Anderson and Tucker recognized for Exceptional Moments in Teaching
Alyssa Anderson, MD, faculty member, and Scott Tucker, MD, PhD, resident, were recognized through the “Exceptional Moments in Teaching” program for the month of June.
Dr. Anderson is an associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine.
“It is very easy to give people empty positive feedback. It is extremely difficult to give a person negative but constructive feedback. Halfway through the clerkship, Dr. Anderson sat me down and told me the specific ways in which I was falling short and gave me actionable ways to improve my performance,” said a student. “Because of her willingness to give negative feedback in a constructive manner, I was able to turn around my performance and change how I was preparing for both the day and each individual patient. I am grateful, not only because I was able to improve my performance in this specific clerkship, but able to take the skills she helped me learn to future clerkships as well.”
Dr. Anderson is a graduate of the College of Medicine and completed her family medicine residency at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health. For the past 11 years, she has practiced outpatient family medicine at Penn State Health Medical Group – Elizabethtown, where she is deeply involved in teaching and mentoring learners across the medical education continuum. Dr. Anderson also serves as co-director of the Family and Community Medicine Clerkship and has taught in the Foundations of Patient-Centered Care course for nearly a decade. Her clinical interests include women’s health and preventive medicine.
Outside of medicine, Dr. Anderson is a proud girl mom, wife and manager of the chaos that comes with busy family life. She believes the best outcomes, professionally and personally, come from leading with connection and compassion.
Dr. Tucker is a fifth-year orthopaedic surgery resident in the orthopaedics residency within the Department of Orthopaedics and Therapy Services.
“Dr. Tucker is hands down one of the best residents I have ever worked with,” one student said. “He is extremely patient and kind, and he genuinely cares about the well-being of his patients, colleagues and students. He provides thoughtful feedback and offers constructive suggestions for improvement. He creates opportunities for students to seek clarification on challenging concepts and empowers them to participate meaningfully as members of the healthcare team. He is simply wonderful.”
Dr. Tucker originally joined Penn State as an MD/PhD student and completed his PhD in mechanical engineering. He is on track to a career as a surgeon-scientist and is interested in using his engineering background toward biomedical device innovation. He will be attending fellowship at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, for foot and ankle surgery.
Penn State College of Medicine’s Office for a Respectful Learning Environment recognizes exceptional faculty, residents and fellows with the monthly “Exceptional Moments in Teaching” program. One faculty member and one resident/fellow are highlighted each month for their contributions. College of Medicine students are invited to submit narratives about faculty members, residents, nurses or any other educators who challenge them and provide an exceptional learning experience using the online nomination form.
The Office for a Respectful Learning Environment fosters an educational community at Penn State College of Medicine in which all learners and educators feel supported, challenged, valued and respected. It serves all learners at the College of Medicine: medical students, graduate students, physician assistant students, residents and fellows.
See previous faculty and resident/fellow honorees here.
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