David C Thomas, MD, MS, MHPE

Dr. David C. Thomas is an Internal Medicine physician and a tenured Professor in the Department of Medicine, Department of Medical Education, and Department of Rehabilitation and Human Performance at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. As of 2024, he has been appointed Chair of the Department of Medical Education and Dean of Medical Education of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. In these roles, Dr. Thomas fosters and advocates for the highest standards across all facets of medical education including teaching, mentorship, and collaboration.

Throughout his tenure at Mount Sinai, Dr. Thomas has served in prominent leadership roles including Associate Dean for Continuing Medical Education (since 2011), and System Vice Chair for Education in the Department of Medicine at the Mount Sinai Health System (2012-2024). In 2020, Dr. Thomas was selected by the Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai to fill the role of System Chair of Medicine, in which he successfully led over 2,000 faculty members and staff across eight hospitals for over two years. Moreover, his dedication and commitment to education resulted in another appointment to Interim Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Mount Sinai Hospital, a role he held until July 2023.

In addition to his medical degree, he has a Master of Science in Public Health from Tufts University, and a Master of Health Professions Education (MHPE) from the University of Illinois, College of Medicine. He holds board certifications from the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Since 2004, he has been the Medical Director and Co-Founder of the East Harlem Health Outreach Partnership (EHHOP), which is a student-run, attending directed free clinic for uninsured East Harlem residents.

As System Vice Chair for Education, Dr. Thomas is actively involved in the development and implementation of educational programs and strategies for the Department of Medicine. He oversees undergraduate medical education, graduate medical education as well as continuing medical education for all physicians in the Department across all hospitals in the Health System. He is also actively involved in the recruitment, training and mentoring of interns, residents, fellows, and junior faculty.

Additionally, he developed and implemented the Medical Education Track for the Internal Medicine Residency Programs at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai at all its campuses. He is the Director of the Acute Musculoskeletal Medicine Clinic where he precepts for interns, residents, and rotating medical students on their ambulatory block rotation. He is a member of the Institute for Medical Education and an active member of the Selection Committee to help elect and recruit core medical educators for the medical school. He develops curricula and presents both nationally and internationallyon topics within Internal Medicine, Primary Care and Health Professions Education. 

Dr. Thomas is the Chair of the Community Advisory Board for The Mount Sinai Hospital and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai where he is intricately involved in the relationship between the hospital, school and community. He is a member of a number of professional organizations including the Association of Specialty Professors, Association of Professors of Medicine, and Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine and has held multiple leadership positions in the Society of General Internal Medicine

Dr. Thomas has written for a variety of publications on the topics of caring for vulnerable populations, musculoskeletal medicine in primary care and a variety of medical education projects including the examination of what internal medicine residents learn in the ambulatory setting, launching student-run clinics, bringing quality care to underserved populations, preventing burnout among residents, fellows, and junior faculty; and strengthening value-based care, all of which have been published in some of the world’s leading scientific and academic journals.

In the News: Dr. Thomas discusses the flu in The Daily News special feature "The Daily Check Up."
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