June 3, 2004
Irl Hirsch receives American Diabetes Association’s top clinician award
Dr. Irl Hirsch, professor of medicine in the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition, will receive the Outstanding Physician Clinician in Diabetes Award from the American Diabetes Association at its annual scientific sessions this month.
This year’s award, recognizing outstanding clinical excellence and teaching in the field of diabetes care, is unusual in that it is ordinarily given to a senior physician as a career achievement award. Hirsch, 46, is Diabetes Treatment and Teaching Professor of Medicine as well as attending physician and medical director of the Diabetes Care Center at UW Medical Center.
He is a national leader in the development of general strategies to improve clinical diabetes management and intensive management of type I diabetes in particular. He has published and consulted widely in his field and has been a strong advocate for training physicians as well as patients in the latest methods of diabetic treatment.
Hirsch is the author of How to Get Great Diabetes Care: What You & Your Doctor Can Do to Improve Your Medical Care & Your Life; 12 Steps to Great Diabetes Care; and editor, with Dace L. Trence, of Optimizing Diabetes Care in the Office, as well as numerous educational publications.
He is a former editor-in-chief of the journal Clinical Diabetes.Hirsch came to UW as an assistant professor in 1990, following training in internal medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami and a fellowship in metabolism and endocrinology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
