Windsor Doctor Joins Quinnipiac Faculty

A veteran physician who specializes in hematology has joined the faculty of the Frank H. Netter, M.D., School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University.

 As a professor of medical sciences, Dr. Robert Bona, of Windsor, will coordinate the school’s core block in hematology and related issues. He plans to emphasize mentorship and newer approaches to medical education.

“Students should be able to comfortably approach the faculty. We should be viewed as their colleagues,” he said. “We need to model professionalism and respectful, collaborative work relationships.”

A resident of Windsor, Bona comes to Quinnipiac from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, where he was a professor of medicine. He was active in the teaching programs at the medical school, directed the hematology/oncology fellowship program and also served as an attending physician at the University of Connecticut Health Center. Bona was previously affiliated with Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford.

In January 2010, Quinnipiac began the complex accreditation process to establish a medical school with an emphasis on primary care. The university plans to enroll the charter class by fall 2013.

The new school’s emphasis on teaching and its interdisciplinary model, which uses an integrated curriculum to educate medical students alongside their peers in the university’s other health profession programs, attracted Bona.

“Bob is a master teacher, having won every teaching award multiple times at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. His passion for teaching, together with his clinical experience, will help the School of Medicine develop student learning experiences that are clinically relevant and of the highest quality,” said Bruce Koeppen, founding dean of the Frank H. Netter, M.D., School of Medicine.

Bona prioritizes communication skills. “We need to train doctors who can really connect and listen to their patients and understand that individuals seeing their health care professionals have a wide variety of concerns based on their beliefs and life experiences,” he said.

Bona earned his medical degree from the State University of New York Upstate Medical College. He completed his internship and residency at Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital and fellowship in hematology-oncology at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from St. John’s University in New York.