January 2025 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.
January 2025 Clerkship Submissions
Emergency Medicine
- (Resident) Kaylin Ryan, DO – Dr. Ryan was a fantastic resident to work with and embodied qualities that I hope to also emulate. She went above and beyond to include me in teaching opportunities and showed me the workflow/pace of the ER in a very manageable way. I really appreciated her feedback. She helped me to learn how to present in the ED setting and be efficient while thorough and prepared. She also had excellent bedside manner, checked in frequently on her patients, and was dedicated to providing quality care. She was personable and interacted well with the clinical team and staff, definitely a resident that I would love to work with again!
- (Attending) Richard Dykstra, MD – Dr. Rick Dykstra significantly impacted my learning experience through his exceptional teaching style and genuine approachability. He has a unique ability to connect with students, making the educational environment welcoming and engaging. Dr. Dykstra always tailored his teaching by selecting cases that aligned with our interests and specialty choices. This relevance made the material not only more engaging but also allowed us to see the direct application of our learning in our future careers. One of the standout aspects of Dr. Dykstra's teaching was the emphasis on hands-on opportunities. He provided us with practical experience in suturing and ultrasound, which are crucial skills in our field. His guidance during these sessions was invaluable, as he ensured we practiced techniques until we felt confident in our abilities. The feedback he provided was constructive and insightful, pushing me to think critically about my performance and understand areas for improvement. This respectful approach not only challenged me but also encouraged me to strive for excellence.
- (Attending) Rachelle Dykstra, MD – Dr. Rachelle Dykstra was an incredibly engaging, intentional, and supportive attending. She took time to integrate EBM teaching into patients' care plans and even sent our team an article after the shift!
Family and Community Medicine
- (Attending) Kent Harris, MD – Kent Harris was amazing! He provided a fantastic learning environment and made the student feel comfortable. Set expectations from the very beginning. Allowed the student to set the tone for what they wanted out of this learning experience. Provided constructive feedback without requiring prompting. Gave student autonomy while also providing great teaching points. He was enthusiastic about student's learning and encouraging throughout the whole rotation. Highly recommend every student to work with him!
- (Attending) Taylor Dayton, MD – Dr. Dayton was an excellent preceptor. She was very invested in my learning and always sought out teaching opportunities with patient cases. She did a great job tailoring my experience to my particular interests when possible. She was encouraging and supportive while still challenging me to improve my clinical skills.
- (Attending) Oluyemisi Solomon, MD – Dr. Solomon pushed me to make clinical judgements and a plan and present it to the patient which I much appreciated.
Internal Medicine
- (Resident) Luke Durbin, MD – Dr. Durbin was an excellent model of what a senior resident on a team can/should do in terms of supporting the team and ensuring nothing is forgotten, and I will have him in mind in the future when I am in that role.
- (Attending) William England, MD – His almost omniscient awareness of all our patients at all times, his wide knowledge base and ability to share it with others, and his active interprofessional collaboration are things I was impressed by and will seek to emulate myself going forward.
Neurology
- (Resident) Kenneth Viar, MD – Dr. Viar did a fantastic job of creating a welcoming and encouraging environment for learners. He was always available to provide feedback, help and encouragement. He also had great bedside manner and approached patients with compassion, kindness and patience. He will make a fantastic attending one day!
- (Resident) Stephen Capone, MD – Dr. Capone treats medical students as equal, which was refreshing and encouraging. He never made you feel silly when you had a question and he always answered it straightforward. He challenged us to come up with dx and tx plans, and he allowed us to take point in the care team. Under Dr. Capone's supervision, I truly felt I could become a capable physician. He is the resident I want to be when I grow up.
OB-GYN
- (Resident) Payden White, MD – Dr. White was truly the best resident/physician overall I have worked with so far. She was engaged, asked and answered questions, gave clear and actionable feedback, and treated other residents well. She was immensely patient with learners and provided hands on training in the OR.
Pediatrics
- (Resident) Nasreen Ahmed, MBBS – Nasreen Ahmed was a phenomenal resident, she was always available to help me. She has a great depth of pediatric knowledge and was able to explain various pathologies to students. She was also really kind and a good spirit to be around as a team member. She cared deeply for her patients, she was organized and was always so passionate about the patient's care.
Psychiatry & Behavioral Medicine
- (Resident) Rachel Martin, MD – Dr. Martin was a strong, positive influence during this rotation. She regularly offered advice not just on psychiatry but on residency as a whole. She was a great sounding board and advocate for students. She will be an excellent attending doctor.
- (Attending) Kye Kim, MD – Dr. Kim was extremely sweet and made an effort to provide meaningful teaching at the beginning of each shift. He was kind enough to share unique resources with me including a booklet he had authored. I felt like I had a very good grasp of geriatric psych after my time with him.
Radiology
- (Attending) Kelley Whitmer, MD – Dr. Whitmer was an excellent teacher. He showed that he cared about us as learners and took the time to explain cases to us. I really appreciated his interest in preparing us for the Hot Seat exam and provided us with relevant feedback to work on prior to Friday/s exam. An extremely kind and positive person. Treats students as colleagues and is committed to lifelong learning/support for his students.
- (Attending) David Keyes, MD – A fantastic teacher and extremely knowledgeable about neuroanatomy/radiology. Truly committed to lifelong learning and inspires students to do the same by giving helpful advice to be great within their field.
Surgery
- (Attending) Benjamin Cragun, MD – I think Dr. Cragun is excellent as a teacher and a human being. He is super funny and a great advocate for patients. He teaches students a lot and gets the whole team involved on the learning.