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AAIM Member Spotlight

Alda Maria Gonzaga, MD, MS, FAAP, FACP

Advisory Dean of Student Affairs
Associate Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics
Director, Progressive Evaluation and Referral Center (PERC)
Program Director, Combined Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

How long have you been a member of AAIM?

I joined nearly ten years ago after I became the Medicine-Pediatrics Residency Program Director. I started attending because of MPDDA and quickly found the community to be enriching and supportive and really rejuvenating when we come together for our meetings once a year. I also began submitting workshops for APDIM meetings which proved to be invigorating. I learned a lot from colleagues around the country. More recently I became a member of the Alliance’s Diversity and Inclusion Sub-Committee. It has been amazing to be part of a group doing such important work to diversify the workforce in internal medicine.

I presented five different times at AIMW18!

Describe your typical day.

Like most program directors I don’t have a typical day. I spend my time taking care of patients, precepting residents, and managing the administrative parts of the Med-Ped Program. I also have dedicated time to mentoring residents and medical students, the latter in my capacity as an advisory dean at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

What is your favorite part of the job?

I don’t have just one. One favorite is mentoring medical students, residents and junior faculty. Getting to know these future physicians is an amazing part of my job. Seeing their energy and commitment helps sustain me. It is really cool that I can look back and see how the people I’m shepherding have grown.

I also love taking care of my patients. I have a great panel of patients and I always feel I’ve made a great difference in their lives.

How has the AAIM membership been of value to you and your career?

In terms of career advancement, the Alliance has been the main place to disseminate my work with regards to educational initiatives and curricula I’ve been involved in developing. Secondly, the networking and the power of a group of people who support each other through the challenges our jobs are invaluable. It’s a great group of people to call or shoot an email to debrief or brainstorm about one’s program and residents.

What's your favorite moment of your career so far?

A recurring one is residency graduation when I have the opportunity to reflect on the four years I’ve spent getting to know my med–peds residents and think about how far they’ve come and how much they have grown. It’s also a chance to reflect on how the program has helped them to grow and take the next step in their careers.

What was your childhood dream job?

I wanted to be an archaeologist. We went to the natural history museum in D.C. and I was always curious about where humans come from. Plus my mom is Peruvian and I was really into the Incan civilization.

How do you spend your free time?

I have two children - a 13-year-old and almost 10-year-old. I usually spend my free time being a mom. I also train to run a couple long races a year and my new hobby is yoga!

What’s one thing people would be surprised to know about you?

I love FIREWORKS! My family and I host a big Diwali party in fall. We purchase fireworks (legally) in Pennsylvania and set up a fire work show in our backyard.