The annual GME Teaching awards were presented at the recent Leadership Symposium, and Internal Medicine members members made an excellent showing.

Douglas Hornick, MD, Clinical Professor in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Occupational Medicine, received the Excellence in Clinical Coaching award for, according to the award’s description, “passionately apply(ing) enthusiasm for teaching excellence in clinical venues.” In their nomination of Dr. Hornick for this award, recommenders said the following:

“Doug Hornick is an exemplar of the UIHC teaching tradition; he always found time to teach.”

“He has an incredibly deep knowledge of pulmonary medicine, but in tandem with this is his wonderful ability to impart that knowledge. He does so with patience, humor and humility.”

“All I can say is that he is an amazing teacher and an inspiration to all of us. He is someone who makes learning fun.”

“In addition to his clinical skills and leadership, what sets Doug apart from many others is his seemingly bottomless pit of patience, goodwill, optimism, and humility. These traits are what endear trainees to him.”

The Excellence in Interprofessional Education & Practice award went to Rhonda Fruhling, ARNP, PA/ARNP/NNP Supervisor in Internal Medicine. This award recognizes “non-physician health care team members for their outstanding performance.” In their nomination of Ms. Fruhling for this award, recommenders said the following:

“Rhonda Fruhling is instrumental in teaching us how to manage patients on insulin pumps. At the beginning of every fellowship year, she gives each fellow an insulin pump to wear for a few days. This hands-on training was essential to my understanding.”

“She patiently teaches and monitors our work as we care for diabetic women during their pregnancy, aiming for very tight glucose control to avoid complications.”

“She is always available to answer our questions and consistently addresses our knowledge gaps.”

“She has the ability to simplify complicated concepts, provides relevant literature and reading materials, and encourages autonomy with managing these patients.”

“She truly does a wonderful job taking care of patients as well as sharing her knowledge and skill with others.”

“For the last decade, she has acted as the lead teacher of diabetes care during pregnancy and postpartum to endocrinology fellows, Maternal-Fetal Medicine fellows, and numerous OB residents.”

Dr. Joseph Szot, Clinical Professor in Internal Medicine, received the Leadership Impact Award, which recognizes members whose leadership roles “made significant contributions that advance graduate medical education” at a national level.

In addition to serving as Medical Director of Continuing Medical Education for UI Health Care, Vice-Chair for Education and Associate Residency Program Director in Iowa’s largest department, his national contributions include:

• 6 year service on Planning Committee for Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine, designing curriculum for two large national meetings each year
• 4 year Co-Director of Annual APDIM Chief Resident Course designing and leading all aspects of this high quality 2-day development course for over 800 chief residents
• Contributions as a workshop mentor to build skills of first-time presenters
• Leader of a very popular component of APDIM meetings entitled, “How Do They Do That,” where tough challenges in Internal Medicine education are addressed.

Some recommenders said the following of Dr. Szot:

“In addition to providing his thoughts on the latest trends in internal medicine training, Joe has taken leadership roles in various pre-courses, plenary sessions, and workshops at the APDIM national meetings.”

“The chief resident course is often for these young physicians the first insight into the mechanics of medical education, and is vitally important in shaping their future careers. Joe always focuses on the learners and does so with clarity and enthusiasm.”

“He brought vision, creativity and a responsiveness to member feedback to his work, raising the bar in typical humble fashion, giving credit to the speakers and other educators for their contributions.”

“Joe brings thoughtful focus on serving our members as educators to consider new ways to design engaging and fruitful learning opportunities.”

The GME Leadership Symposium also featured a poster session highlighting research in the realm of education, including projects conducted by Internal Medicine Chief Residents Drs. Sheena CarlLee and Amanda Grippen-Goddard, as well as Supportive and Palliative Care provider Dr. Yuya Hagiwara.