Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education (MSGME) celebrates 100 years of training future physician leaders

The opportunity to train physicians to become exceptional physician leaders was a passion of the Mayo Brothers, who chose to invest their personal funds to establish postgraduate medical education at Mayo Clinic. 2015 marks the 100th anniversary of Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education (MSGME) and a century of the traditions of those famous brothers — training the physician leaders of tomorrow, such as Maya Babu, M.D. (NS ‘17).

“I have had so many opportunities. When I consider what I have received from my parents and mentors, I feel a responsibility and an obligation to help others.”

This passion for helping others, combined with compassion for the patient experience realized during a personal health crisis in college, have shaped the career of Dr. Babu, who is a MSGME trainee in her fifth year of residency with the Department of Neurologic Surgery in Rochester.

A native of Eagan, Minnesota, Dr. Babu earned her undergraduate degrees in neuroscience and psychology from the University of Minnesota.

In pursuit of her graduate degree, she was one of the first students to participate in a unique joint degree program, simultaneously earning her MBA from Harvard Business School and her medical degree from Harvard Medical School. In 2010, she received the Dean’s Award from Harvard Business School for “leadership and outstanding contributions to the school and the larger community.”

As a resident trainee at MSGME, Dr. Babu continues to pursue the science of medicine, while excelling at what this Mayo school also imbues: the art of being a physician leader. Despite Dr. Babu’s commitment to her intense clinical training and study, she somehow finds the time and energy to contribute to medicine nationally, too.

Dr. Babu believes she has a dual responsibility to her patients: first, to extend care and expertise at the bedside, and second, to be instrumental in transforming health care by shaping advocacy to benefit patient care.

She carries the distinction of being nominated and elected to a number of national positions. She serves on the Executive Committee of the Resident Associate Society for the American College of Surgeons and is a board member of the National Resident Matching Program. She has been a member of the American Medical Association (AMA) since entering medical school and, in 2013, was elected to the resident position on the Board of Trustees for the AMA — a rare achievement according to William Krauss, M.D. (NS ‘93), who is the Residency Program director.

“Dr. Babu has a real skill and talent in working with supervisory organizations, such as those which oversee our specialty and also with government at both state and national levels,” notes Dr. Krauss. “She has the ability and patience to look at political issues, weave through and get to the facts — to the underlying message. She brings a unique perspective.”

Dr. Babu feels fortunate to be a trainee working in the caring and committed environment of Mayo Clinic. Crediting the passion for excellence and the sense of collaboration she sees daily, she sums up her feelings: “I get to do what I love to do in the best possible place. Even on the tough days, I feel very lucky.”

The compassion, commitment and excellence Dr. Babu demonstrates on a daily basis mirrors the attributes the Mayo Brothers espoused and modeled a century ago.