Ms. Ruffing has been an innovator in developing patient educational materials. These have included fact sheets for the Arthritis Foundation and ACR, and her development of more than 100 educational videos found on the Johns Hopkins website rheum.tv, for patients with various rheumatic diseases, concerning pathobiology, treatments and side effects, and lifestyle considerations. These videos are also distributed on YouTube and Facebook. Videos developed by Ms. Ruffing have now received over 4 million views. She received the Medical Champion award from the Maryland Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation in 2024 for her contributions to improving patient outcomes through education.
“To be recognized by one’s peers for years of hard work is both humbling and heartwarming,” says Ms. Ruffing. “This award is for all registered nurses trying to improve the lives of patients with rheumatic disease.”
Dr. Westby
Distinguished Educator Award
This year’s Distinguished Educator Award was presented to Marie Westby, PT, PhD, physical therapy clinical resource therapist in rheumatology at the Mary Pack Arthritis Program, Vancouver, British Columbia, for demonstrating excellence in teaching patients, trainees and health professionals. She also serves as a clinician scientist at the Centre for Aging SMART and a clinical associate professor in the Department of Physical Therapy, University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver.
“Receiving this award is a tremendous honor as it acknowledges my career-long passion for mentoring and teaching diverse groups—from the general public, patients and their families to physical therapy and medical students and fellow clinicians,” says Dr. Westby. “Teaching is most rewarding when I’ve been able to spark students’ or clinicians’ curiosity or interest in pursuing further rheumatology training or clinical practice. I am grateful to my nominators and ARP colleagues who have been my mentors and role models for teaching and engaging the next generation of arthritis practitioners.”
