Learners in the Carver College of Medicine are invited to provide examples of effective teaching at the end of each rotation. Read what our trainees recently had to say about Internal Medicine educators below. Three were submitted in June, at the end of the previous academic year, which is noted parenthetically, and their rank at the time of the feedback is also noted. Read previous submissions.
Joshua Denk, MD, Third Year Resident, Internal Medicine (AY 2022-23)
Submitted by Mao Ye
While I was on rotation with him for a week, he took time to sit down and teach us every day. Any time we had a question, he would respond to us right away. Thank you for your teaching, Josh!
Alex Cuskey, MD, Second Year Resident, Internal Medicine (AY 2022-23)
Submitted by Jack Ohringer
Dr. Cuskey was a phenomenal teacher who always took time out of his busy days on 6-RC to teach our team of 4 students. The way that he would light up when discussing cardiology cases really helped me engage as a learner. My favorite topic that we discussed was left heart catheterization. Dr. Cuskey really made the procedure come to life while walking us through real life patient examples.
Submitted by Drew Voigt:
Alex was the senior resident while on my internal medicine sub-internship, and I worked directly with him for a month. Alex consistently went above and beyond to teach me (and other medical students on the service) concepts spanning basic physiology to how to be a team player in residency. His positive, energetic approach (while on a very difficult service) made it a joy to come to the workroom each morning. He made great efforts to involve students while on rounds and developed a teaching curriculum for us each day based on patient cases. I had one particularly challenging day on my sub-intership where I experienced a poor patient outcome. That night, Alex stayed late with me and helped me finish my work, and when we were done, he offered to drive me home and debrief how he dealt with unexpected patient outcomes during residency. He truly went above and beyond as a senior resident; I feel better prepared to tackle residency after working with him. In summary, Alex is an excited, energetic resident who constantly advocates for his juniors, colleagues, and patients. I am excited to recognize his excellence in teaching!
Andrew Bryant, MD, Clinical Associate Professor, Division of General Internal Medicine
Submitted by Emma Hartness
Dr. Bryant took time every afternoon to provide interactive teaching to students and generously explained clinical concepts during this time. He (along with our residents) included students as part of the team, even on the busiest days. Thank you!
Truman Nguyen, MD, Second Year Resident, Internal Medicine (AY 2022-23)
Submitted by Aparna S. Ajjarapu
Dr. Nguyen was an encouraging and enthusiastic teacher throughout my rotation in internal medicine. He advocated for learning opportunities for medical students and his optimistic and positive attitude throughout the rotation was very appreciated and made learning fun! He challenged students to think independently and critically. Even though the rotation was busy, he always made time to provide thoughtful and meaningful feedback that was very helpful. He created a safe and non-judgmental learning environment by always encouraging questions and was passionate about teaching. He explained complex concepts in a straightforward and concise manner and always provided real world examples that provided nuance to his explanations. As the senior resident on the team, he role modeled what it means to be a compassionate and evidence-based physician through his excellent and empathetic bedside manner with patients during a stressful and uncertain time.
Michael Shlossman, MD, Third Year Resident, Internal Medicine
Submitted by Tim Davie, M4
I worked with Dr. Shlossman during my MICU rotation. He was always willing to teach students something new, even when the service was quite busy. I learned so much about how to better care and advocate for patients just by observing his interactions with patients and family. I was impressed by his dedication to achieving the most compassionate outcome for patients by raising necessary questions about how to improve our therapeutic approaches. Thanks, Dr. Shlossman!
Jon Day, MD, Fourth Year Resident, Internal Medicine
Submitted by Erik Davis
Spends time each day drafting up a chalk talk for the students. Always willing to stop and teach on rounds. Always checked in on his students and never made us feel uncomfortable if we didn’t understand a topic. Dr. Day was phenomenal!
Hilary Mosher, MD, Clinical Professor, Division of General Internal Medicine
Submitted by Kendall Cornick
Dr. Mosher provided many moments of teaching regarding medicine, disease processes, and various lab abnormalities, but what stood out more was how effective she was at teaching and guiding learners through patient communication, motivational interviewing, and difficult conversations. She taught through example, as we stood behind her observing a powerful conversation with a patient facing a poor prognosis. She taught by providing us many opportunities to practice, with empowerment offered beforehand and an out, if ever needed. Through this, I was able to take my skills to the next level in patient communication, a task that was uncomfortable but necessary for me at this level in my training. She taught through conversation, always finding something to learn from as we walked from patient room to patient room. She was a prime example of prioritizing the humanism in medicine, and I am so fortunate I was able to spend time with her on my clinical rotations.
Hunter Frederiksen, MD, Second Year Residentm Internal Medicine
Submitted by Rishi Patel
Dr. Frederiksen was an exception teacher as my senior resident at the VA. He gave us a very useful lecture on the different views of heart ultrasound. Not only did he explain to us the different views and what each was useful for, but he also explained to us the physics behind ultrasound imaging to give us a deeper understanding of the technique. He encouraged us to be very hands on with the rotation. Whenever we were on team rounds, he would have the medical students lead the discussion with the patients and explain the plan for the day. Furthermore, he arranged for us to observe a procedure in the cath lab with one of the electrophysiologists. As medical students, it is rare to get such an opportunity and I greatly appreciate Dr. Frederiksen for arranging this for us. He was the best resident I have ever worked with. I hope I can emulate his example when I am a resident.