September 2024 Exceptional Teachers
We are interested in collecting your stories about faculty members, residents, nurses, or anyone else, who have impacted or influenced you in a significant way. Please tell us about what those teachers did that resulted in an exceptional educational experience and how it changed you.
This Month's Submissions
Below are the exceptional teacher recognitions shared with the Learning Environment Advocacy Committee this rotation. Thank you to these faculty for providing a great experience for our students.
September 2024 Submissions
Emergency Medicine
- NA
Family and Community Medicine
- (Attending) Paige R. Charboneau, MD – I really appreciated Dr. Charboneau's teaching style and approach. She went out of her way to not only to talk about clinical sciences but also her day-to-day life as a physician and what someone going to go into Family Medicine could expect their life to look like.
- (Attending) Adam M. Tate, MD – Dr. Tate is an amazing person, teacher, and physician. I aspire to have the great relationships he has with his patients. He constantly challenged my knowledge base and taught me important clinical topics.
- (Attending) Christopher D. Olsen, DO – Dr. Olsen has been an exceptional mentor throughout my time working with him. His dedication to teaching and patient care has made a significant impact on my learning experience. Dr. Olsen consistently went above and beyond to ensure I understood complex concepts by taking the time to answer questions thoroughly and review practice questions with me. Moreover, Dr. Olsen actively encouraged my involvement in patient care, offering numerous opportunities for hands-on experience. This not only enhanced my practical skills but also increased my confidence in working with patients. I really appreciate how invested he was in my education.
Internal Medicine
- (Resident) Rachael Sabra, MD – Dr. Rachael Sabra created a positive and supportive learning environment. She made sure I never felt like a burden to the team and took the time to teach me how to write proper notes, encouraging me to develop my own style. Her thoughtful touches, like including "Please see notes from 'Future Dr. ___,'" made me feel valued as part of the team. Her ability to inspire through feedback and creating that positive learning environment made me excited for every new day in internal medicine. She showed me how patient advocacy, while often difficult-especially with a high volume of patients-remains a crucial part of our responsibilities as physicians.
- (Resident) Ashton Mullens, DO – Dr. Ashton Mullens was exceptional in guiding me through the pathogenesis and clinical reasoning behind patient orders and note writing. Rather than simply dictating what I should include, she encouraged brainstorming sessions where we would discuss and organize my thoughts together. She consistently allowed me to lead patient interviews and offered insightful feedback on areas for improvement. Even during busy times, she never made me feel bad for seeking help, which greatly strengthened my note writing skills.
- (Resident) Kainuo Wu, MD – Dr. Kainuo Wu played a crucial role in enhancing my interviewing and presentation skills. He taught me to approach presentations as if I were "selling my diagnosis," helping me to better structure and convey my thoughts to the attending. He also emphasized the importance of efficiency in patient interviews, focusing on asking targeted questions to narrow down differentials. His guidance was key to my growth in both presenting and interviewing.
Neurology
- (Resident) Kenneth Viar, MD – Dr. Kenneth Viar significantly impacted my neurology rotation by creating a rigorous yet supportive learning environment. He challenged me with complex cases, guiding me through clinical reasoning and encouraging deep understanding rather than providing answers. His mentorship strengthened my neuroanatomy knowledge and instilled in me the importance of critical thinking and compassionate care in medicine.
OB-GYN
- (Resident) Zoe Henkes, MD – Dr. Zoe Henkes is an extremely kind and friendly person to work with! She always made me feel like a member of the team and also provided resources to help us prepare for gynecological surgery anatomy prior to seeing the cases. She is a great teacher and always mindful of student involvement. I greatly appreciated working with her throughout my rotation!
- (Resident) Lauren Hennis, MD – Dr. Hennis created a positive environment and set such clear expectations for me as a student, which took away any of the uncomfortable guess work that normally comes with not knowing how to be useful as a med student. She was very explicit and helpful in her directions and ensured she was available for any questions. I think she should be a model to other residents for how to ensure med students understand their role in the clerkship. Dr. Hennis consistently connected clinical concepts with basic science and anatomy in a way that really helped me integrate my knowledge.
- (Attending) Amanda B. Murchison, MD / Lauren E. Nelson, MD / Ryan M. Bradley, MD – Drs. Murchison, Nelson and Bradley are a phenomenal group of attendings! I always felt like I was a member of the team and they always encouraged hands-on learning for students to be engaged as much as possible. I was always excited to be on service to work with these attendings and they are all role model physicians I hope to emulate someday.
- (Attending) Sarah K. L. Evans, MD / William Jerod Greer, MD / Natalie E. Karp, MD - I loved my urogynecology experience! These 3 attendings did an awesome job of integrating students into their busy practices, taking the time to teach, and having students involved with a lot of hands-on clinical experiences.
Pediatrics
- (Attending) Farahaba R. Lakhdir, MBBS – Dr. Lakhdir was great to work with. I learned a lot about her excellent bedside manner and her compassionate treatment of patients and staff.
- (Resident) Wesley Meredith, DO – Dr. Meredith was extremely supportive and helpful throughout the rotation. He never hesitated to answer my questions or help me when I needed it. He always had a smile on his face.
- (Resident) Brooke Jensen, MD – Dr. Jensen did a great job challenging me by continuously fostering discussion of various topics. She was great at describing concepts
- (Resident) Carolyn Sayers, DO – Dr. Carolyn Sayers was very enthusiastic about teaching, and she was great at asking many questions to spark discussion and learning.
Psychiatry & Behavioral Medicine
- (Resident) Thomas Kaiser, DO – Dr. Tom Kaiser was a phenomenal asset to my education this block. Whenever it came time for clinical decision making, he asked me to walk him through what I would do and then walked me through his rationale. He sought out opportunities to teach, and gave me patients that he thought would be beneficial to my education. Most importantly, he continuously went out of his way to make me feel like an important part of the team.
- (Resident) Jay Vora, DO – Dr. Jay Vora is very knowledgeable but also has humility. He made students feel very involved and gave them ample opportunity to ask questions and practice their clinical skills.
- (Attending) John E. Vance, MD and Michael P. Greenage, DO – Dr. Greenage and Dr. Vance both actively included me in patient care. They trusted me to be a responsible student and gave me tasks appropriate for my medical gestational age. I was given the opportunity to discuss my thoughts with the attendings regarding patient care, and I was given timely feedback.
- (Attending) Justin B. White, MD – Dr. White truly puts students at the forefront, and it permeates to the other team members. He gives great explanations, provides feedback without requiring prompting, gives ample opportunity for questions, and really helps students build their clinical skills.
- (Attending) Ehsan Samarbafzadeh, MD – Dr. Sam is wonderful to work with and loves to teach. He not only answers and explains questions but also provides extra material that provides evidence for the way he practices clinically. He has great intellectual humility which prompted many sessions where both he and the student dug into other resources to learn more. He made the student feel welcome to the team and allowed plenty of opportunities for the student to ask questions.
Radiology
- NA
Surgery
- (Resident) Rebecca Gates, MD – Despite the mountain of responsibilities she has to manage, Dr. Gates exemplified the role of the ideal physician and educator. She was kind and patient with her medical student, constantly trying to make sure I felt included or could participate in the case or patient care in some fashion. Whenever possible, she made time to teach. Dr. Gates had a massive impact on my surgery rotation, and I genuinely appreciate the effort she put in and hope she receives commendation for it.