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.
February 2026 Clerkship 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.
Emergency Medicine
- (Resident) Azraa Ayesha, MD – “perfected creating a welcome environment for medical students. Possessed an infectious, positive energy and really made learning fun.”
- (Resident) Seth Pekoe, DO – “his commitment to teaching was built on a safe space to learn together, rather than focusing on testing his medical students. Should serve as an example to other residents across the institution on how to provide both compassionate care, while emphasizing medical education.”
- (Attending) Kimberly L. Abel, MD – “is a phenomenal attending who emphasized the humanism in medicine through both her interactions with patients and attendings. She created a welcoming and inclusive environment that was focused on patient care with a medical education emphasis. She also encouraged me to get to know my patients beyond pathology so that I could practice the art of medicine.”
Family and Community Medicine
- NA
Internal Medicine
- (Resident in Neurology) Michael (Alec) Klemm, MD – “was an amazing teacher. He supports his teammates in any way he can, and consistently demonstrates patience while teaching. He is extremely kind to his patients, and is an excellent role model for his team in many ways.”
- (Attending) Rebecca R. Pauly, MD – “was an excellent attending. She took the time to explain complex processes and worked to make rounding as educational as possible.”
Neurology
- NA
OB-GYN
- (Resident) Melani Cargle, MD, MBA – “phenomenal resident. She made me feel like a valued member of the team and took time out of her day to give excellent career advice as well as ongoing feedback in a professional and extremely helpful manner. I am excited to see what she does next and wish her the best with fellowships!!”
- (Resident) Teresa Prinster, MD – “phenomenal resident. She made me feel like a valued member of the team and took time out of her day to give excellent career advice as well as ongoing feedback in a professional and extremely helpful manner. I am excited to see what she does next and wish her the best with fellowships!!”
- (Resident) Bridget Harkins, DO – “continuously went out of her way for me during my rotation. She also took interest in me as a person when I was having a hard time, and extended kindness and empathy toward me that I have not often seen from residents. Overall appreciated her very much and her efforts in making my learning experience as good as possible.”
- (Attending) James Casey, MD – “was patient and kind while coaching me through closing a port site in the umbilicus, was encouraging throughout the process, and made sure I felt included in the OR throughout the case by letting me perform parts of the procedure. It was truly a unique experience and I appreciated his efforts so much.”
Pediatrics
- (Resident in Family Medicine) Lauren (LB) Canary, MD – “was absolutely fabulous. She went above and beyond to provide teaching opportunities, support, and feedback. She frequently asked for feedback as well. She made me feel so welcomed onto the team. She gave us so many opportunities to learn or to go the extra mile if that's what we wanted to do. She was always approachable and helpful, even when we had some very busy days. She gave us so many clinical pearls or would point out things that would be pertinent for exams or just clinical practice in general. I feel that I grew so much during my inpatient weeks working with her and so much of that was the fact that she gave the opportunity to go the extra mile while also ensuring that we knew there was support if we needed it. Had she not been the senior on my team, I may not have taken as much initiative because I may not have known HOW to do so, as sometimes even when you ask, residents find it easier/quicker to do things themselves, however Dr. Canary was always excited and encouraging when we asked for more.”
- (Attending) Jonathon Freezer, MD, MNS – “is a phenomenal teacher and an amazingly compassionate physician. He understands that equitable healthcare requires that we educate our patients on what they can do to avoid becoming sick in the future. He is friendly, enthusiastic, and generous with his time.”
Psychiatry & Behavioral Medicine
- (Resident) Justin Goolcharan, MD – “positively influenced my time on my psychiatry rotation. He was an amazing teacher who took the time to provide relevant learning points during and after our AM rounds. He created a warm and engaging environment for learning and was always supportive and open to educating.”
Radiology
- NA
Surgery
- NA