LGBTQ+ Council spotlight: Jesse A. Levin
LGBTQ+ Council
Dr. Jesse Levin, clinical associate professor (General Internal Medicine) is a strong advocate for LGBTQ+ equity in education, clinical care and the medical workforce. He has been a member of the Department of Medicine LGBTQ+ Council since 2024.
“I think it is important to increase LGBTQ+ visibility at UW Medicine to promote a safe, inclusive, and equitable workplace,” Levin said.
“I was inspired by LGBTQ+ mentors during medical school and residency, and I hope that our work through the Council helps foster community and support for our students and trainees.”
Background and education
Levin received his undergraduate degree in biology from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. His undergraduate neuroscience research on thalamocortical plasticity solidified his interest in a career in medicine. He spent three years at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts, conducting laboratory and clinical research on patients with hematologic malignancies undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
Levin attended medical school at New York Medical College and completed his internal medicine residency at UCLA Medical Center. As a student and trainee, he was active on multiple councils and task forces to advance LGBTQ+ education and equity in the medical profession.
“I was fortunate to meet some amazing physician leaders while serving on the LGBT Advisory Committee of the American Medical Association from 2008 to 2011 as a Medical Student and Resident/Fellow Section representative – I am thrilled that it has since evolved into a dedicated LGBTQ+ Section,” he said.
After residency, Levin worked as a nocturnist at UCLA Medical Center before coming to the University of Washington Medical Center in 2014.
Patient care and service roles
Since arriving at the UW, Levin has been a dedicated clinician, educator, and advocate for quality improvement initiatives, including optimizing system-wide technology. He is currently a clinical associate professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine.
As a hospitalist on the UWMC-Montlake inpatient hospitalist service, Levin cares for hospitalized adult patients with complex medical conditions, including advanced organ dysfunction and complications of solid organ transplantation. He is committed to providing outstanding, compassionate care for all patients.
In addition to direct patient care, Levin supervises resident doctors and medical students on the teaching service and is a leader in multiple quality improvement and IT committees with the goal of improving the electronic health record to support clinician efficiency, patient safety, and quality of care.
Levin has served as director of Inpatient Faculty Education on Documentation and Coding for the Department of Medicine since 2017, working closely with faculty members at UWMC-Montlake, Northwest, and Harborview to optimize documentation to capture the complexity of their clinical work. Among his multiple committee roles, he is co-chair of the UW Medicine IT Governance Council for Inpatient, a member of the IT Documentation Council, and a longstanding member of the UW Medicine Medication Safety and Reconciliation Committee.
As a Physician Advisor for UWMC-Montlake and Northwest, he supports the Utilization Management and Care Coordination teams to help ensure patients receive the right care at the right time, and he works closely with healthcare providers to improve the quality and efficiency of care, facilitate excellent communication, and ensure medical records are clear and accurately reflect the complex management of our patients.
Levin received an individual UW Medicine Cares Award in 2017 and a group award in 2021.