June 2026 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.
June 2026 Clerkship Submissions
Emergency Medicine
- (Resident) Terrance Brown, DO – “Terrance "Devin" Brown is a definite stand out resident. I love the energy he brings when leading traumas. I even remember him from when I was on my surgery rotation. He brings great enthusiasm to teaching EM and finding opportunities for students to see both high yield and rare things. Probably one of the best residents I've worked with in my entire M3 year.”
- (Attending) Melanie Prusakowski, MD – “Dr. Prusakowski was phenomenal. She taught at a high level, commanded respect, and gave precise criticism/feedback. I felt like I had to work hard to earn her respect and confidence, but she noticed my efforts and rewarded that growth with positive feedback, applauding each improvement.”
Family and Community Medicine
- (Attending) Katherine Harris, DO – “Dr. Harris was my favorite attending to work with. During patient encounters, she gave me the opportunity to take the lead by sitting at the computer and guiding the visit while she supported the interaction. This helped me feel more confident and involved in patient care. I was also able to gain hands-on experience, such as removing a skin tag, and further develop my presentation skills in front of patients. She also took the time to ask about my interests outside of medicine and our shared connection to Virginia Tech, which made the environment feel more comfortable and less intimidating. This allowed me to learn with positive reinforcement, which was especially valuable during my first rotation.”
- (Attending) Christopher Olsen, DO – “Dr. Olsen positively influenced my learning by creating a supportive environment. He provided good feedback on my presentations and overall performance, allowed me to participate in procedures as opportunities arose (ie. cryotherapy, injections) and provided teaching moments/opportunities to ask questions after each case.”
- (Attending) Adam Tate, MD – “I thought Dr. Tate was an excellent preceptor and teacher. I closely worked with him and would recommend him as a preceptor to anyone. He uses the Socratic method in a kind and 'teaching point' sort of way, and was wonderful to chat with on things within and outside of medicine. While in med school, I find that I sometimes know the complicated treatment algorithms but never stop to think WHY, at the fundamental level, things are the way they are. He really makes sure the pathophysiology is clear behind everything in medicine. And I thought that was awesome.”
Internal Medicine
- (Resident) Konrad Cios, MD – “Dr. Cios, a first-year resident, provided me with the most impactful learning experience thus far. He came up with the idea for record ourselves giving a live patient presentation on rounds and then go through it together sentence by sentence during later downtime. While this could have been very vulnerable, Dr. Cios was non-judgmental and tried to help us grow as future physicians. Specifically, we worked on improving the assessment and plan section and how to better organize/phrase what I am trying to communicate.”
- (Resident) Michael Klingener, MD – “Michael Klingener was very good about giving opportunities to learn and grow by asking what next steps and plans were and things to think about before and after we saw patients. He was also helpful in showing good resources and ways to find important trials that guide our clinical decision making. He would also take the time to go over notes and give feedback and recommendations on how to rephrase parts to make it more clear and concise.”
- (Resident) Quentin Palmer, DO – “Quentin Palmer was the best resident I've had throughout clerkships. He took time around lunch every day to look over our notes and point out specific areas that needed to be changed as well as sections he thought were good and helped describe the clinical picture/progress. This was instrumental in my growth over the clerkship.”
Neurology
- (Resident) Dildra Williams, MD – “Dr. Dildra Williams went above and beyond to help me in this rotation and give me space to grow as a student. I really found her supportive nature, trust in my clinical reasoning, and positive feedback to be some of the most encouraging parts of my clinical experiences so far. She even wrote a lovely, encouraging message to me about my performance on our week together in general neurology after I finished this rotation. Hers was the most thoughtful and individualized feedback that I have ever received as a medical student. On the day-to-day, she listened to my ideas, assessments, and plans with open mind and gave me a chance to excel and take full ownership of my patients. I was so grateful for her mentorship and feel more motivated in the hospital generally thanks to her. Thanks for giving me the confidence to take a step forward and really start behaving and thinking like a physician!”
OB-GYN
- (Resident) Teresa Prinster, MD – “Dr. Prinster goes above and beyond to teach and push students. After a nebulous GYN consult, she helped me practice presentation several times before presenting to the attending, and she was always there to teach and coach.”
- (Resident) Falen Yohannes, DO – “Dr. Falen Yohannes gave great feedback on note writing - the way she framed the assessment portion as a list of barriers to discharge for inpatients was extremely helpful. It was the most clear and actionable feedback I got the whole rotation, and I think it stepped up the assessment/plan portion of my notes significantly. She more than any other attending/resident really embraced the teaching aspect of the OR, and I learned a lot from working with her. After the time I spent with her on GYN, I felt much more confident in the OR going forward.”
Pediatrics
- (Resident) Rebecca King, MD – “Rebecca King was the best resident I have had on clerkship so far! She was excited to teach and always willing to offer feedback or advice on how to improve. She's extremely knowledgeable and student-centered.”
- (Attending) Kathy Amoroso, MD – “Dr. Amoroso is a wonderful teacher and took the time to explain many different concepts to me. She creates a safe learning environment and was very enjoyable to work with. I learned so much from watching her interactions with patients and families. During my time with her there was a positive team dynamic even with a lot of moving parts going on in the busy clinic.”
Psychiatry & Behavioral Medicine
- (Attending) Hajra Ahmad, MD – “I greatly enjoyed my time learning with Dr. Hajra Ahmad. She is a great teacher and psychiatrist. Being able to observe her workflow taught me so much about how to properly conduct a psychiatric interview in a variety of settings in both adult and pediatric patients. I also appreciated the independence she gave me to learn and constructive feedback on my interview and notes. Her trust in my abilities as a learner made me trust myself.”
Radiology
- N/A
Surgery
- (Resident) Rebecca Gates, MD – “Dr. Gates made me a better medical student. She would regularly question me during and after my morning rounds/SOAP which forced me to think about the what/why/how of medical decision making in the moment. Specific example of hiccupping as the first early signs of ileus. She gave helpful feedback for this rotation and future ones. I am so grateful I was on service with her!
- (Attending) Kristin McCoy, MD – “Dr. Kristin McCoy had a particularly positive influence on my learning during this clerkship. She consistently created a supportive and engaging learning environment while still maintaining high expectations for students. In the OR, her teaching style was thoughtful and clinically relevant, particularly through Socratic-style questioning that encouraged active thinking without making students feel intimidated. She was exceptionally approachable and receptive to student concerns and feedback, which made it easy to seek guidance and feel supported throughout the rotation.”
- (Attending) Sharon Williams, MD – “Dr. Sharon Williams is an incredible teacher and I appreciated her patience. When time allowed, she took the time to teach me step by step how to do different suturing techniques and get me involved as much as possible. It massively improved my actual technical skills in a way that I will remember! And while she was particular it never felt excessive – just that she cares about her patients and that comes through in how quality her work is with her expectations of herself and learners.”