January 2023 Exceptional Teachers

Elective

• Dr. Carol Bernier, Pre-Hospital Medicine - “Well-organized and good communication.”
  
• Dr. Jonathan Nogueira, EM Ultrasound - “Excellent attending to learn and work with. The many resources provided for reference and self-study were welcomed. I appreciate his enthusiasm for US.”

Clerkship

• Dr. Alison Thornton - “Dr. Thornton was an amazing attending. She spent time talking to me about PE/lab findings and I appreciated hearing everything she had to say. I also had a lot of questions about the profession itself, and I left the rotation knowing more about what life as a family physician actually looks like. She challenged me by asking what my thoughts were for an assessment and plan, and having me write it out in notes was helpful because I wasn't just nodding and agreeing with someone, I was trying to say it all myself.”
• Dr. Brittany Hayes - “Dr. Hayes was an amazing preceptor to have and she was one of the highlights on this rotation. She constantly gave good feedback about what I needed to do/work on and mentioned the improvements I had made as the rotation went on. She was calm and patient with me as I was getting my bearings on the rotation, and I was very appreciative of how friendly and inviting she was. She was a great teacher and took the time to hear my questions fully, give thoughtful responses, and ask for my thoughts on findings in certain patients. I learned more than medicine from her, as I will be taking away interpersonal skills she had with her patients that I admired. All in all, a fantastic physician who is knowledgeable, skilled, friendly to be around, and clearly loves teaching. Dr. Hayes (and of course Dr. Thornton, Dr. Soloman, and the rest of the staff) made the drive out to Rocky Mount worth it.”

Elective

• Dr. Justin Weppner, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation - “Dr. Weppner is an exceptional educator. His patient care and expertise in the field of PM&R is something I can only hope to emulate some day!”
  
• Dr. Ann Austin, Acting Internship in Internal Medicine - “Very easy to approach, kind, warm, effective instructor.”

Clerkship

• Dr. Jeri Lantz - “She is an awesome teacher and as a student I so appreciated how much she invested in me this rotation to give feedback on notes and advice on career choices. It was so wonderful working with her!”
• Dr. Thomas Turner - “Awesome teacher, so fun to work with! Always checked in on his students to make sure we were doing ok and understanding everything. Really appreciated the time he spent answering all my questions about my patients.”

Elective

• Dr. Della Williams, Acting Internship in Neurology - “Dr. Williams took the time to explain the physiology behind disease processes when I was confused, and she did so in a clear, kind, and concise manner.”

Clerkship

• Dr. Nicholas Yelverton - “It was a pleasure learning from Dr. Yelverton. He created a welcoming environment for learning and he frequently impressed the team with his ability to nail difficult diagnoses.”
• Dr. Benjamin Wiener - “Dr. Wiener was a wonderful resident to work with on my neurology rotation. He gave us a lot of autonomy to evaluate patients and take ownership of their care while always being supportive. He always took the time to review notes and answer any questions we had about difficult neurology concepts.”

Elective

• Dr. James Casey, Acting Internship in MIGS and Pelvic Pain - “Dr. Casey was great to work with! He made sure I was a part of every aspect of patient care and gave me many opportunities for direct hands-on practice, especially in the OR. He is very approachable and encourages questions and conversation about every patient encounter. It is obvious that he enjoys teaching and is invested in his students!”
• Dr. Kimberly Simcox, Substance Use Disorder in Pregnancy - “Dr. Simcox creates a wonderful learning environment where students are engaged and actively learning. She also demonstrates incomparable patient care where the patient is always at the center. I enjoyed working with her immensely and am sad that it is over!”

Clerkship

• Dr. Larry Dennis - “Dr. Dennis was an incredible mentor and went out of his way to make sure that myself and the other students were enjoying their time on MFM and were seeing everything we wanted to see! I really appreciate his attention to detail and his care for the students!”
• Dr. Shannon Howard - “She was a great resident and really challenged my knowledge and pushed me to think about future patient care and a plan for the current patient. I appreciate her engagement in my education!!”

Elective

• Dr. Emily Nguyen, Acting Internship in Pediatrics - “I enjoyed working with Dr. Nguyen. It is obvious she has an interest in medical education and mentorship. I felt supported and appreciated in my role as an acting intern. She listened to my assessments and plans, read my notes, and provided guidance and correction in a constructive manner. She takes time with patients and does a great job of explaining our assessment and plan to patients and their families. I learned a lot about effective communication while working with her “and appreciate that she gave me the opportunity to explain difficult concepts to patient's families.”
• Dr. Virginia Powel, Pediatric ICU - “Dr. Powel gave very clear guidance on her expectations for student and resident patient presentations, which I appreciated. She was also very organized on rounds, which allowed her to spend a lot of time teaching. She gave immediate feedback on presentations and notes. Overall, it was a great learning experience.”

Clerkship

• Dr. Austin Drake - “Amazing to work with. Incredibly approachable and easy to talk to. Gives ample opportunities to practice clinical skills and interact with patients, and gives specific feedback on performance and constructive suggestions on how to improve. I was blown away with his willingness to teach and openness to answer any and all my questions. Even though we are students, his confidence in us is palpable and it felt like he holds us to similar standards as the residents and challenged us to rise to the occasion, which helped accelerate my learning and growth. I would welcome another opportunity to work with him!”
• Dr. Manish Kumar - “I had a great time working with Manish. He is very approachable and easy to talk to. More than happy to answer any and all of my questions and is a great teacher. Gave specific feedback on notes, which was very helpful.”

Elective

• Dr. Hajra Ahmad, Emergency Psychiatry - “I really enjoyed working with Dr. Ahmad, learned a lot from her!”

Clerkship

• Dr. Sarah Rivelli - “Dr. Rivelli is an excellent attending to learn from; she has a clear picture when looking at psychiatric and physiologic factors effecting a patient--she explains things very thoroughly and helps students walk through all the important details of a consult. Gives feedback directly and immediately, very good teacher, great attending to learn from.”
• Dr. Amin Syed - “Dr. Syed was great to work with during my time in inpatient psychiatry. I met him on the first week of my rotations and I found it incredibly helpful that he defined expectations and had great suggestions on interviewing patients. I appreciated that he let me take the lead on many interviews. I immensely liked that he clearly defined his expectations from the beginning and was always available when I had questions. He was cognizant of my shelf exam and provided me with resources that he found to be helpful during his medical school years, which is not something that residents often do. He is caring and compassionate, and certainly a great mentor to have.”

Elective

• Dr. Nikesh Patel, Musculoskeletal Radiology - “Excellent attending to learn and work with. Appreciate his patience with going through anatomy and reinforcing concepts. Provided great resources for self-study and future reference. Very open to suggestions from the student and willing to tailor sessions to student interests.”
• Dr. Kelley Whitmer, Musculoskeletal Radiology - “Excellent attending to learn and work with. Appreciate the hand-drawn diagrams in reinforcing and explaining key MSK concepts. Was very enthusiastic about the learner's interests.”

Clerkship

• Dr. Khursheed Imam - “Dr. Imam is really great! He took the time to simplify the foundations of MRI for me and MSK.”
• Dr. David Keyes - “Dr. Keyes is great! He took the time to go back and review neuro CT and MRIs before we read different cases. I could tell he wants me to learn and understand the basics.”

Elective

• Dr. Yaohua Lu, Pain Management-Outpatient - “I had a great experience learning from Dr. Lu during my time in pain management. Dr. Lu's flexibility and rapid response in making up lost rotation days due to a family passing was very much appreciated!”
  
• Dr. Andrea Olson, Anesthesia - “Helpful feedback, great patient interaction skills that I'd like to emulate/learn from, lots of opportunity to participate.”

Clerkship

• Dr. Katie Love-Bower - “Great attending - willing to teach, looks out for medical students, kind, and respectful.”
• Dr. Derek Schaap - “Dr. Schaap had the best bedside manner of anyone I worked with on this rotation. He took the time to answer all of the questions patients had, relay information in understandable terms, and really get on the patients level. He was also a willing teacher.”

Elective

• Dr. Cynthia Morrow, Health Systems Science Policy In Action - “Dr. Morrow is literally the best person I know.”

Elective

• Dr. Joanne Greenawald, Medical Education - “Although I did not work directly with Dr. Greenawald, this elective overall was an enjoyable experience and one that I would do again if given the opportunity. She established clear expectations for me from the first day and made an effort to meet with me at the end of my rotation. She is open to receiving feedback and making changes to improve the elective for future students.”
• Dr. Gary Simonds, Surviving A Malpractice Lawsuit - “It was great working with Dr. Simonds. He provided invaluable insight into the nature of medical malpractice and I'm confident I've walked away from this course better prepared to handle a malpractice suit in my career. I appreciate that the course was based on group discussions and challenged me to critically think about various aspects of medical malpractice.”