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GW School of Medicine & Health Sciences Center for Faculty Excellence
May 2023 Faculty Spotlight
Excellence in teaching & learning, scholarly endeavors, and leadership are all around us at SMHS. The Center for Faculty Excellence would like to Spotlight our faculty’s contributions to SMHS, George Washington University, and beyond. Each month we will spotlight faculty from across the Academic Medical Enterprise. We want to thank our highlighted faculty members for sharing with us their advice and perspectives!
- SMHS Center for Faculty Excellence
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Join the CFE as we highlight Marie Borum, MD, EdD, MPH, who discusses her professional and academic journey to her current position as Director of the Division of Gastroenterology, Director of the Gastroenterology fellowship, and Professor of Medicine. She details her outlook on the future of advances of the division as well as the foundational elements for providing excellent clinical service, training future physicians, and developing faculty.
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Biography
Dr. Marie L. Borum, MD, EdD, MPH, MACP, FACG, AGAF, FRCP is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Geriatric Medicine. She is the Director of the Division of Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, and a professor at The George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences. Dr. Borum is also the Director of the Gastroenterology fellowship, and an associate professor of public health at The George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services.
Dr. Borum received her undergraduate degree from Princeton University, her medical degree from UMDNJ-Rutgers Medical School (Robert Wood Johnson Medical School), master's degree in Public Health and her doctorate in Education from The George Washington University. She completed her internship and residency in Internal Medicine and specialty training in gastroenterology at The George Washington University.
She has published more than 100 abstracts, articles and chapters. She has served as a contributing author and editor of four textbooks, including Women's Health Issues Part I and II and Gastroenterology Clinics in Geriatric Medicine. She has also served as a reviewer for multiple peer-reviewed journals. Her primary research interests include physician decision-making, women's health, health disparities, acidpeptic disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, colon cancer and liver disease. Dr. Borum is a fellow in the American College of Physicians and the American College of Gastroenterology. Her other professional memberships include the American Gastroenterology Association, American Public Health Association, American Medical Women's Association and the National Medical Association.
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Interview Q/A
How long have you been at GW SMHS? What drew you to GW?
Marie: I came to GW as a resident in internal medicine and remained at GW for my fellowship in Gastroenterology. After I completed my fellowship, I remained at GW as faculty. One of the things that excited me about GW is that it gives you the opportunity to personally and professionally grow. GW has allowed me to become the professional Gastroenterologist I am today and also allowed me educational opportunities that I feel I would not have received at other institutions.
In addition to my residency, fellowship, and faculty appointment at GW, I was able to complete my Master's in Public Health and my Doctorate in Education here. To me, it is very special, to be able to work at an institution that allows you to grow professionally and further your educational interests. In addition to the many opportunities at GW, I have appreciated the patient diversity and professional collegiality among the faculty here.
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Why did you decide to pursue a career in Gastroenterology?
Marie: It was a rather interesting journey into the field. In my residency, I began doing research into colon cancer. Then I carried on that research into my fellowship, which prompted me to think about going into a career in Gastroenterology. During my fellowship, I realized the many opportunities within Gastroenterology that interested me. The field not only offered me the ability to take care of a variety of conditions that are managed within this vast specialty, but it also allowed me to do research and provided educational opportunities that were aligned with some of my interests. My research overall has been focused on colon cancer and screening and outreach, which is something that is nationally needed and regionally necessary. Additionally, I do a lot of work in inflammatory bowel disease and look at issues related to healthcare disparities and health equity.
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What are your major responsibilities here at GW?
Marie: As a physician here at the Medical Faculty Associates (MFA), my responsibilities include clinical practice and the privilege of providing excellent care to all patients who walk through our doors. Then, I also have the responsibility of educating our students, residents, and fellows. Additionally, I engage in a lot of research activities. In our particular division, this research is primarily around; issues related to colon cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, and women's health and healthcare disparities. These kinds of research topics bring in a variety of people with their own particular interests. Those three key responsibilities (clinical service, education, and research) have a nice interaction with one another and allow us to do the kind of work we need to do in caring for patients and our trainees and students.
The more administrative responsibilities I have as a fellowship director are really rewarding. It's really important for us as clinical educators to train physicians who care about their patients and clinical service. As you take care of people, you understand that they want to be at an excellent institution like GW and want the optimal level of care that can be administered at a place like GW, and all in all, they want to know that their doctor and institution care. So that is the kind of foundation of education that we want to provide to the physicians in training.
As division directors, we want to promote that kind of foundation of education at all levels within our faculty. I feel privileged and honored for the opportunity to be able to offer opportunities to people who may not be offered of that at other places and get people excited about this field that I am so excited and passionate about. It's great to be involved in the professional development of individuals who are interested in this specialty as well as humbling to be able to be part of the professional development of people who are interested in other things but like to work with you because we are offering the educational research activities that allow them to grow and develop.
The involvement in the education of physicians in residency and fellowship is not only important for them in their professional journey, but it also allows for continued personal and professional growth for the faculty and myself.
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What is your favorite part of teaching at GW? What about the future of Gastroenterology excites you?
Marie: As the Director of the Division, it allows me to oversee clinical service, education, research opportunities, and operations. I have greatly enjoyed the fact that I am able to successfully integrate collaborative learning, research, and clinical opportunities for fellows and faculty. When I look at the fellows, I look at them as people who are ultimately going to be my colleagues. While there certainly is a hierarchy based on experience, we have a collegial relationship that allows us to be collaborative in all of our activities. This allows us to all learn every day and continue to grow.
Our division right now is in an exciting growth phase which allows us to integrate new ideas, expand our clinical offerings and opportunities, and enables us to incorporate new technology that is being developed to enhance and optimize patient care and provide excellence in clinical care.
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What is your favorite thing about your current role or responsibilities?
Marie: I truly feel my roles at GW are enhanced by the fact that there are just incredible people here. There are incredible faculty, researchers, and staff here that allow this institution to be a special place. The collaboration and cooperation among people in all aspects of education, research, and clinical care allow us to continue to build and enhance the stated mission of GW: To promote excellence in inclusion, service, and advocacy. If we continue to keep that in our minds and embody that every day, we can achieve so much and continue to grow as an institution.
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What impact do you hope you have on your trainees, colleagues, and peers through these roles?
Marie: I hope to continue to be a role model for our students, residents, and fellows. Demonstrating to them that if you bring your best every day, you are able to give excellence to the people that you serve. Looking at my role as service-oriented, it allows me to remain true to what I am here to do as a medical professional; to give optimal care to people and allow educational and professional growth among the people that I am honored to be able to train and work with.
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What are you looking forward to working on or doing here at GWSMHS (currently doing or maybe in the future?)
Marie: I look forward to continuing to allow this division to grow in what we do by providing excellent care, and to be contributors to the mission and purpose within the GW Community, and serving the community at large. One thing that GW is doing is not just looking within but also looking around. These initiatives are allowing us to become a local, regional, and national force in medical care, research, and education, and I look forward to being a part of that.
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How does this spotlight/recognition make you feel?
Marie: I am honored by this recognition, and it has been great to share my journey and my work within the field and division of Gastroenterology. Often we do our work every day and do not necessarily get recognized in large ways, so it is very special to me that I was able to share a bit about myself and my professional and personal growth within GW.
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What is one thing that keeps you motivated during the day?
Marie: I don’t know if there is just one thing that keeps me motivated, but mostly I truly come to work every day wanting to be the best I can be. While many things happen during the day that may be challenging or frustrating, looking at all these situations with a mindset of opportunity, we can keep going and stay motivated to do our work. For me, I do have a lot of interests outside of medicine and GW, and I feel that having that large range of interests and the support of family and friends, I am able to maintain a well-rounded life experience that enables me to have the energy and enthusiasm to do what I do professionally.
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