Champions of Clinical Learning Environment
As a continual acknowledgment of the work it takes to create a positive and professional learning environment, the Directors of Learning Environment announced 28 faculty members who have earned the title of 2023 Champions of the Clinical Learning Environment.
The McGovern Medical School faculty’s shared commitment to creating a challenging, yet compassionate, learning environment is reflected in the responses from McGovern students.
Champions of the Clinical Learning Environment are selected as having made a lasting impact on McGovern Medical School students during their third-year clerkship rotations through the creation of a professional and engaging learning environment.
Faculty receiving the award were selected after a thorough review of both the Learning Environment Surveys (LES) from Fall 2022 and Spring 2023. This survey asks third-year medical students to share the names of faculty who have made a positive impact on their learning environment during their clerkship rotations.
Students named hundred of faculty from various departments who epitomized what it means to be a caring and compassionate physician while also creating a safe, stimulating, and engaging learning environment. Three to four faculty members per clerkship were selected based on the number of responses they received from clerkship students.
Among the 2023 awardees, there were three faculty members who received high praise from students for their fourth consecutive year – receiving the Champions of the Clinical Learning Environment award for all four years since the award’s inception. These three faculty, Gabriel Aisenberg, MD, professor in the Department of Internal Medicine; Emma Omoruyi, MD, MPH, associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics; and Saleem Khan, MD, professor in the Department of Surgery; are acknowledged for their consistent, positive impact on learners, patients, and the clinical environment.
2023 awardees for the Champions of Clinical Learning Environment are:
Ahmed Abouseif, MD, assistant professor, OBGYN
Alyssa Adams, MD, assistant professor, Pediatrics
Gabriel Aisenberg, MD*, professor, Internal Medicine
Dean Atkinson, MD, associate professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Karthik Bhandari, MD, assistant professor, Internal Medicine
Kawal Bir, MD, assistant professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Melissa Christie, MD, assistant professor, Neurology
John Cowling, MD, assistant professor, Surgery
Jenny Duret-Uzodinma, MD, associate professor, OBGYN
Erin Furr-Stimming, MD, professor, Neurology
Dana Giza, MD, assistant professor, Internal Medicine
George Golod, MD, staff physician, Family and Community Medicine
Rukma Govindu, MD, associate professor, Internal Medicine
Amalia Guardiola, MD, assistant professor, Pediatrics
Rajesh Gupta, MD, MS, assistant professor, Neurology
David Hall, MD, associate professor, Surgery
Sara Holcombe, DO, associate professor, OBGYN
Todd Huzar, MD, associate professor, Surgery
Brandi Karnes, MD, assistant professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Saleem Khan, MD*, professor, Surgery
Ana Leech, MD, MS, associate professor, Internal Medicine
Vijaya Mallela, MBBS/MD, associate professor, Family and Community Medicine
Cristina Murdock, MD, assistant professor, Internal Medicine
Emma Omoruyi, MD, MPH*, associate professor, Pediatrics
Behrooz Saffari, MD, staff physician, Family and Community Medicine
Prajakta Yeragi, MD, assistant professor, Pediatrics
Elena Zamora, MD, MHA, assistant professor, Family and Community Medicine
Michael Zhu, MD, assistant professor, Internal Medicine
*Indicates awardees who have been recognized annually since 2020
This report was generated by directors of learning environment John Riggs, MD, MS, and Vineeth John, MD, MBA, and Abbey Bachman, PhD, MEd, assistant professor in the Office of Educational Programs.