To Professor Gordon Moore, MD, MPH, mentoring is a two-way street. Having served as both lifelong mentee and mentor, he has found that when mentoring works, both parties are deeply affected and rewarded. In February, Harvard Medical School rewarded Moore for his career of mentorship by awarding him the William Silen Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring Award. The distinction honors the lifetime commitment that its namesake made to mentoring students, residents, and faculty.

Dr. Moore’s career trajectory spans from practitioner and administrator to teacher and mentor. Of the positions he’s held, the latter just might be the one he holds most dear. When asked what mentors influenced his own mentorship practice, Dr. Moore notes that at critical decision points or especially challenging times in his career, the guidance of a few key senior people was pivotal—perhaps actually changing his life.

Take, for example, a time early in his career when he criticized a medical director’s leadership; the medical director then called him to the mat for the criticism. But he also challenged him: if Dr. Moore thought he was so smart, why didn’t he come to work with him and see if he could also walk the walk? Inspired—not to mention humbled—Dr. Moore stepped up to the challenge. He cites it as a key career change that also defined mentorship for him: creating “reach” expectations for your mentee, and upholding a deep commitment to push them to be as good as they can.

How does it feel to be acknowledged for a lifetime commitment to mentoring? “It is a wonderful feeling to be recognized for something one has done for a lifetime out of intrinsic motivation, without any expectation that others would ever know or care, other than the mentees themselves,” he says. “But honestly, the greatest recognition from mentoring is that there were a number of really successful, accomplished, busy colleagues out there who were willing to put in the time writing a letter of support.  They are the ones whose feedback means the most to me.”

It is a wonderful feeling to be recognized for something one has done for a lifetime out of intrinsic motivation, without any expectation that others would ever know or care, other than the mentees themselves.”

Gordon Moore, MD, MPH

Congratulations, Dr. Moore, for your commitment to and recognition for a career marked by inspiring, supporting, and catalyzing the professional and personal development of generations of colleagues! A celebration honoring all awardees will be held at Harvard Medical School, date to be determined.

From Practitioner and Administrator to Teacher and Mentor: Some Career Highlights

• Served as Medical Director and Chief Operating Officer of Harvard Community Health Plan (HCHP)
• Created the Gordon Moore Teaching Center, a state-of-the-art teaching center that centralized HCHP’s educational activities. The Teaching Center came to join forces with the Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention (now known as the Department of Population Medicine)
• Played a role in designing the New Pathway for Harvard Medical School, Harvard’s ground-breaking student directed curriculum
• Helped develop the HMS Longitudinal Internship in Clinical Medicine
• Designed and launched the Harvard Vanguard-Brigham Primary Care Medical Residency program, which is now one of the most highly sought-after in the country.
• Has consulted widely in educational strategy and health care system design and management

Recognition at All Levels 

In 2019, the Gordon Moore Excellence in Mentoring Award was created at the Institute to recognize faculty or staff members who have had a transformative role in the professional or personal development of one or more mentees. Research Scientist Candace Fuller, PhD, was the award’s inaugural recipient.