When Michael McDermott, MD, arrived at the Fitzsimons Building on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus to begin his medical internship in 1977, the building was not yet a part of CU. At that time, it was a hospital in the former Fitzsimons Army Medical Center — a United States Army facility that treated military personnel and trained future generations of military doctors.
Although the building names and programs have since changed, McDermott’s dedication to delivering the best possible care to his patients has remained. As a nationally recognized expert in the field of endocrinology, McDermott has spent the bulk of his career at CU caring for thousands of patients dealing with conditions including diabetes, thyroid disease, and osteoporosis.
“My goal is to help every single person, regardless of their resources, achieve their optimal level of health,” says McDermott, director of the endocrinology and diabetes practice at the University of Colorado Hospital and a professor of medicine and clinical pharmacy in the CU School of Medicine.
Throughout his nearly 50-year career, McDermott has shaped the medical landscape, whether it be when he served as the endocrinology consultant to the U.S. Surgeon General or when he helped establish new methods of delivering more accessible patient care at CU. It’s his commitment to delivering top-notch care that has led McDermott to become a trusted source for patients and health care leaders alike.
“No words are enough to appreciate how amazing Dr. McDermott is,” said one of his patients. “He is personable, compassionate, and knowledgeable. He is very understanding and listens to your concerns … You feel much better when you know that you have the best doctor ever to take care of your health.”
In recognition of McDermott’s dedication to his patients, he was one of 21 faculty members in the CU Department of Medicine who were inducted into the department’s Clinical Excellence Society, which recognizes the “best of the best” clinicians. Bryan Haugen, MD, the former head of the CU Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Diabetes, said in a nomination letter that he cannot think of anyone more deserving than McDermott for selection into the society.
“Dr. McDermott is not only a highly skilled clinician, he is a gentle, compassionate, and thoughtful caregiver who develops strong and deep relationships with his patients and is always available for them,” Haugen wrote. “He has true respect for others and has in turn gained the respect of every health care provider and patient that has crossed his path.”
The opportunity to use science to help people is what drew McDermott to medicine in the first place. After getting a chemistry degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology, McDermott attended the Tulane University School of Medicine on an Army scholarship, which required 10 years of service to the military, including training at a military site.
“I was lucky enough to do all the training at the Fitzsimons Army Medical Center,” he says.
At the medical center, McDermott completed an internship and residency in internal medicine. Through that training, he found that he enjoyed caring for people who had endocrine disorders, especially diabetes and thyroid disorders, as he was able to form relationships and build rapport with them. It led him to pursue a fellowship in endocrinology and metabolism.
During his time in the Army, McDermott also collaborated with the CU Health Sciences Center, which would later become the CU Anschutz Medical Campus. He worked as a clinical professor of medicine for the CU Health Sciences Center until he retired from the military as a colonel in 1997. Following his retirement, he joined the CU School of Medicine as a professor of medicine and clinical pharmacy. He also became the director of the endocrinology and diabetes practice at the University of Colorado Hospital.
“The timing of my military retirement and the opportunity to work at CU was fortuitous because it was exactly what I hoped I would be doing someday — being in academic medicine with a focus on clinical work,” he says.
Since then, he has continued to improve patient care and leave his mark as a health care leader. His contributions led the Endocrine Society, an international medical organization, to bestow him the Distinguished Physician Award in 2013. And just recently, McDermott completed his term serving as president of the American Thyroid Association, a group of physicians and scientists dedicated to the research and treatment of thyroid diseases.
Peter Gottlieb, MD, a CU professor of pediatrics, said in a recommendation letter that McDermott, whom he has known since 1994, is someone whose clinical guidance is sought after by physicians both at CU and out of the state.
“If I have a difficult patient or endocrine problem to address, Mike is one of the people I turn to for advice,” Gottlieb wrote. “Docs from all over the U.S. refer their patients to see Dr. McDermott which attests to his national reputation in our field.”
As part of his mission to care for people with endocrine diseases, McDermott aims to make health care more proactive and accessible to patients, leading him to help create several new methods of delivering care at the University of Colorado Hospital.
For instance, McDermott helped propose and create an inpatient glucose management team at the hospital to better manage patients’ glucose levels. McDermott also developed protocols to help guide the inpatient glucose management team, explaining how the health care providers should approach controlling a patient’s glucose levels in different hospital scenarios. The team has proven to be effective, as data has shown successes such as a decrease in the number of patients experiencing hypoglycemic reactions in the hospital, McDermott explains.
“This approach has improved outcomes overall, and I’ve been asked by many people from different places in the country to share our protocols with them,” he says.
Another initiative McDermott helped establish and is continuing to work on is the Diabetes Home and Remote Care Center. Currently, the center has two diabetes educators who can conduct telehealth visits for patients who are referred by University of Colorado Hospital providers. Patients can be referred for two reasons. The first is to help a patient get their glucose level under control via telehealth so they do not have to travel to visit the endocrinology clinic. The second is to offer a more intensive level of care by virtually meeting with the patient on a weekly basis to offer a deeper level of diabetes management.
“The data shows we’ve been very successful and perform well in getting patients’ glucose under control,” he says. “I think we’re getting closer to the point where we can expand beyond serving just the University of Colorado Hospital, because our ultimate goal is to provide this service throughout the state to any patient, especially those who may not have access to top-level care and who could really benefit from this.”
Despite his many accomplishments and accolades, it is the relationships with his patients that McDermott prioritizes most. His recipe for building trust with patients involves actively listening to their needs and concerns, offering honest feedback, and expressing a genuine interest in who that person is and what they need.
“When you go see a doctor, you're entrusting that doctor with your health. You're telling them all kinds of things about yourself and your life that you don't tell other people, and you trust them to make a diagnosis and give you treatment advice,” he says. “To me, it's an extraordinary honor that people entrust me with their health care.”
In recognition of his commitment to his patients, McDermott was recently named the inaugural chair holder of the Lucas Family Endowed Chair in Diabetes and Endocrinology, where a family made a $2 million philanthropic commitment to the CU Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Diabetes. When McDermott learned the news from one of the family members, who is a patient of his, he was shocked.
“It’s an honor that I really treasure,” he says. “Having an endowed chair will help me pursue new interests and allow me to think about innovative ways to do things and include everyone — to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.”
Looking back at his career, McDermott says it has been an “extraordinary adventure” to see the advances in medicine that have happened and the increased recognition of clinicians and their work, such as through the CU Department of Medicine’s Clinical Excellence Society.
“Twenty-seven years ago, universities typically focused on researchers. Now, clinicians are being recognized for their clinical expertise and contributions in the clinical and teaching realm,” he says. “People used to have to choose between being a researcher or going into private practice. Now, people have a choice to be a clinician educator — to stay at a university to teach and to treat patients.”
It is a privilege, he says, to be able to teach the next generation of clinicians, saying he wants to offer the same level of support that his mentors offered him.
“I would never have been able to achieve any of these successes without the mentors and colleagues I’ve had. This is a whole team effort,” he says. “It’s a privilege to teach but also an adventure to learn — that’s what drives my day. I still look forward to work every day and think it’s just the greatest job in the world.”