Hershey S. Bell, MD, MSMedEd, FAAFP, is a professor in the Department of Family, Community and Preventive Medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine.
Dr. Bell serves as vice president for medical education program development for Cape Fear Valley Health System. Prior to coming to Cape Fear Valley, he was professor, vice-president for academic affairs and dean for developing initiatives at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) in Erie, Pennsylvania. In this role, he oversaw the development of LECOM’s new School of Podiatric Medicine and led LECOM’s Institute for Planning, Accreditation, Assessment and Research. From 2009-2020, Dr. Bell served as CEO/dean of LECOM’s School of Pharmacy leading the school to its first successful eight-year accreditation from the Accreditation Council on Pharmacy Education. He also led the development of the nation’s second fully online initial PharmD-granting program which began in 2014. From 2003-2009, Dr. Bell served as associate dean for assessment and faculty development at LECOM’s osteopathic medical school. He created and led LECOM’s first non-professional graduate program leading to the Master of Science in Medical Education degree.
Dr. Bell served as senior vice-president for medical education, primary care and quality at Hamot Medical Center in Erie from 2000-2003. He was named the first chief medical officer of Hamot Medical Center and established a regional medical campus for LECOM medical students.
From 1996-2000, Dr. Bell served as vice-chair for the Department of Community and Family Medicine and chief of the Division of Family Medicine at Duke University Medical Center. During this period he also served as director of the department’s nationally recognized Faculty Development and Fellowship program.
Dr. Bell began his career at Hunterdon Medical Center in Flemington, New Jersey, in 1986 where he eventually became director of the Hunterdon Family Medicine Residency Program – one of the nation’s original six three-year family medicine residencies. During this time, he and his colleagues began research on physician competency, which culminated in the 1997 publication, “Competency-based Education in Family Medicine.” Dr. Bell served on the committee that wrote the original physician competencies for graduate medical education as part of the ACGME’s “Outcomes Project.” He also served a key role in advancing the original physician competency statement forwarded by the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine.
Dr. Bell attended medical school at the University of Toronto in his native Toronto, Ontario. He completed family medicine residency programs at both the University of Toronto and Duke University. He is a graduate of Duke’s National Family Medicine Faculty Development Fellowship program.
Dr. Bell has been recognized by the Northeast Region of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine with the Mid-Career Achievement Award, by LECOM as a recipient of John and Silvia Ferretti Excellence in Teaching Award, by AACOM as a recipient of the Miller Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Osteopathic Profession, and by Acting United States Surgeon General Boris Lushniak for Outstanding Advocacy for the Pharmacy Profession by a physician. He was also a charter member of the National Academy of Osteopathic Medical Educators.
Dr. Bell’s research interests include issues surrounding effectiveness of the provider-patient relationship, competency-based health professions education, and inter-professional education, with 30 peer-reviewed publications to his credit. He has taught courses in clinical empathy, drug development, biostatistics and research methods, epidemiology and public health. Dr. Bell has lectured extensively on medical education topics throughout the United States and Canada for almost four decades.