DO becomes chair-elect of the ACGME board of directors

The board of directors for the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) announced AOA Past President Karen J. Nichols, DO, is its new chair-elect.

Dr. Nichols will continue to serve on the ACGME’s executive committee, remain the chair of the governance committee and serve as a member of the standing committees for education, policy and monitoring. She was the ACGME board’s vice chair last year.

Dr. Nichols was dean of Midwestern University Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine from 2002-2018. Prior to that, she was assistant dean, post-doctoral education and division director, internal medicine, at the Midwestern University Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Nichols was in private practice in internal medicine and geriatrics in Mesa, Arizona, from 1985-2002.

A graduate of the Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine (KCU-COM), she also holds a master’s degree in management with a specialty in health care administration from Central Michigan University.

She was the first woman to serve as president of the AOA, president of the Arizona Osteopathic Medical Association and president of the American College of Osteopathic Internists.

Dr. Nichols is a past board member of KCU-COM and the American Osteopathic Foundation. She is a frequent national speaker on leadership, end-of-life care and osteopathic medicine. She is the recipient of seven honorary degrees and top awards from the AOA and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine.

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