The real Dr. House
College of Medicine-Jacksonville professor receives prestigious honor
By Matt Galnor
Dr. Jeffrey House
With a name like “Dr. House,” Jeffrey G. House, D.O., is always subject to ribbing about Dr. Gregory House, the irreverent physician with a questionable bedside manner and the lead character in the FOX television drama “House.”
Of course, the College of Medicine-Jacksonville’s Dr. House is known by many around campus as the “real” Dr. House. He was even mentioned by that nickname in a letter nominating him for the Florida chapter of the American College of Physicians’ Outstanding Teacher of the year award.
House, an assistant professor of medicine and program director of the college’s internal medicine residency, received the prestigious honor in September at the Florida chapter of the American College of Physicians’ conference in St. Petersburg.
House said he was completely surprised by the honor. In fact, he was just outside the room speaking with some of his residents before the presentation and nearly missed it.
“There are so many good professors here and in the state, I’m just surprised and honored to be considered in that group, to be honest,” House said.
Linda R. Edwards, M.D., the Karl B. Hanson M.D. professor of internal medicine on the Jacksonville campus, nominated House for the award. Edwards, the associate chair of the department of medicine and chief of the division of general internal medicine, worked with House when he began his residency in Jacksonville in 1998.
She praised his teaching and leadership skills in her letter, highlighting the monthly Morbidity and Mortality Conference House developed and said he discusses cases in a non-judgmental way that encourages open and frank discussion. She also commended House for pushing residents to be comprehensive in evaluating patients and to know the evidence in literature that supports the management of their patients.
“I can think of no one more deserving than the real Doctor House!” Edwards wrote.
House is a four-time recipient of the UF Exemplary Teacher Award and was named Internal Medicine Faculty Teacher of the Year in 2005.
And while House may have been surprised to receive the honor, it came as no shock to Arshag D. Mooradian, M.D., chair of the department of medicine.
“I was not surprised at all. He has a superb reputation of being a skilled teacher and a masterful clinician,” Mooradian said. “He is the ultimate in terms of a teacher, a scholar and a clinician.”
House received his doctorate of osteopathic medicine from Nova Southeastern University and did an osteopathic internship at Broward General Hospital in Fort Lauderdale. House completed his internal medicine residency at the UF College of Medicine-Jacksonville in 2001, and served a year as chief resident.
He worked in internal medicine in a private practice for three years before being hired as an assistant professor at UF in Jacksonville in 2004. House was named division director of hospital medicine in 2005, became associate program director in 2008 and was named program director in 2010.
The American College of Physicians is a national association of physicians who specialize in the prevention, detection and treatment of illness in adults. It is the second-largest physician group in the country with more than 132,000 members.
“(This award is) a big honor for the institution, not just the individual,” Mooradian said.