Recognizing Teaching Excellence

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 had to say about Internal Medicine educators over the past year.

Ashten Sherman, MD, Resident
Submitted by Willow Cover

Ashten was a great example of how a resident can lead, educate, and empathize with medical students (and patients). She made it a point to explore the level of content comfortability we had with a topic to decide how deep we should discuss on rounds, which I appreciated for both its efficiency and specificity to each student’s needs. Her chalk talk style is so easy to follow, and I felt like I actually understood management of complex conditions/situations (COPD, ACLS, Hyponatremia, Hypercalcemia) after she discussed them in detail with our team. She also is very positive and affirmational, while also being level headed and calm. Ashten truly made my experience at VA enjoyable and I am so grateful for her leadership and education!

Krista Johnson, MD, MME, Clinical Professor, General Internal Medicine
Submitted by Willow Cover

Dr. Johnson is a wonderful mentor. She is warm and welcoming, which helps students to feel comfortable practicing the true extent of their skills and knowledge without fear of judgement. In her feedback, she is specific, thorough, and always follows opportunities for improvement with positives. I also appreciated her pre-clinic communication with expectations for transparency. It was also worthwhile for me to research discussed learning topics following each clinic day to ensure long-term retention and expanding my knowledge base. She has truly been one of the best preceptors I have worked with, and I hope to continue to cross paths with her in the future! Thank you for what you do!

Mohad Awan, MD, MPH, Resident
Submitted by Allie Nicolaus

Dr. Awan consistently demonstrated excellent teaching at the VA on inpatient Red team! He provided education DAILY on topics chosen by the medical students that were relevant to our patients on the floor. He was organized and engaging! He encouraged active learning with thoughtful questioning and by applying it to our patients! I am so glad I was able to work with him!! Amazing doctor and educator!

Alejandro Comellas, MD, Clinical Professor, Pulmonary, Critical Care and Occupational Medicine
Submitted by David Chang

Dr. Comellas spent an hour drawing out a diagram for interpreting spirometry results, and went through great detail on the physiology to help me understand the processes. He was patient and very good at teaching. I greatly appreciate the time we spent together. When he heard that I was interested in Pediatric Surgery, he led an interesting discussion on prematurity causing elevated rates of early onset COPD due to stunted lung developments, which I appreciated a lot.

Zach Bracken, MD, Resident
Submitted by Sarah Nacos

Took time to show me how to place orders, during down-time did chalk talks to help me better understand treatment plans for patients I was following. Allowed me to try documenting patients notes/discharge summaries before editing it himself.

Michihiko Goto, MD, MSCI, Associate Professor, Infectious Diseases
Submitted by Rachel Johnson

Takes time every shift to teach us a topic, is super open to answering questions!

Matthew Soltys, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Hospital Medicine
Submitted by Brian Young

Dr. Soltys ensured to include medical students and residents in teaching constantly. During rounds, he notes fun and interesting topics, and then tracks down white boards like a seasoned hunter to give engaging and inclusive chalk-talk style lectures. I always felt encouraged and included, met where I was at, and impressed by his knowledge and energy.

Dylan Miks, MD, Resident
Anonymous submission

Deliberately made time for teaching, including chalk talks and frequent discussions on topics both cardiology and otherwise. He was approachable, so I felt very encouraged to ask questions and received genuinely constructive feedback on my work.

Kevin Glenn, MD, MS, Clinical Professor, Hospital Medicine
Submitted by Lubin Deng

Dr. Glenn always made the most of our time together by teaching the students while walking between various units on rounds. His teaching style was very effective; he always asked us for our understanding first and then explained the concept to us. He also consistently made his teaching engaging and fun by using interesting examples and humor.

Milena A. Gebska, MD, PhD, MME, Clinical Professor, Cardiovascular Medicine
Submitted by Ryan Williams

Teaching topics related to specific patients
Giving tools to help lead students to the right answer, rather than just saying the answer
Showing examples (telemetry artifact, physical exam findings)
Her enthusiasm for teaching makes learning fun

Patrick Vosters, MD, Resident
Submitted by Elizabeth Martin

Dr. Vosters gave effective tips such as an overview of pre rounding and diuretics; his frameworks helped me approach these in a more structured way. He was always happy to answer any questions and to take the time to teach on any small topics that arose throughout the day.

Quinn Vatland, MD, Resident
Submitted by Maiti Peters