The Mark Thoelke, MD, SFHM Visiting Professorship in Hospital Medicine was established in 2022 to honor Dr. Thoelke’s legacy of patient care at WashU Medicine.
About Dr. Thoelke
After completing the prestigious Medical Scholars Program at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, Dr. Mark Thoelke pursued his passion for patient care in the hospital. Following internal medicine residency and serving as Chief Resident at Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Dr. Thoelke became Director of the Gold Service in 1995, one of the earliest hospitalist programs in the U.S. In 1998, he became the first hospitalist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and then helped form the Division of Hospital Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in 2000, serving as Clinical Director. The division was one of the first divisions of its kind in the U.S. Thoelke eventually became Division Chief, leading its growth from 5 physicians to 84 faculty, collaborating with 10 nurse practitioners, before stepping down as Chief in 2020.
A master clinician and educator, Dr. Thoelke received the Award for Clinical Excellence from the Society of Hospital Medicine and was recognized as a Senior Fellow of Hospital Medicine. Notably, he formed the St. Louis Hospitalist Society in 2000, which later became the St. Louis Chapter of the Society of Hospital Medicine. He began a “Care of the Hospitalized Patient” CME course. A member of the editorial staff for the Journal of Hospital Medicine, he published novel research and wrote numerous book chapters. Dr. Thoelke’s local honors include Department Teacher of the Year from WashU Medicine and the Neville Grant Award for Clinical Excellence from Barnes-Jewish Hospital. His legacy continues with the Mark Thoelke, MD, SFHM Visiting Professorship in Hospital Medicine.
Learn more about the Section of Hospital Medicine»
Visiting Professors
Each year, the Mark Thoelke, MD, SFHM Visiting Professorship in Hospital Medicine is presented to the individual who exemplifies Dr. Thoelke’s legacy of patient care.
| Year | Visiting Professor | Presentation |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Sanjay Saint, MD, MPH, MACP George Dock Professor of Internal Medicine University of Michigan | “Teaching on the Hospital Wards: What the Great Ones Do” |
| 2025 | G. Randy Smith Jr, MD, MS, FRCP (Edin), SFHM Associate Professor of Medicine Division of Hospital Medicine Northwestern Medicine | “Clinical Governance, Shared Autonomy, and Crisis Management” |
| 2024 | Daniel Hunt, MD, MHM, FACP Professor & Chief Division of Hospital Medicine Emory University School of Medicine | “How to Build a Culture of Clinical Scholarship” |
| 2023 | Marisha Burden, MD, MBA, FACP, SFHM Professor & Chief Division of Hospital Medicine University of Colorado School of Medicine | |
| 2023 | Michelle Mourad, MD, SFHM Professor & Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs and Value Department of Medicine University of California – San Francisco | |
| 2022 | Kevin O’Leary, MD, MS, MHM Professor & Chief Division of Hospital Medicine Northwestern Medicine | “Narrowing and Bridging the Gap in Academic Hospital Medicine” |