Ciesielski appointed Joint Commission Presidential Fellow
Nationally recognized physician leader will collaborate on healthcare safety, quality during one-year program
Thomas Ciesielski, MD, an associate professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine in the John T. Milliken Department of Medicine at WashU Medicine, has been named the 2026–27 Presidential Fellow in Healthcare Safety and Quality by Joint Commission. The prestigious fellowship recognizes a distinguished professional who is ascending in a career dedicated to advancing healthcare performance.
A nationally recognized physician leader, Ciesielski most recently served as Vice Chair of Inpatient Safety, Quality, and Operations for the Department of Medicine, where he has spearheaded initiatives focused on safety and quality education and improving clinical documentation. A committed educator, he attends on the inpatient general internal medicine teaching service and is an associate program director in the internal medicine residency program. Cieselski’s leadership in clinical care, clinical operations and education during the COVID-19 pandemic were recognized with a Dean’s Impact Award.
Cieselski’s research interests include safe opioid prescribing. He has published on identifiable risk factors for developing a diagnosis of opioid abuse and has led ongoing improvement efforts in a primary care clinic for safer opioid prescribing.
As the Joint Commission Presidential Fellow, Ciesielski will gain hands-on immersive experience and receive executive mentorship as he rotates through four key focus areas: accreditation and certification, government relations, operations and the National Quality Forum. Cieselski will remain on faculty at WashU Medicine through the duration of the fellowship.
Founded in 1951, Joint Commission is a nonprofit enterprise that accredits more than 23,000 health care organizations nationwide and helps them improve the quality and safety of their services. The President’s Fellowship for Healthcare Quality and Safety was established in 2024 to cultivate future national leaders in healthcare quality, safety, accreditation, policy and systems transformation.
