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Perelman School of Medicine Teaching Awards |
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April 29, 2014, Volume 60, No. 32 |
The Leonard Berwick Memorial Teaching Award
This award recognizes “a member of the medical faculty who in his or her teaching effectively fuses basic science and clinical medicine.” It is intended that this award recognize persons who are outstanding teachers, particularly among younger faculty. This year, there are two recipients of the Berwick Award.
David J. Margolis is a professor of dermatology and epidemiology. He taught a full semester course on clinical trials for more than 10 years. During that time period, very few courses on campus covered this important material, so not only were there enrollees from the Perelman School of Medicine but also from other graduate programs including Nursing, Engineering, Wharton, Annenberg, Veterinary Medicine and Education. Dr. Margolis has also served as the primary mentor for many epidemiology graduate students, students in the Perelman School of Medicine and residents in the department of dermatology. Many of his students and mentees are now on faculty at the University of Pennsylvania and peer institutions. Dr. Margolis previously won the Excellence in Teaching award in epidemiology, the Dean’s Award for Basic Science Teaching and the Samuel Martin Health Evaluation Sciences Research award. One of his former trainees commented, “Dr. David Margolis stands out as my most influential mentor. To this day, I consider him the best teacher, advisor and role model I’ve ever had. He made such a lasting impression on me and…he has similarly touched and inspired so many of his mentees. He is patient, as meticulous with the details as he is with the big picture, completely approachable and honorable.”
Eric Marsh’s research focuses on elucidating the basic cellular and network mechanisms of seizure generation and developmental stagnation in infants and young children who develop medication refractory epilepsy. His work utilizes genetic mouse models of seizures that occur in the developing brain and the lab performs anatomical, histochemical and physiological studies (EEG, Vital dye imaging and cellular physiology). In addition, his lab attempts to better determine epileptic networks in children undergoing epilepsy surgery. Dr. Marsh works clinically as a child neurologist/epileptologist specializing in the diagnosis of neurogenetic conditions and the treatment of intractable pediatric epilepsy. Dr. Marsh directs the Neurogenetics clinic at CHOP. In both the lab and clinic, Dr. Marsh strives to incorporate both his basic science research and understanding into teaching of medical concepts to undergraduate students, medical students and residents. A former trainee commented that, “Dr. Marsh has been a great influence in my experience as an undergraduate researcher. He has formed me as a scientist in the field that I am interested in while teaching me about the possible medical implications of this discipline. He has been a professional role model in his intellectual curiosity, his work ethic as a doctor and a researcher and his ability to merge scientific discoveries with patient care.”
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The Robert Dunning Dripps Memorial Award for Excellence in Graduate Medical Education
As a pioneer in the specialty of anesthesia and chair of the department from 1943 to 1972, Dr. Dripps was instrumental in the training of more than 300 residents and fellows. This award recognizes excellence as an educator of residents and fellows in clinical care, research, teaching or administration.
E. Cabrina Campbell is an associate professor of psychiatry in the Perelman School of Medicine and associate director of inpatient psychiatry at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VMAC). As an inaugural member of the Academy of Master Clinicians, she is known for her compassion and dedication to patients, students, residents and other trainees. Below are two representative examples of comments from residents who worked with Dr. Campbell. “Although I have been privileged to learn from innumerable excellent faculty over the course of my education at Penn, one of the greatest gifts that my training has given me is the opportunity to know Dr. Campbell as my teacher, mentor and friend. Dr. Campbell teaches with humility and humor, warmly engaging residents in the subject and inviting real dialogue. As a clinical supervisor, Dr. Campbell fervently believes that residents should manage patients independently to the best of their abilities and is uniquely gifted at dosing the exact right amount of supervision and support.” “What I personally appreciate most about Dr. Campbell is how she communicated her confidence in my abilities long before I had developed that confidence in myself and encouraged me to be independent (but was always available whenever I had a question). Her unspoken (and often spoken) confidence in me did wonders to improve my confidence in myself as I developed as a physician and to this day I think back on her words of encouragement. I chose Dr. Campbell to work with on my junior attending rotation because she was the attending I most wanted to emulate in my career due to her excellence in teaching, clinical care, leadership and because of her unflagging and consistent warmth and good humor.”
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Blockley-Osler Award
This award is given to a member of the faculty at an affiliated hospital for excellence in teaching modern clinical medicine at the bedside in the tradition of Dr. William Osler and others who taught at Philadelphia General Hospital.
James Treat is an assistant professor of pediatrics and dermatology at the Perelman School of Medicine with his main clinical appointment at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He is the education and fellowship director of Pediatric Dermatology. Dr. Treat is widely published, edited a textbook on pediatric dermatology and has given many invited lectures nationally and internationally. He directs the dermatology course for the Perelman School of Medicine and has been honored to win multiple teaching awards and be one of the awardees of the 2013 Master Clinician Award at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. One pediatric fellow wrote, “Jim is a brilliant and facile storyteller who makes teaching seem effortless. His style is gently socratic but always validating. There is no teacher at Penn who is more dedicated to the art of teaching clinical medicine.”
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The Special Dean’s Award
This award recognizes outstanding achievements in medical education by the PSOM faculty members, particularly in the development of new, innovative educational programs.
Neal Nathanson has served as associate dean for Global Health Programs in the Perelman School of Medicine, 2004-2014. Previously, he has held positions at Penn as chair, department of microbiology (1979-1994), vice provost for research (2000-2003)as well as director, Office of AIDS Research, at the National Institutes of Health (1998-2000). Dr. Nathanson is a virologist and epidemiologist who was trained at Harvard University, the University of Chicago and the Johns Hopkins University. In his role as Associate Dean for Global Health Programs, he and his staff have built a robust program for medical students. Currently the program includes many opportunities for students who seek international health experiences, as well as introductory and advanced courses in global health.
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Dean’s Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching (at an Affiliated Hospital)
The Dean’s Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching was established to recognize clinical teaching excellence and commitment to medical education by outstanding faculty members from affiliated hospitals.
This year there were four recipients.
Nadia Bennett is an assistant professor of clinical medicine and academic hospitalist at University of Pennsylvania and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. She became the associate medicine clerkship director in 2013 and directs the Clinical Skills elective for MD-PhD students at the Perelman School of Medicine. She also serves as a core faculty member on the Chief’s service at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. She is a 2014 Penn Pearls teaching award recipient and serves as a mentor for countless residents, medical students and nursing students.
As one student remarks, “I can’t speak enough praises of Dr. Bennett. She made my medicine rotation feel like a setting where I could learn without restraint. I always felt like an important member of the team, and I never felt judged or chastised for not knowing an answer.”
Another student wrote, “Dr. Bennett was absolutely one of the best attendings that I’ve ever worked with. Rounds and patient care with her were so much fun and such amazing learning experiences. She had the perfect balance of giving incredible teaching and guidance but at the same time encouraging our independent and autonomous decision making and management.”
One resident wrote, “The most incredible part about working with Dr. Bennett is her enthusiasm for teaching, which cultivated and motivated the house staff and students in the same direction. This was great as she was really a role-model for medical student education, someone I hope to emulate as a resident.”
Paul Kettl is a clinical professor of psychiatry, and is education director for behavioral health at the Philadelphia VAMC. All Penn medical students rotate through the outpatient clinic of the VA, and Dr. Kettl coordinates that experience. He also serves as a lecturer for the Psychiatry residency program, and conducts repeated clinical skills exams for the residents. One resident commented that, “His humor, depth of knowledge and enthusiasm for his work make him a natural teacher and it’s clear how much he cares about teaching residents. The breadth of his knowledge and ability to teach it is unparalleled as he teaches a range of material.”
Scott Campbell is an assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at the Perelman School of Medicine. He is the director of Inpatient Psychiatric Services on 6 Spruce at Pennsylvania Hospital and director of the Consultation-Liaison Service at Pennsylvania Hospital. He has taught since 2006 when he began residency at Penn and has continued to teach clinical psychiatry to both medical students and residents since joining faculty in 2010. He is actively involved in mentoring and training Penn Psychiatry residents in addition to participating in ongoing Brain & Behavior and Doctoring courses for pre-clinical medical students. One of his students commented that, “Dr. Campbell has an amazing ability to assess his students and provide them with the support and instruction that will help them to make the most of their psychiatry rotation. It was clear that he has high expectations for his students but he also does his best to help each student meet his expectations. In addition to his excellent teaching sessions, he also held regular feedback sessions that were genuine, insightful and extremely helpful.”
Albert Yan is associate professor of pediatrics and dermatology at the Perelman School of Medicine and has served as the chief of the Section of Pediatric Dermatology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia since 2004. He teaches medical students through electives in general dermatology and pediatric dermatology, mentors students as part of research electives and scholarly pursuits, lectures at the School of Nursing and remains actively involved in mentoring and training both pediatrics residents and fellows at CHOP and dermatology residents at HUP. He established the current board certified pediatric dermatology fellowship training program at CHOP, serving as fellowship director from 2006-2011. Dr. Yan was previously recognized on the Teaching Honor Roll at CHOP, and has been a past recipient of the David Cornfeld Bedside Teaching Award from the department of pediatrics and the Bernett L. Johnson, Jr. Faculty Teaching Award from the department of dermatology both in 2003. Dr. Yan serves as an editor-in-chief of one of the core publications of his field, the 3rd Edition of Harper’s Textbook of Pediatric Dermatology, and is a frequently invited speaker for local, regional, national, and international programs. Dr. Yan feels incredibly honored by the award and feels privileged to work at an institution with such outstanding trainees, colleagues and educators who understand medicine as an art as well as a science, and who are committed to advancing the field to provide exceptional care to patients. One of his former trainees commented that, “Albert has continued to be a wonderful teacher and mentor to me as a fellow. As a teacher, he is kind, supportive, gently socratic and always validating. Albert sees more patients in clinic than almost any provider yet somehow seems to spend most of his time teaching medical students and trainees. He is a patient listener with a calming presence that is enormously reassuring to patients and families. His enthusiasm is infectious. He has a vast fund of knowledge and is always eager to update us on new studies that inform our care of patients.” |
Dean’s Award for Excellence in Medical Student Teaching by an Allied Health Professional
This award recognizes outstanding teaching by allied health professionals (e.g.; nurses, physician’s assistants, emergency medical technicians). This year there are two recipients.
Kim Wilson began her career as a critical care staff nurse at the Hershey Medical Center. After two years in the surgical ICU, she decided that she wanted to become a critical care nurse practitioner, specializing in cardiac surgery at the HUP.
As one of the first nurse practitioners in the ICU, she helped develop the Heart and Vascular Intensive Care (H&V) nurse practitioner role. Initially, this involved working with residents, medical students and fellows. Over the years, nurse practitioners joined the practice and nurse practitioner students rotated through to learn cardiac surgery. Most of her teaching was done at the bedside, teaching post-op management as well as procedures, such as central lines. Due to the increasing volume of students, residents, nursing staff and nurse practitioners, she felt the need for a didactic component to the H&V ICU. To that end, she developed an orientation to cardiac surgery handbook which entailed all the surgical procedures, from pathophysiology to post-op management. She also provides monthly lectures on the various cardiac surgeries. These lectures were very well received by the attending staff members.
She feels very strongly that teaching is the critical component to ensure effective and safe patient management. It is because of this belief that she continues to precept students, residents and nurse practitioners. One resident wrote, “Robin and Kim are outstanding candidates for the Dean’s Award for Teaching by Allied Health Professionals. (They) are unceasingly enthusiastic, passionate and diligent in taking in challenging clinical and education role and their efforts far exceed expectation.”
Robin Gibbs is the lead nurse practitioner in the Heart and Vascular Intensive Care Unit at the HUP. Ms. Gibbs graduated from Fairfield University with a bachelor of science in nursing and then continued her education at Penn, receiving a master of science in nursing. Ms. Gibbs and her colleague, Ms. Wilson, were the first inpatient acute care nurse practitioners at HUP. The care delivery model in the Heart and Vascular intensive Care unit was developed to provide exemplary care to the most critically ill patients and also, to provide the most ideal educational model for the medical students and physicians in training. One resident wrote, “Robin and Kim are outstanding candidates for the Dean’s Award for Teaching by Allied Health Professionals. (They) are unceasingly enthusiastic, passionate and diligent in taking in challenging clinical and education role and their efforts far exceed expectation.”
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Dean’s Award for Excellence in Basic Science Teaching
This award recognizes teaching excellence and commitment to medical student teaching in the basic sciences.
Matt Deardorff, assistant professor of pediatrics, and an attending physician, in the division of genetics at CHOP has been perennially appreciated for his teaching in the medical school genetics courses. He has been able to blend his expertise in clinical genetics and dysmorphology, along with his laboratory expertise in genomics and cellular and developmental biology to bring a translational approach to his teaching. He also directs that campus-wide Genetics Grand Rounds and has mentored numerous undergraduates, medical students and fellows in his lab. One of Dr. Deardorff’s former trainees commented that, “Dr. Matt really made genetics a valuable educational experience by combining excellent teaching with deft management and organization.”
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The Scott Mackler Award for Excellence in Substance Abuse Teaching
This award was established by the Penn/VA Center for Studies of Addiction and the Department of Psychiatry. The late Dr. Mackler was known for his excellence in teaching across many different departments in the area of substance abuse (Almanac November 19, 2013).
Vasant Dhopesh is a certified psychiatrist and neurologist at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He received his medical degree from Government Medical College, Nagpur in India and has been in practice for 41 years. He has been an outstanding teacher in the substance abuse course for medical students and residents for over three decades. Dr. Dhopesh focuses on the medical effects of drug abuse and the importance of careful physical and neurological patient examinations. Students consistently write in their evaluations that they respect and identify with Dr. Dhopesh because of his patience and dedication. One of his residents commented that, “All in all, Dr. Dhopesh is a gifted educator of any type, but particularly stands out as an excellent substance abuse educator.
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Jane M. Glick Graduate Student Teaching Award
This award was established in remembrance of Jane Glick and her dedication to the Biomedical Graduate Studies (BGS) programs. This year the award is presented to two recipients.
Hongzhe Li, professor of biostatistics and epidemiology, received his PhD in statistics at the University of Washington in 1995. Since joining Perelman School of Medicine in 2005, Dr. Li has developed and directed two new PhD level courses, including BSTA785 Statistical Methods for Genomic Data Analysis, and BSTA620 Probability I. Dr. Li is also chair of the Biostatistics Curriculum Committee and, in that role, led a task force which evaluated the curriculum and led to many changes including the development of BSTA620, a PhD core course that is now required for all biostatistics PhD and MS students. He is also a statistics professor at the Wharton School. Dr. Li is highly regarded by both students and colleagues as an effective, innovative and compassionate teacher at Penn.
James M. Wilson, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, received both his MD and PhD at the University of Michigan Medical School in 1984. Shortly after arriving at Penn in 1993, Dr. Wilson founded the Gene Therapy Graduate Group in BGS, which later evolved into the Gene Therapy and Vaccines (GTV) program in the Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Group in BGS. Dr. Wilson also developed the core gene therapy course, CAMB 610 Molecular Basis for Gene Therapy, which is the required course for all first year GTV students. Both students and colleagues have stated that Dr. Wilson is an extraordinary, devoted mentor and teacher who epitomizes the qualities of someone deserving of this award.
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Medical Student Government Clinical Teaching Award
Amy Pruitt is professor of neurology in the Perelman School of Medicine and Director of Medical Student Education for Neurology. She is an award-winning educator who is described as “a treasure,” and “a fantastic teacher and physician who is loved by all trainees at all levels.” She is known to include clinical anecdotes related to case studies which make the material more tangible for the students. As one student said, “Dr. Pruitt is quite possibly the smartest person I have ever met. She is an incredible student educator and an expert at her craft.” Another student said, “…She has a unique ability to impart information in a way that makes it impossible to forget.” And from a third student, “Fantastic, phenomenal, amazing, awesome—there are just a few adjectives that come to mind when describing Dr. Pruitt.”
Dr. Pruitt received the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching in 2007 and three Penn Pearls Awards presented by the medical students for outstanding teaching in 2000, 2007 and 2011. She was elected to the inaugural Class of Academy of Master Clinicians in 2013. She is also the recipient of the C. William Hanson Distinguished Service Award, Medical Board of the University of Pennsylvania and the Alfred Stengel Health System Champion Award.
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Medical Student Government Basic Science Teaching Award
James White is an adjunct associate professor of cell and developmental biology in the PerelmanSchool of Medicine, where he teaches a number of introductory courses including gross anatomy, neuroscience and histology. Dr. White is described as an “engaging instructor who helps students find answers for themselves.” One student said, “Professor White is animated and clearly demonstrates a passion for cell and tissue biology. Even though the material is pretty dry, he manages to make it entertaining and interesting.” Another student said, “He is clear and thorough and very good at explaining complex concepts.” Students appreciate Dr. White’s willingness to stay late and review structures with them. As one student summed it up, “Beyond being a great teacher, I think this really shows his dedication.”
This is the sixth consecutive year he has won the award.
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Almanac -
April 29, 2014, Volume 60, No. 32
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