My First Mentee

American entrepreneur and philanthropist Charles “Chuck” Feeney (April 23, 1931–October 9, 2023) coined the phrase “Giving While Living.” Cardiologist and alumnus Robert M. Stein, MD ’68, subscribes to the same values, and his philanthropic legacy is changing—and saving—lives. In addition to establishing the Robert M. Stein, MD ’68 Scholarship Fund at Sidney Kimmel Medical College, this past fall, he endowed the Robert M. Stein, MD ’68, FACC, FAHA, Professorship in Cardiovascular Quality and Safety. His generosity was commemorated at the investiture of Ileana Piña, MD, as the first holder of the Stein professorship.

“I’m trying to do my bit to help the medical school that gave me my education,” he says. “There is a joy in giving a donation during one’s life. A legacy gift in a will is wonderful, but to actually see the results of one’s donation is even better.”

The Stein professorship reflects his long-standing passion for quality improvement and patient safety. As Jefferson’s third position dedicated to quality and safety, and the first for a service line within the enterprise, the new role serves as a powerful catalyst for patient-focused cardiovascular quality and safety innovations that will improve countless lives for generations to come.

“There are guidelines for virtually every aspect of care,” he says. “They are based on science, and evidence-based. Closing the gap between science and practice is important, yet the idea of trying to produce ideal care is very difficult. Your medical group and hospital need systems for quality. Dr. Piña is a brilliant cardiologist. Safety and quality are one of her passions, so it is a great fit.”  

Stein’s dreams of a medical career began at age 6. “My uncle in Philadelphia, Charles Kravitz, was always my inspiration to be a doctor,” he says. “He was an internist at Temple and Albert Einstein Medical Center, which is now a Jefferson affiliate. He was a wonderful man and very kind to his patients. He used to get up at 4 a.m. and study internal medicine before he started his rounds and would work all hours of the day and night. I think there’s a prize named after him at graduation.”

Stein was in the first of the Penn State-Jefferson combined classes back in 1963. He shares, “There was a newspaper article in the Philadelphia Inquirer about the combined program-and I applied. I thought it was going to be a wonderful program, and it is. Jefferson creates an excellent medical student who’s ready to practice almost any specialty.”

Stein’s love for cardiology began in medical school, fostered by a life-changing experience courtesy of an intern he met during clinic who would change his life. “He took me under his wing and brought me to see a patient of his to hear an S3 gallop,” Stein says. “He was busy yet still spent an enormous amount of time with me talking about heart failure when he didn’t have to.”

The intern said he was going to be a cardiologist, Stein remembers. Inspired by the encounter, Stein wrote the intern’s name down and put it in his wallet. Stein still has that piece of paper.

“His name was Dr. Carl Pepine,” he shares. “After about 20 years, I looked him up. Today, he is a professor of cardiology at the University of Florida College of Medicine and a former president of the American College of Cardiology. I still see him at medical meetings, and when I do, I always take a picture of the two of us, and he always says, ‘My first mentee.’”

After receiving his medical degree from Jefferson in 1968, Stein completed his residency at Tufts Medical Center/Boston Medical Center, and NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center, in 1971, as well as a cardiology residency at  NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center, in 1975.  

Following time as a cardiologist in the U.S. Army, he moved and settled in Escondido, California. He joined Palomar Medical Center in San Diego in 1976, where in ensuing years he served as chairman of the department of medicine; medical director, cardiac services; and chief of staff. Today, Stein provides cardiology consultation for the Graybill Medical Group’s Rehabilitation Institute and directs the Outpatient Cardiac Rehab Program.

A diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) and the ABIM, Cardiovascular Diseases, Stein is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association and a member of the San Diego County Medical Society, the American Medical Association, and the American College of Physicians. Additionally, he served as a board member and is former president of the San Diego affiliate of the American Heart Association and continues to speak on cardiovascular topics throughout the country.

When contemplating his proudest career moment, Stein says, “It’s just what I do every day. I once shared an elevator in the hospital with a young woman. She said, ‘Dr. Stein, you treat my grandmother. You’ve admitted her to the hospital more than once. Whenever I see you, I always know everything’s going to be OK.’”

Stein is grateful for his Jefferson education and wants to give back. “Jefferson takes a gamble. They had to select high school kids for my program,” he says. “They took me in and educated me. I am more than happy to repay them the best I can.”

“As you age, you think about your mortality, you think about the legacy that you want to leave, you think about how you would like the world to be, and you try to do your little bit to shape that world,” he shares. “I feel we all have an obligation. We all leave a legacy. It’s the least I can do. Pay it forward, right?”