Deborah German, MD: An Enduring Spirit of Inquiry & Adventure
Dr. German shines a light on the need for flexibility, prioritization, curiosity, and more in a life dedicated to medicine
Deborah German, MD, was recently interviewed for the Alma Dea Morani Renaissance Women in Medicine Oral History Project. Dr. German — who was awarded the Alma Dea Morani Renaissance Woman in Medicine Award in 2014 — is Vice President of Health Affairs for the University of Central Florida (UCF), where she also leads an emerging Academic Health Sciences Center and is the Founding Dean of the College of Medicine.
In her oral history, she shares everything from how her childhood experiences shaped her path, to why being a woman and a mother in the medical field pushed her to try new things and make bold decisions.
Growing up in an immigrant family
A member of a large, extended Italian American family in Rhode Island, there were many discriminatory attitudes against Dr. German and her family during her childhood. Her parents had a modest education and income, but her family — particularly her mother — reinforced a sense of Dr. German’s unique worth and ability.
Today, Dr. German credits both her upbringing and her family’s Catholic faith as why she’s always believed that everyone has value and all things are possible.
The path to Harvard
After studying at Boston University, where she excelled as an undergrad, Dr. German was accepted into Harvard Medical School. While at Harvard, she realized that the clinical environment was unprepared for women doctors, where male professors commented more on her appearance than her ability.
Dr. German understood these men of her grandfather’s generation, even paying particular attention to her appearance in order to foster acceptance in an ambivalent environment. She was patient with a system that was still learning to accept her and her female colleagues.
A doctor and a mother
Now married, Dr. German went on to pursue a residency program in patient-centered medicine at the University of Rochester. Against prevailing wisdom, she was direct and honest about wanting children as she interviewed for prospective fellowship positions, and became pregnant as a resident. Pregnancy during residency required careful planning and a sense of adventure.
Dr. German gave birth to her first child, Laura, just prior to taking up a Fellowship at Duke University. The transition to being a working mother was even more difficult following the birth of her second daughter, Julia. As a junior faculty member at Duke, she made deliberate career decisions to prioritize her children.
Is achieving “work-life balance” possible? Dr. German believes it is, although maybe not all at one time; the satisfaction of being both a mother and a doctor, however, is worth it.
A spirit of inquiry
In addition to encouraging young doctors — especially women — to set priorities and make sacrifices for their diverse goals, she also wishes to foster a ‘spirit of inquiry’ in her students.
Dr. German believes medical school experiences should be created in order to protect and foster students’ dreams. To this end, she began experimenting with curricular initiatives while Associate Dean of Student Affairs at Vanderbilt School of Medicine, instituting a community health research program.
The program was so successful — and Dr. German won such allegiance and respect — that some of her Vanderbilt students continue to support her programs for other young doctors to this day, like the educational initiatives designed to foster that spirit of inquiry at the UCF College of Medicine, where she is Dean.
Becoming the Founding Dean of the University of Central Florida College of Medicine
Once her children were grown, Dr. German found herself free of familial responsibilities for the first time in her career. Thankfully, during this period, a one-year Petersdorf Scholarship at the Association of American Medical Colleges allowed her to research, reflect, and explore leadership possibilities. This is when she came across the project of launching a new medical school as the anchor tenant in a planned but yet unfilled 7,000 acre “medical city.”
She was in charge of everything — from preparing a temporary space to house the incoming medical students, to helping design a brand-new building that would eventually become the UCF College of Medicine. She championed numerous public-private partnerships, a collaborative venture for cancer research and treatment, the raising of funds for scholarships for the charter class of medical students, and much more.
This story is taken from the oral history of Deborah German, MD. The full oral history is available as part of the Foundation’s exhibit at The Countway Library of Medicine, through our partnership with The Archives for Women in Medicine.