Faculty Honored with Dean's Teaching Awards

The Dean's Teaching Awards honor outstanding contributions to student education in medical school programs. Awardees are selected by a committee of faculty members previously honored for their

excellence in teaching, making the awards the medical school's only peer-selected teaching awards.

Criteria include:

• Excellence in education, including teaching technology, evaluation methods, administrative efforts
• Extraordinary and sustained dedication and effort on behalf of student education
• Demonstrated high level of teaching effectiveness
• Innovation in education

The following faculty members were given Dean's Teaching Awards at Medical Education Day last spring.

Yolanda Tai Becker, MD

As director of the surgery clerkship, Becker, associate professor of surgery in the organ transplantation division, has elevated a strong clinical rotation to a far superior rotation. As co-leader of the Y3/4 curriculum, she has been instrumental in leading curricular innovations, including the Transitional Clerkship that introduces third-year medical students to life on the wards. Becker also is a highly valued group leader in the Patient, Doctor and Society course.

Robert H. Fillingame, PhD

Professor and chair of biomolecular chemistry, Fillingame used creative thinking to transition traditional laboratory experiences into interactive problem-based sessions to use Health Sciences Learning Center facilities to their fullest. He was a key player in the difficult task of designing, from scratch, these computer-based active learning and problem-based exercises. As chair of Biomolecular Chemistry 704 for the last 13 years, Fillingame has exhibited incredibly strong leadership by example.

Terrence Frick, MD

Frick, associate professor of medicine in the Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, led the redevelopment of the second-year medical student GI/Hepatic Pathophysiology course. This included a complete revision of the course book to emphasize clarity of presentation, reduction in redundant materials and encouragement of self-study through small group seminars. He prides himself on delivering 50 percent of the lectures himself.

Michael Fritsch, MD, PhD

Associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, Fritsch is course director of the second-year core pathology course. After he overhauled the course, it is now one of the most well received and respected of the basic science courses. He rewrote and edited all the handout course materials, converted the laboratory from use of glass slides to virtual microscopy, and improved the clinical-pathologic-correlation material for small group discussions.

Kevin M. McKown, MD

McKown, associate professor of medicine and co-director of the rheumatology section, is co-director of the third-year Internal Medicine Clerkship and fourth-year sub-internship. He has added considerable structure, stability and effectiveness to the clerkship program while interacting with his students and expressing genuine concern for their well-being and overall education. He also is highly praised as program director of the Rheumatology Fellowship program.

This article appears in the fall 2008 issue of Quarterly.