Diane Sklar, MD
“I hope my impact has been to motivate my students and residents to embrace learning, enjoy being physicians and become lifelong learners,” says Dr. Sklar.
Having devoted a 33-year career at The Permanente Medical Group to training the next generation of physicians, Diane Sklar, MD, has developed something of a cult following. Described by former residents as “one of the most phenomenal teachers I’ve encountered in all my years of learning” and “simply an amazing human being,” she instills confidence and enthusiasm in her students through hands-on learning and leading by example.
“Dr. Sklar models the best of physician behaviors: the pursuit of excellence and a passion for her patients, with equal doses of active living and community service,” says Maria Ansari, MD, physician-in-chief, Kaiser Permanente San Francisco. “Residents have even coined a verb after her—‘to sklar’—which means to arrive out of nowhere to help a colleague at just the right time: in the operating room, labor and delivery, or even the hallway.”
In addition to being director of the 4th-year clerkship program at KP San Francisco and clinical professor at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, Dr. Sklar shares her expertise globally. She leads KP residents on gynecologic surgical missions to Central America and Africa, not only providing medical care to patients, but also teaching specialized techniques to local physicians.
“It’s so inspiring to watch our residents transform into incredible doctors and surgeons,” says Dr. Sklar. “I feel very lucky to be a part of it.”