Nancy Spector, MD, is a Professor of Pediatrics and serves at the Drexel University College of Medicine (DUCOM) as Executive Director of the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM) program, a part-time year-long, national leadership fellowship program for women in academic medicine, dentistry, public health, and pharmacy and as Executive Director of the Executive Leadership in Health Care (ELH) program for women leaders in hospital and health care systems. In addition to these roles, she serves as Senior Vice Dean for Faculty, the Betty A. Cohen Chair in Women’s Health, and Executive Director of the Lynn Yeakel Institute for Women’s Health and Leadership (IWHL).
Known for her leadership and facilitation skills, Dr. Spector is sought after as a speaker and visiting professor. Her contributions to academic medicine are in leadership skills development, professional development, gender equity, mentoring and sponsorship, and curriculum development and implementation. She is a member of PROWD (Promoting and Respecting Our Women Doctors). In addition to her roles at DUCOM, she has been the educational leader of the I-PASS Handoff Study Group, serves as Chair of the I-PASS Executive Council, and is a co-founder of the I-PASS Safety Institute.
Dr. Spector is a graduate of Brown University and the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She completed her residency, Chief Residency, and General Academic Pediatrics Fellowship at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. Dr. Spector was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha and is member of the Society for Pediatric Research and the American Pediatric Society. She has received numerous awards for teaching, mentoring and innovation including the Robert S. Holm Award for her extraordinary contribution in pediatric program director leadership and mentorship from the Association of Pediatric Program Directors, the Elias Abrutyn Mentoring Award from DUCOM, the Miller Sarkin Mentoring Award from the Academic Pediatric Association, the Elizabeth Bingham Award from the Association for Women in Science, Philadelphia chapter, the Women in Medicine Summit She for She Award, the American Medical Association Inspiration Award, and the Association of American Medical Colleges GWIMS Leadership Award for an Individual. The I-PASS Study group that she leads was an HBS/HMS health acceleration challenge finalist and received the Cox Award. The I-PASS Handoff Program received the John M. Eisenberg National Patient Safety and Quality Award, Joint Commission and National Quality Forum.
She has been invited to join numerous leadership efforts at organizations including American Women’s Medical Association (AMWA), Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), Gender Equity in academic Medicine and Science (GEMS) Alliance, Center for Women in Academic Medicine and Science (CWAMS), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Women’s Wellness through Equity and Leadership (WEL) project (partner organizations are American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), American College of Physicians (ACP), American Hospital Association (AHA), American Medical Association (AMA), AMWA, American Psychiatric Association (APA), National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA), National Medical Association (NMA)), the Society of Hospital Medicine, the ACP, and the MAVEN Leadership Training Initiative. Dr. Spector’s scholarly focus includes a broad range of educational topics including mentoring and sponsorship, gender equity, professional development planning, the I-PASS Handoff Program, and electronic professionalism. She is the co-editor of two books and has more than 115 publications to her credit.
