Slain MGH doctor was ‘much-loved caregiver’

The Harvard Medical School flag is at half-staff this morning in memory of Brian A. McGovern, assistant professor of medicine, who was killed in his Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) office on April 8.

According to the Boston Police, McGovern’s co-worker, Colleen P. Mitchell, allegedly shot McGovern several times, then killed herself. Police have not determined a motive and are continuing to investigate the case.

McGovern, a cardiologist who received his medical degree at the National University of Ireland, came to Harvard Medical School in 1981 as a research fellow in medicine at MGH, and joined the faculty as instructor in 1983. He became an assistant professor in 1989.

Eleanor Shore, dean for faculty affairs at HMS, called McGovern “an active teacher of medical students, residents, and cardiology fellows” and said he “shared his expertise with colleagues around the world … our thoughts are with his family, friends, and colleagues.”

In an e-mail to the MGH community on Tuesday, MGH President Peter L. Slavin said, “the entire MGH community is deeply shocked and tremendously saddened by the death of Brian McGovern.

“Brian McGovern was a much-loved caregiver, a wonderful colleague, and a widely respected expert on cardiac arrhythmia,” said Slavin, who knew McGovern since he was a resident in the mid-1980s. “He was an extraordinarily devoted and caring physician who treated his patients and their families with great compassion and kindness.”