UCMC's Donald Jensen leads Chicago Magazine's parade of 'top doctors'

UCMC's Donald Jensen leads Chicago magazine's parade of 'top docs'

December 17, 2007

University of Chicago Medical Center gastroenterologist Donald Jensen, MD, graces the cover of the January 2008 issue of Chicago magazine in the publication's annual listing of the area's best physicians.

Jensen, Director of the Center for Liver Diseases at the Medical Center, is in good company. Fifty-four of the 355 physicians selected by the magazine--about one out of every seven--is a member of the faculty at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

The list was prepared for Chicago magazine, by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., a firm that produces physician guides. It is based on mail and telephone surveys, as well as electronic ballots, sent to physician and medical leadership of "leading local hospitals to identify highly skilled exceptional doctors." The list, according to the magazine, includes "physicians most highly regarded by their peers."

The article also profiles seven outstanding Chicago-area physicians selected from among the area's 42 hospitals. In his profile, Jensen focuses on the need for better treatments for patients with hepatitis C and for better communication between doctors and patients.

"Working at a leading research hospital such as the U of C puts the weapons to wage that battle [against hepatitis] in Jensen's hands," according to the magazine. "Patients who come to us have access to the newest drugs," Jensen told them, adding that several promising new agents should soon "arrive on the scene."

"Still," the profile continues, "a successful doctor cannot rely entirely on medical breakthroughs." The authors then stressed Jensen's emphasis on the need for doctors to combine technical expertise with empathy, the ability to put patients at ease, hear their concerns and give them "all the attention he would want if in their position."

The 54 University of Chicago Medical Center physicians named by the magazine, listed by specialty, were:

Cardiovascular disease
Stuart Rich
Matthew Sorrentino

Endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism
David Ehrmann

Gastroenterology
Stephen Hanauer
Donald Jensen
Carol Semrad
Irving Waxman

Hand surgery
Daniel Mass

Hematology
Richard Larson
Koen Van Besien

Maternal and fetal medicine
Mahmoud Ismail

Medical oncology
Philip Hoffman
Hedy Kindler
Olufunmilayo Olopade
Mark Ratain
Walter Stadler
Everett Vokes

Nephrology
Michelle Josephson

Neurological surgery
Frederick Brown
David Frim

Neurology
Anthony Reder
Raymond Roos

Ophthalmology
Mark Greenwald
William Meiler

Orthopedic surgery
Henry Finn
Michael Simon

Otolaryngology
Ernest Mhoon
Robert Naclerio

Pediatric allergy and immunology
Raoul Wolf

Pediatric gastroenterology
Barbara Kirschner

Pediatric hematology-oncology
Susan Cohn
James Nachman

Pediatric pulmonology
Lucille Lester

Pediatric rheumatology
Linda Wagner-Weiner

Pediatrics
John Lantos
Janis Mendelsohn

Plastic surgery
Lawrence Zachary

Pulmonary disease
Edward Garrity

Radiation oncology
Howard Halpern
Daniel Haraf
Ralph Weichselbaum

Reproductive endocrinology
Arthur Haney

Rheumatology
James Curran

Sports medicine
Sherwin Ho
Bruce Reider

Surgery
Peter Angelos
Michael Millis
Mitchell Posner
Richard Thistlethwaite

Thoracic Surgery
Mark Ferguson
Valluvan Jeevanandam
Jai Raman

Urology
Gary Steinberg