WALTHAM – Dr. Grayson W. Armstrong, a physician at Massachusetts Eye and
Ear and an instructor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, has been honored by the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) as the 2022 recipient of the organization’s Barbara A. Rockett, MD, Early Career Physician Leadership Award, which recognizes
an early career physician who has demonstrated exemplary leadership in organized medicine, patient advocacy, and mentorship.
Armstrong, a native of North Carolina and graduate of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, has held leadership roles with the MMS, the Middlesex District Medical Society and with the American
Medical Association (AMA). Notably, he served on the Board of Trustees of the AMA during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, helping ensure the organization remained one of the most reliable and trusted sources of COVID-19 pandemic by patients and
providers.
“I have had the privilege of working with (Armstrong) in his role as co-founder of Ocular Technologies, Inc.,” said Dr. David Hunter, chief ophthalmologist at Boston Children’s Hospital. “Their group was instrumental in providing our department with dozens
of protective slit lamp shields at the onset of the COVID-19 crisis when no other effective options were available to us. His innovative work is providing strong leadership for all of us while enhancing safety and improving access to care for those
most in need.”
Armstrong is also the Vice-President of the Massachusetts Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons, where he advocates to protect vision in adults and children as well as promote patient safety.
“Grayson’s accomplishments are numerous,” said Dr. Laurel Tainsh, a physician and surgeon at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and instructor at Harvard Medical School. “As chief resident during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, he completely redesigned
the Harvard Ophthalmology Residency clinical and didactic curriculum to ensure that patient care and trainee learning continued at the highest level possible. This included creating a brand new virtual surgical didactic curriculum and incorporating
new workshops on leadership, advocacy, and telemedicine into the formal curriculum.”
The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) is the statewide professional association for physicians and medical students, supporting 25,000 members. We are dedicated to educating and advocating for the physicians of Massachusetts and patients locally and nationally. A leadership voice in health care, the MMS contributes physician and patient perspectives to influence health-related legislation at the state and federal levels, works in support of public health, provides expert advice on physician practice management, and addresses issues of physician well-being. Under the auspices of the NEJM Group, the MMS extends our mission globally by advancing medical knowledge from research to patient care through the New England Journal of Medicine, NEJM Catalyst, and the NEJM Journal Watch family of specialty publications, and through our education products for health care professionals: NEJM Knowledge+, NEJM Resident 360, and our accredited and comprehensive continuing medical education programs.
