board review initiatives for more than a quarter-century, and a lifetime worth of education and mentorship around the world. His passing on July 3, 2019, left an immeasurable void in many of our lives. On Tuesday, Dr. Rosen’s friend and mentee Lisa Moores, MD, FCCP, will present a session celebrating his work and exploring how he continues to impact the profession.
“My favorite memory by far is Mark as the emcee for the CHEST Challenge,” Dr. Moores said. “He was always having a good time joking with the contestants and keeping the audience engaged.”
Dr. Moores and Dr. Rosen knew each other well by then, but first met when Dr. Moores was a fellow taking a board review course to prepare for her exam. She fondly recalls their first interaction: “Mark was speaking on pulmonary manifestations of HIV. I was overwhelmed by all of the studies he was quoting that were published by him. I realized that he was quite an international expert in this area. It was very impressive! And yet he made the topic seem simple, and made us laugh throughout the presentation! As a friend, we had a tradition of going out with several other close friends for Chinese food each year after the CHEST Challenge Championship. Those were always so much fun! Mark also invited me to be faculty at several international courses over the years and our travel outside of the meeting was always a blast!”
It is telling that Dr. Rosen achieved prominence in medicine overseas and encouraged his mentees to participate in international culture. He was, after all, well-known at CHEST for supporting initiatives to make the annual meetings and live courses accessible outside of the US Dr. Moores recalls that “Mark was instrumental in developing our international outreach and was one of the key players in helping our Chinese colleagues establish pulmonary specialty training in their country. Bringing all the amazing faculty we have at CHEST to teach in the countries of members around the world is a huge contribution that I believe will directly impact patient care in those regions for many years.”
When asked what advice Dr. Rosen would offer and what initiatives he would support today, Dr. Moores’ answer demonstrates just how important education and mentorship for new entrants to the profession was to him: To honor Dr. Rosen’s spirit and values at the CHEST Challenge, which is being renamed this year in his honor, she imagines that Dr. Rosen would tell participants to “relax and not take themselves too seriously. He would want them to have fun up there!” Dr. Moores also said that Dr. Rosen would stress that the CHEST community continue to value clinician educators, ensure that rising generations of pulmonary doctors have adequate mentorship and sponsorship, and practice patient- and family-focused care.
The legacy of Dr. Rosen is something that Dr. Moores hopes will be felt in the medical field at large for many years, and in her Tuesday presentation.
“I always strive to have my lectures or other educational products be as logical, organized, and clinically relevant as Mark’s always were. He made it easy on the learner! I would also love to be as funny as Mark was (not sure I will ever get there!). I had a rule that I would not follow Mark on an agenda, as he was such an amazing teacher but could still make the audience laugh all the way through.”
Dr. Moores encourages all attendees, regardless of specialization, to attend the session and leave inspired to do more for one another.
The Mark J. Rosen, MD, Master FCCP Memorial Lecture recognizes a CHEST educator who embodies the educational and leadership passion of Dr. Mark Rosen. This one-time lecture, given in his memory, acknowledges his service as a clinician-educator, faculty, mentor, and leader in the pulmonary and critical care medicine community worldwide. Dr. Rosen’s distinguished career in pulmonary and critical care medicine spanned more than 4 decades, marked by his deep commitment to fostering leaders, medical education, and patient care.