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Dr. Karen Frush is a physician leader and pediatric emergency physician who has spent the majority of her 35-year healthcare career on improving the quality and safety of patient care and the wellbeing of the healthcare team. She began her career as a nurse, attending the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing and graduating summa cum laude with a BSN. Throughout her student tenure at Duke University School of Medicine, she worked

part-time as a nurse, an experience that was immensely impactful on the rest of her medical career. Having often been “on the other side of the bed,” staying with patients after the medical team finished their rounds and walked away, she listened to questions that were unanswered by the physicians before they left the room, and witnessed the bedside view of patients’ suffering. She learned humbling lessons from patients and families that would stay with her as she continued training and practicing.

After medical school and residency, Dr. Frush served as Medical Director of Pediatric Emergency Medicine and became Professor of Pediatrics and Clinical Professor of Nursing at Duke University. She served as the Chief Patient Safety Officer of the Duke University Health System for twelve years, and also served as Chief Quality Officer of the Duke Quality Network and Vice President for Quality at LifePoint Health. In 2018, she was named the Chief Quality Officer at Stanford HealthCare in Palo Alto, CA, and served as Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics, and Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs in the Stanford University School of Medicine, and as co-Executive Director of the Stanford Medicine Center for Improvement.

Dr. Frush has a special interest in interprofessional training, high performing teams and transforming healthcare culture. She is a TeamSTEPPS Master Trainer and a certified professional in patient safety. She has been named one of 50 experts leading the field of patient safety since 2014 and served on the Board of Advisors and Board of Directors for the National Patient Safety Foundation. She currently serves as Chair of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Certification Board for Professionals in Patient Safety.