Robert P. Drucker Oral History Interview, 2022

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Summary

Creator:
Drucker, Robert P.
Abstract:
Dr. Robert (Bob) P. Drucker, MD, Professor of Pediatric and Associate Dean for Medical Education in the Duke University School of Medicine, centered his clinical work in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. Previously, he was Director of Pediatric Student Education and Associate Director for Graduate Pediatric Education. This collection contains 1 oral history interview conducted on April 22, 2022 by Josephine McRobbie. In the 2022 interview, Drucker discusses his background, work as an advisory dean, the impact of COVID-19 on medical education, and his experiences working in pediatrics and pediatric infectious diseases. The themes of this interview includes pediatrics, medical education, and careers in medicine.
Extent:
1 Interview (1 transcript) and 1.0 GB
Language:
English
Collection ID:
OH.DRUCKERR

Background

Scope and content:

Includes 1 oral history interview with Dr. Robert (Bob) P. Drucker conducted on April 22, 2022 by Josephine McRobbie.

In the April 22, 2022 interview, Drucker discusses his background, work as an advisory dean, the impact of COVID-19 on medical education, and his experiences working in pediatrics and pediatric infectious diseases. The themes of this interview includes pediatrics, medical education, and careers in medicine.

Biographical / historical:

Dr. Robert (Bob) Patrick Drucker, MD was born in Cleveland, Ohio and spent his later childhood in Toronto, Canada, where his father was Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto. Observing his father's work and friendships, Drucker gained an early appreciation for the field of medicine. For his undergraduate degree, Drucker attended Harvard University, majoring in Applied Mathematics. He also took pre-med coursework. He graduated from Duke University School of Medicine in 1979 with his medical degree. After his second year of medical school, he was torn between a number of specialties but settled on pediatrics after bonding with pediatricians Dr. Catherine Wilfert and her spouse Dr. Samuel Katz as a third year research student. The time spent with them allowed Drucker to immerse himself in the word of pediatrics.

After graduating, Drucker went to Massachusetts General Hospital (1979-1981) as a Resident in Pediatrics followed up by a year as a Fellow in Pediatric Nephrology (1982). In 1983, Drucker returned to Duke as a Fellow in Pediatric Infectious Diseases. In 1987 he spent the year as Chief Resident in Pediatrics after an unplanned vacancy occurred, a role that coincided with his first year on faculty at Duke. Since Drucker had not done his residency at Duke, this was a very atypical situation, but it was career changing for Drucker because he immersed himself in the world of education and found that he loved it.

His first educational role was working with the Residency program, and, soon after, with the Pediatric Clerkships program. As a member of The Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (COMSEP), Drucker helped to rewrite the standard medical school curriculum for pediatrics and contributed a case to the CLIPP (now Aquifer Pediatrics) casebook. In 1991, Drucker became Associate Director for Graduate Pediatric Education, and, in 1994, became Director for Pediatric Student Education. In 1991, he joined the Medical School Admissions Committee, where he remained for three decades.
In all of these roles, and as an Advisory Dean, Drucker has relished in the fact that both medical school and the medical student population is "always changing", creating new opportunities to reimagine a comprehensive and inclusive educational model. He supports individuality, noting that "the worst thing a school could try to do is have a cookie cutter product." In his weekly lunches with first-year medical students, he makes a point to always ask "What have you done for fun in the past week?" to emphasize to busy students the need for work-life balance.

Drucker and his wife, Dr. Joan Liversidge Drucker, had two children. Drucker retired from Duke University in the Spring of 2022.

Acquisition information:
Accession A2022.037 (transferred by Josephine McRobbie, May 2022)
Processing information:

Processed by Lucy Waldrop: May 2022

Arrangement:
Organized into the following series: Interview, April 22, 2022.
Rules or conventions:
DACS

Contents

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Terms of access:

Copyright for Official University records is held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Robert P. Drucker Oral History Interview, Duke University Medical Center Archives.