The vice president of academic affairs and dean of the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) will retire in June after spending more than three decades of his career at the medical school in Lewisburg, W.Va.
Craig Boisvert, D.O., FACOFP, who grew up in Vermont, has called West Virginia home for more than 33 years.
“West Virginia reminds me a great deal of where I grew up. The state is rural, as is Vermont, and the medical need is great. Lewisburg is a great place to live. The people here have been very welcoming and it is now where I have lived the majority of my life. Being at WVSOM has given me the ability to practice medicine, teach, do some research and try my hand in administration,” he said.
Boisvert began his career at WVSOM as a faculty member and a family physician for 25 years at the Robert C. Byrd Clinic. After five years as faculty, he was selected to serve as chair of the school’s family practice section, where he served for a decade. He then became chair of the Department of Clinical Sciences for seven years, a position he thought would be the culmination of his career.
“I would have been happy finishing my career in that position,” he said. “You are truly part of the faculty, yet you have the ear of the administration and have the ability to make changes in the curriculum and in the direction of the department while having the opportunity to mentor junior faculty and help them advance their careers.”
He was selected to become WVSOM’s dean about seven years ago. Boisvert likens the position to that of a school principal. His job includes supervising faculty, maintaining responsibility for the curriculum, counseling and, when necessary, disciplining students and managing the budget.
“One of my favorite things about my position is when I get to go into the classroom or skills lab and work with students. There is nothing more rewarding than watching a first-year osteopathic medical student go from their physical diagnosis lab, where they do not understand medical terminology, do not know how to use diagnostic equipment and have no medical knowledge, to graduating four years later as a competent new physician,” Boisvert said.
Throughout his time at WVSOM, Boisvert was instrumental in guiding curriculum changes as the school’s enrollment increased. As a faculty member, he developed four courses, two of which are still in use. He also was involved with developing the Patient Presentation Curriculum, in which students learn the most common ways patients present to physicians. The presentations are the framework for the first- and second-year curricular structure, which begins with a foundation course to provide basic mechanisms needed to understand the subsequent patient presentations and treatments.
He also expanded the school’s Statewide Campus system, consisting of seven regions across the state where third- and fourth-year medical students fulfill their clinical rotations in participating West Virginia hospitals and clinics; increased interprofessional education programs; helped to develop high school and college pipeline programs to encourage students to enter health science fields; and enhanced the curriculum to include the topics of substance misuse, addiction and recovery.
The osteopathic physician said watching WVSOM’s growth and development during the past 33 years has been memorable.
“When I first arrived, the school was on a shoestring budget. Now the school is financially stable, with state-of-the-art instructional technology. As the school has matured, so has its research and outreach programs. The other notable difference is the number of alumni. Each year, continuing education programs for alumni become larger and it is great to see so many former students and learn of their successes and know that WVSOM has played a large part in them,” Boisvert said.
In the past year, Boisvert has taken on new, unexpected responsibilities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. He oversees a task force where he makes decisions for the school based on government regulations.
“Last year we always felt one step behind what was occurring. Luckily we had some time during the summer to catch our breaths before everything opened back up. This gave us time to not only work the missed curricular items into the next year but also to plan for various scenarios for the 2020-21 school year,” he said.
WVSOM President James W. Nemitz, Ph.D., said that over the course of Boisvert’s robust career, his most notable accomplishment might be his impact on students.
“Dr. Boisvert has served WVSOM and the osteopathic medical profession with distinction. While he has made many significant contributions, his lasting legacy will be the thousands of students he taught who are now delivering quality, compassionate health care in our communities,” he said.
Boisvert received a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology from the University of Vermont and a Doctor of Osteopathy degree from the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine in Maine. He completed a family medicine residency at the Lancaster Osteopathic Hospital in Pennsylvania and a Health Policy Fellowship through the American Osteopathic Association.
During his career, Boisvert has received many awards, including the West Virginia Immunization Network Immunization Advocate Award, WVSOM’s President’s Award for Excellence for Outstanding Clinical Sciences faculty and WVSOM’s Outstanding Employee of the Year Award. He has also been inducted into the American Osteopathic Association’s Mentor Hall of Fame.