Weston Resident and Physician Honored by Medical Society

The following information is from the Massachusetts Medical Society:

Weston resident Joel S. Rankin, M.D., a physician at MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham, has been honored by his physician peers of the Middlesex West District Medical Society as the district’s 2012 Community Clinician of the Year.

The Community Clinician of the Year Award was established in 1998 by the Massachusetts Medical Society to recognize a physician from each of the Society’s 20 district medical societies who has made significant contributions to his or her patients and the community and who stands out as a leading advocate and caregiver. The Middlesex West District is comprised of nearly 600 physicians who work and live in 18 communities in the MetroWest area. The award will be presented April 24 at the district society’s annual meeting at the AMC Theatre in Framingham.

Dr. Rankin, who specializes in reproductive medicine, served as chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at MetroWest Medical Center from 1975 to 1996. Since 1996, he has been Supervisor of Educational Programs for the department, overseeing the continuing medical education programs for physicians.

In nominating him for the award, his colleagues remarked that Dr. Rankin “has always balanced the interests of patients, department members, and the institution as chair of the department. He also has been and continues to be an excellent mentor. His work on the continuing medical education programs has been outstanding and is often attended by doctors from other departments. He has seen patients regardless of their ability to pay, and his approach to his patients has been consistent and conscientious.”

As a testament to his physician-patient relationships, more than 150 of his patients and their children once honored Dr. Rankin with a surprise party for no special reason — other than that he was their physician. 

Dr. Rankin was an Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School from 1979 to 1999, and a lecturer in Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School from 1994 to 1996. He is currently an Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Boston University School of Medicine.

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Yale University with a bachelor’s degree, Dr. Rankin earned his medical degree from the Boston University School of Medicine and is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, the medical honor society. He has been a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society since 1982. He is a resident of Weston.