Nidhi K. Lal, M.D., M.P.H., an urgent care physician at Lowell General Hospital, has been honored by her physician peers of the Middlesex West District Medical Society as its 2017 Community Clinician of the Year, an award recognizing her professionalism and contributions as a physician.  She will receive the award at the district society’s annual meeting April 11 at the Stonehedge Inn & Spa in Tyngsboro.

In selecting her for the honor, Dr. Lal’s colleagues noted her extensive experience serving culturally diverse and underserved populations, her teaching experience with medical students and residents, and her advocacy efforts on the local and state levels.

Board certified in family medicine, Dr. Lal is also an attending physician at Boston Medical Center and an instructor in family medicine at Boston University School of Medicine.  She earned her medical degree from the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Science in India and her master’s degree in public health from the Boston University School of Public Health.  She completed her residency in the University of Massachusetts Family Practice Program in Worcester. 

In addition to her clinical duties, Dr. Lal has taught third and fourth-year medical students in family medicine and maternal child health at Boston University School of Medicine. She is also involved with development of narratives as a ‘teaching tool,” as well as to emphasize and highlight patient experiences that leave a lasting impression and impact.

Dr. Lal is currently a Fulbright Specialist and working on global health projects in India towards curriculum development of additional training of General Practitioners as well as improving maternal child health outcomes in tribal communities in Southern India. She is also an Instructor of Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics skills towards decreasing maternal mortality and improving outcomes in India.

Dr. Lal has been an active member of the Massachusetts Medical Society since 2009, serving as an Alternate Trustee, a member of the International Medical Graduates Section, and a member of the Global Health Committee.  She previously chaired the MMS Task Force on Diversity in Leadership and was a member of the MMS House of Delegates. From 2013-2015, she served as president of the Middlesex North District.  

The Community Clinician of the Year Award was established in 1998 by the Massachusetts Medical Society to recognize a physician from each of the Society’s 20 district medical societies who has made significant contributions to his or her patients and the community.  

The Massachusetts Medical Society, with some 25,000 physicians and student members, is dedicated to educating and advocating for the patients and physicians of Massachusetts. The Society, under the auspices of NEJM Group, publishes the New England Journal of Medicine, a leading global medical journal and web site, and Journal Watch alerts and newsletters covering 13 specialties. The Society is also a leader in continuing medical education providing accredited and certified activities across the globe for physicians and other health care professionals.  Founded in 1781, MMS is the oldest continuously operating medical society in the country. For more information please visit www.massmed.org, www.nejm.org, or www.jwatch.org.

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