American College of Physicians names Barrett chair of Board of Regents

May 31, 2023

Dr. Eileen D. Barrett

Eileen D. Barrett, MD, MPH, SFHM, MACP has been named chair of the Board of Regents of the American College of Physicians (ACP), representing internal medicine physicians, related subspecialists and medical students. Her term began on Saturday April 29 at the conclusion of ACP’s annual business meeting. The board of regents is the main policymaking body for the ACP.

Barrett received a Master of Public Health degree from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health’s Department of Health Behavior (formerly the Department of Health Behavior and Education) in 1998. The Albuquerque, New Mexico, resident is an internal medicine physician hospitalist in the Indian Health Service and recently completed a Medical Justice in Advocacy Fellowship through the American Medical Association-Satcher Health Leadership Institute.

“My UNC public health training has defined my medical career,” said Barrett. “It has shaped my perspective on approaches to patient care, health equity, evidence-based medicine and developing processes that improve outcomes. Very specifically, my coursework at UNC directly provided me invaluable skills on engaging with diverse stakeholders, understanding and communicating medical literature, and structuring teams to be better listeners, advocates and leaders.”

Barrett has been an ACP member since 2003 and a fellow of the American College of Physicians (FACP) since 2011. The honorary designation of FACP recognizes ongoing individual service and contributions to the practice of medicine. She received mastership in the ACP (MACP) in 2021 in recognition of outstanding and extraordinary career accomplishments.

She was the recipient of the ACP Joseph E. Johnson Leadership Day Grant in 2011 and 2012, received awards for early career physician leadership, advancing the careers of women in medicine, and physician advocacy in New Mexico, and has served on ACP’s Board of Regents and as governor of ACP’s New Mexico Chapter. Barrett currently serves on ACP’s Governance committee and was previously a member of multiple ACP committees including the Physician Well-Being and Professional Fulfillment committee; Performance Measurement committee; and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion subcommittee. She also received a 2019 Exceptional Mentor Award from the American Medical Women’s Association as well as the 2021 Award of Excellence in Humanitarian Services from the Society of Hospital Medicine, a 2022 Inspire Award from the American Medical Association, and she is an elected member of the Gold Humanism Honor Society.

In addition to being board certified in internal medicine, Barrett received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Union College and a medical degree from Georgetown University. She completed an internship and residency at Oregon Health and Science University Hospital in Portland, Oregon, and a rural faculty development fellowship at the University of Arizona.

Areas of scholarship and research for Barrett include hospital medicine, clinician well-being, pharmacoequity in substance use disorder treatment, health equity and gender equity.

About the American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 145 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 160,000 internal medicine physicians, related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness.

Contact the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health communications team at sphcomm@unc.edu.