Vineeth John, MD, professor and vice chair for education in the Louis A. Faillace, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, is one of four UTHealth Houston faculty inducted into the 2023 class of The University of Texas Kenneth I. Shine, MD, Academy of Health Science Education.
The award honors faculty for their teaching excellence and commitment to the enhancement of health science education. The honor is bestowed annually to outstanding faculty from across UT System’s academic institutions. The 2023 Class will be formally inducted with a ceremony on March 4.
John is professor and vice chair for education in the Louis A. Faillace, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He also serves as director of the geriatric psychiatry section and was appointed one of the directors of Clinical Learning Environment at the medical school in 2019.
“For the past decade, Dr. John has focused his educational endeavors on two pertinent themes: expertise development and creativity in health sciences curriculum,” said Jair C. Soares, MD, PhD, professor, chair, and Pat R. Rutherford Chair in Psychiatry at McGovern Medical School and vice president of behavioral sciences. “He is highly respected by his peers as he has been invited to present at grand rounds at various academic institutions. He is a generous mentor to many junior faculty members and is committed to inspiring especially those who feel a bit disillusioned traversing the labyrinth route to professional contentment in academic medicine.”
As the Residency Training Director for the Adult Psychiatry Residency Program at McGovern Medical School’s Faillace Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, John implemented several innovative challenges to the curriculum to help address the new AGGME Milestones requirements and developed a separate research track for psychiatry residents, allowing them to match specifically into this track and participate in research with a mentor matched to their interest.
John is actively involved in various educational initiatives directed toward enhancing expertise among psychiatry residents, which includes a major role in organizing residents’ participation in the annual MindGames competition hosted by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Teams from across the United States compete on a preliminary qualifying exam, and the top three teams advance to a live Jeopardy-style final round. The psychiatry residents supported by John won the APA MindGames competition in 2012, 2013, and 2022.
In May 2022, John was a visiting fellow at the Center for Academic Teaching at Utrecht University, Netherlands. John was one of the featured speakers for TEDx Houston 2012 where he spoke on dysfunctional styles of organizational leadership.
John received his medical degree at Christian Medical College in Vellore, India, in 1991 before completing a residency in psychiatry in 1998 at Tufts University in Boston. He also completed the MBA program at the University of Pittsburgh in 2003 and a fellowship in geriatric psychiatry in 2005 at the University of Miami.
He originally joined the faculty at McGovern Medical School in 2010 as an associate professor and residency training director through 2015. After serving as associate professor at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, John returned to Houston as a professor and vice chair for education in 2018.
Other UTHealth Houston faculty inducted into the 2023 class include Harold A. Henson, RDH, MEd, PhD, with the UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry; and Joseph McCormick, MD, MPH, and Shreela Sharma, PhD; from the UTHealth Houston School of Public Health.
The University of Texas Academy of Health Science Education was founded in 2005 and was renamed in honor of former UT System Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs Kenneth I. Shine, MD, when he retired. Members of the Shine Academy are recognized as outstanding scholars and leaders in education from across all the system’s science institutions.
The Shine Academy fosters excellence in education in the health sciences by recognition of outstanding educators and advancement of knowledge and innovation in the field of education.