Leadership through Thoughtful Inclusivity: A Conversation with George Abraham, MD, MPH, MACP, FIDSA, FRCP

Accomplished physician and leader George Abraham, MD, MPH, MACP, FIDSA, FRCP, will be the featured keynote speaker at ACOI 2026. He currently holds several leadership roles, including Professor of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School; Chief of Medicine at Saint Vincent Hospital; Adjunct Professor at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and H Sciences; and Emeritus President of the American College of Physicians (ACP), the largest internal medicine specialty organization in the world, after having served as President from 2021 to 2022. Dr. Abraham is also a nationally and internationally invited speaker who has consistently championed diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and spoken and written extensively about the same.

Board-certified in both internal medicine and infectious disease medicine, Dr. Abraham was drawn to both because of the problem-solving nature that they offer. His interest in infectious disease in particular was strengthened through an opportunity to serve as a World Health Organization (WHO) Fellow in an HIV program based in Uganda and Kenya. "It was early in the epidemic," he said, "and it was about understanding its interaction with social determinants of health—its impact on households, longevity. There was so much we were learning as we went along."

The skills he acquired then were crucial to guiding Dr. Abraham as he handled his institutions' challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. "There were so many different dimensions," he said. "We needed to use our best judgment to take care of both patients and personnel." This type of leadership—thoughtful, questioning, and relationship-oriented—is vital to Dr. Abraham. His career journey has naturally informed his passions for leadership and inclusivity, as well as shown him how inclusivity can change medicine for the better.

Originally from India, Dr. Abraham completed medical school and postgraduate training at the Christian Medical College in Vellore; after finishing finished residency, he joined the school's faculty for three years. Meanwhile, his wife—who is originally from Singapore—was working in India as well. But due to dynamics beyond their control, she was unable to get licensed to work there. Moving to Singapore presented similar problems: Dr. Abraham wouldn't be able to get into the practice system and rise in the ranks.

"Mid-career, we decided to move to another country where both of us could practice medicine," he said. "Both of us had done postgraduate training, and were faculty members in our respective countries. That led us to apply to for both of us to come to the U.S. and work here. Thirty-plus plus years later, that’s been the best decision we’ve made."  

This experience was a major component of Dr. Abraham's passion for DEI and inclusivity—both its positive outcome, and the obstacles he faced beforehand, which weren't limited to what he encountered in Singapore. Years before, when he applied to residency programs in the U.S., "Many of them just wrote back saying, 'You're well-qualified, but unfortunately, we don't have a position for you.' The subliminal message was, [not for] someone from outside the country," he said. "That has changed dramatically since 30 years ago." He's since realized that programs had less exposure to international students then, so accommodating them seemed more difficult than it does now.

Dr. Abraham sought to highlight the value of inclusivity while serving as President of ACP. He noticed, “We were struggling with the international graduate community. They form 25% of the workforce in the country across specialties, and over one-third of the College. [But] they were not actively engaged in leadership...Nobody really focused on getting them more engaged." This led to establishing a workforce for the College that examined how much the international graduate community was being included at all leadership levels. From what they learned through that process, ACP created an international medical graduate inclusion steering committee, which led to every committee and level of leadership making an intentional effort to include those graduates. As a result, those individuals had substantially more engagement in ACP in the ensuing years.

Dr. Abraham's efforts led to the Virginia chapter of ACP creating the George Abraham Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Advocacy Award in his honor. And the ripple effects of this investment in inclusivity have been promising. In looking at international graduates' contributions to research and clinical work in the U.S., he found that these physicians prefer to work in underserved areas. Given the ongoing issue of the nationwide physician shortage, this is indicative of gaps in care that can be filled simply through intentional inclusion. "We've addressed the additional licensing models," he said, "looking at people like me who were trained elsewhere and relocated to the U.S. [Asking,] can they not have to redo their training? Can they practice under supervision and get a more unencumbered license? This removes the bottleneck where there’s a limited number of residency positions [for international graduates]."

This work clearly reflects what Dr. Abraham says is his favorite definition of inclusivity, a quote from social commentator, author, and Harvard-trained lawyer Verna Myers: "Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance." This is important, he said, because, "We can invite people to participate, but how do we make them feel engaged?"  

Dr. Abraham's passion for inclusivity is inherently tied to the way he views physician-patient relationships. "We have patients who straddle different ethnicities, different socioeconomic statuses, linguistic backgrounds, viewpoints,” he said. “To look at all those in a dispassionate way is the only way to relate better to patients. Then, they tend to trust us more, listen to what we tell them, and make informed decisions. When they are partners with us in their care, they do better than when we talk down.”  

In that vein, Dr. Abraham envisions a future where physicians remember, "There's more to medicine than just knowledge. Gaining patients' trust is important because we are making life and death decisions for them. If they can believe we are their partners seeking their best, that's what really makes us good physicians."

His keynote session will focus on leadership that has this philosophy at heart. Specifically, he said, "It will be about principles on how to be an effective leader, so as to engage one's audience and patient community—how to be more effective in the work we do every day. The point being, it's important to think outside the regular box of medicine. The best physicians are not necessarily academic superstars, but can speak well, relate well, and engage patients to feel they have entrusted their lives to the right professional."

This mindset comes full circle in Dr. Abraham's understanding of the osteopathic philosophy—one that is highly inclusive as well. "Having trained and lived in New England all my life in the US, we have a strong osteopathic community. I trained with DOs when I did residency, and half of my faculty are osteopathic physicians. Even though we all have different backgrounds, I see no reason to perpetuate the idea that they are so different," he said. "We like the fact that they offer great strengths in terms of the osteopathic and whole-person philosophy. And their strengths in osteopathic manipulation—that's something I never learned, and I lean so much on my osteopathic colleagues to use that to augment other treatment options." He admires their skills, and in turn, he has found they respect what he brings to the table by way of having grown and trained in another part of the world. "What matters," he said, "is the common goal of providing excellent patient care." It's yet another example of an inclusive and relationship-oriented form of leadership, and a perspective that promises to be a positive and grounding highlight at ACOI 2026.