Christiana Care medical residents receive national recognition

Himani Divatia, D.O., Christiana Care Internal Medicine-Pediatrics co-chief resident, has been named the Dr. Gary Onady Award winner by the National Med-Peds Residents’ Association (NMPRA) for making extraordinary, lasting contributions to the success of the association and to the specialty of internal medicine-pediatrics on the regional and national levels. This is the top award the organization bestows on a medical resident.

“It is not often someone like Dr. Divatia enters our specialty, excels in so many different areas and takes such an abiding interest in national affairs related to the specialty,” said Allen Friedland, M.D., FACP, FAAP, Christiana Care’s program director in the Combined Med-Peds Residency Program. “With her enthusiasm and dedication to health and wellness, she embodies why so many of us have gone into the internal medicine-pediatrics specialty.”

Dr. Divatia has championed the specialty among medical students at the regional and national levels. She inspired a successful med-peds student interest group at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, whose match applicants in the specialty this year were among the top five from any medical school in the United States.

In addition, she has taken a leadership role in the Internal Medicine-Pediatrics section of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She leads the Physician Health and Wellness Booth, a med-peds program at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference, coordinating med-peds faculty, residents and medical students from around the country to donate time to speak with pediatricians about the care they provide, including the latest adult preventive-health care guidelines. Dr. Divatia served as co-secretary of NMPRA from July 2013 to June 2014.

The award is named for Gary Onady, M.D., Ph.D., professor of internal medicine and pediatrics at Wright State University, for his notable, extraordinary, lasting contributions to the specialty, including federal support of the fourth year of internal medicine-pediatrics training in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.

Dr. Divatia graduated from Penn State with a Bachelor of Science in biology in 2006 and earned her medical degree at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2011. Her interest and desire to pursue internal medicine-pediatrics originated at a regional specialty meeting held at Christiana Hospital in 2009.

Another internal medicine-pediatrics fourth-year resident at Christiana Care also received recognition from NMPRA. The organization invited Vishal Patel, M.D., MBA, to display a poster at the national meeting Oct. 11 in San Diego.

The NMPRA is a volunteer organization led by resident physicians of various combined internal medicine-pediatrics residencies throughout the United States. The organization advocates for the specialty and fosters excitement among its residents and those applying for the specialty.