Dan Gelfman, MD
Clinical Professor Emeritus of Medicine

Biography

Daniel Gelfman, MD, is a Clinical Professor Emeritus of Medicine at The Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine and was awarded Emeritus status in July 2020. He remains active teaching clinical medicine and pursuing scholarly activities at Marian University.

He completed his bachelor’s degree followed by his medical degree in 1981, at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He then completed his Internal Medicine residency, served as chief resident, followed by an invasive cardiology fellowship at the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia in 1987. He was in private cardiology practice for approximately three decades, during which he was involved in medical teaching at Georgetown University, Indiana University, and finally starting in 2014 at Marian University. He transitioned at Marian University to full time. He has Emeritus privileges at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis and has served as a volunteer physician for decades at various free medical clinics in the greater Indianapolis area. He remains a fellow of The American College of Cardiology, The American College of Physicians, and The American Society of Echocardiography.

His research interests currently include developing effective teaching methods and combining the humanities with medicine. Recent work includes his article, “The David Sign”, published in JAMA Cardiology, revealing previously unrecognized cardiovascular physiology findings depicted in Michelangelo’s sculptures. The article also emphasized the importance of teaching concepts as described in the following quote, “Knowing the fundamentals, careful observation, and always asking why are key in understanding medicine and making accurate diagnoses. This was true in 1504 and is true today.” This publication was reported by multiple media outlets including US News and World Report, The Indianapolis Star and its USA Today affiliates, and The Daily Mail (UK), which has brought local, national and international recognition to Marian University. He recently published a manuscript about new concepts concerning effective teaching methods of physical examination at the medical school level in The American Journal of Medicine. This was followed by an article describing the results of a program specific to the cardiac examination in The Medical Science Editor.

Research

1. Gelfman DM. Will the Traditional Physical Examination Be Another Casualty of COVID-19? Am J Med. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2020.10.026 Epub Nov 2020. In Press 3/2021.


2. Gelfman DM, Wilson TE. The importance of the "David Sign". Hektoen International, A Journal of Medical Humanities. Cardiology (Summer 2020). Published online August 25, 2020. 
   https://hekint.org/2020/08/25/the-importance-of-the-the-david-sign/


3. Gelfman DM. Good (Medical) Judgment Comes from Experience, and Experience Comes from (Medical) Misfortune. Am J Med;113(12)1374-1375. doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2020.06.041


4. Gelfman DM. David, Brutus, and Caracalla—A Sculptural Chronology of Anatomical Observation—Reply. JAMA Cardiol. 2020;5(10)1200-1201. doi: 10.1001/jamacardio.2020.2876


5. Gelfman DM, Zahl SB. A Decision-Directed Cardiac Exam in Medical School. Med Sci Educ. 30, 1019–1024 (2020). doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-020-00982-5.


6. Gelfman DM. Changing the Learning Objectives for Teaching Physical Examination at the Medical School Level. Am J Med. 2020; 133(3): e77-e78. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2019.07.055. 


7. Gelfman DM. The David Sign. JAMA Cardiol. 2020; 5(2):124-125. doi:10.1001/jamacardio.2019.4874.


8. Gelfman DM. Osteopathic Manipulation in Treatment of Musculoskeletal Chest Pain. Am J Med. 2017; 130(6):618. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2016.11.046


9. Clancy CM, Gelfman D, Poses RM. A strategy to improve the utilization of pneumococcal vaccine. J Gen Intern Med. 1992; 7(1):14-8. PubMed PMID: 1548543.


10. Gelfman DM, Ornato JP, Gonzalez ER. Dopamine-induced increase in atrioventricular conduction in atrial fibrillation-flutter. Clin Cardiol. 1987; 10(11):671-3. PubMed PMID: 3677500.


11. Gelfman DM, Witherspoon JM, Buchsbaum DG, Centor RM. Short-term results of an immunization compliance program. Va Med. 1986; 113(9):532-4. PubMed PMID: 3776344.


12. Gelfman DM, Eppel MN, Mandell MS Jr, Evans CG Jr. Enlarging the pool of flexible sigmoidoscopists. Va Med. 1985; 112(10):631-5. PubMed PMID: 4060860.

Revised 12/2/2020