2019 Staff Clinician of the Year - Dr. Douglas Rosing

Dr. Douglas Rosing, head of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's (NHLBI) Cardiac Consultation Service, was honored this past fall as the 2019 Staff Clinician of the Year. This marks the second year of the prestigious awards, given by the Clinical Center Clinical Recognition Program. The program was established to offer formal recognition to NIH's outstanding physicians showcasing clinical excellence and compassion in the care of patients at the NIH Clinical Center.

To his colleagues, Rosing stands out because he is a leader in both research and education. "He excels at bridging the divide between bench and bedside by bringing the clinical and patient care perspective into all research questions," said one NIH staff member. "He initiates thoughtful and useful discussions which includes bringing the conversation back to practical suggestions for complex cases."

Rosing's unique medical training traces back to the 1960s. In 1968, Rosing was in the middle of his clinical internship in internal medicine and was looking into how best he could serve his country. After looking into all options of service, joined the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) Commissioned Corps. Through the PHS, and research lab connections at SUNY Buffalo, Rosing was placed at the NIH.

Immediately following his 3-year program at NIH, Rosing was accepted at what is now Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston to finish his residency in internal medicine. From there he went on to hold faculty appointments at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and later George Washington University in Washington, D.C. 

Rosing came back to NIH in 1976 where he worked in the catheterization laboratory for nine years.

"These were the days when coronary angioplasty was just getting started. Dr. Andreas Gruentzig, originally from Europe and brought to Emory University, was doing his first angioplasty at this time. He held courses where a hundred or so doctors would go and learn from these procedures, introducing angioplasty into the U.S.," said Rosing. "We were maybe the third center to do an angioplasty. I remember we had all kinds of cameras going in theatre with live demonstration within the NIH. Dr. Kent was the first doctor to perform the angioplasty at the NIH. This was in about 1978-79."

After nine years in the catheterization laboratory, the last three as head of the laboratory, Rosing left to pursue work with patients that needed acute interventions. In order to see a larger volume of this type of cardiology patient, Rosing ventured out into private practice where he spent the next 17 years.

Rosing returned to the NIH in 2002 where he currently is a senior research physician and head of the Cardiac Consultation Service at NHLBI.

Rosing is the second physician to earn this honor, following the selection of Dr. Colleen Hadigan from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) who received the inaugural Staff Clinician of the Year award. He shared his honors with three NIH colleagues: Elise Ferré, from NIAID who received the Physician Assistant of the Year award, Ruth Parker from the Clinical Center who received the Nurse Practitioner of the Year and Maureen McDonnell from the Clinical Center who was awarded the
Administrator of the Year.

- Submitted by Julie Erb-Alvarez and Megan Feldman