EdVenture 2019 celebrates, motivates College of Medicine educators
Dr. Nicholas Duca, director of the internal medicine clerkship at Penn State College of Medicine, knows that good educators are the key to success for both students and young faculty. His mentor, Dr. Susan Glod, was one of four College of Medicine teachers to receive the honor of 2018-2019 Distinguished Educator at EdVenture 2019.
“I consider her to be a great mentor and friend,” Duca said. “She’s very engaged in the mentorship process. If I have an idea, she helps connect me with the right people to make my projects happen.”
EdVenture is an annual celebration of teaching and learning at the College of Medicine. The event offers workshops for educators, a lecture from an influential educator and an awards ceremony to recognize the achievements of faculty, residents and students.
“Education is one of the guiding missions of the College of Medicine,” said Glod, the interim director of the Woodward Center for Excellence in Health Sciences Education, which hosted the event. “Great teaching is happening every day throughout the college, in our graduate school, medical school and physician assistant program.”
Dr. Gisoo Ghaffari, left, receives the 2019 Excellence in Career Mentoring Award from Sue Glod.
Educators from various programs at the College of Medicine gathered at EdVenture to celebrate victories, discuss challenges and inspire each other to continue in their instructional and curricular innovations.
“As a medical student, there’s a lot of information to learn and skills to be developed,” Duca said. “Educators like Sue are important because they can synthesize complex topics such as communication and present them in ways students understand.”
Workshops provided College of Medicine faculty with an opportunity to enhance and refine their skills as educators. For example, Dr. Justen Aprile’s workshop, entitled “Resident Autonomy: Teaching Towards Unsupervised Practice,” helped educators prepare residents for independent practice.
“Our patients are complex individuals with deep medical histories and chronic conditions,” Aprile said. “The ability to prepare learners to encounter complex patients and treat them effectively takes a good deal of preparation. Unless you have skilled educators willing to help learners transition to unsupervised practice, they won’t be ready for those interactions.”
Maryellen Weimer, a professor emerita of teaching and learning at Penn State Berks, gave the keynote lecture and workshop. She discussed evidence-based learning strategies and how educators can use them to promote independent learning among students. Her workshop, “Why is Teaching Hard to Improve?” identified obstacles educators face when trying to hone their instruction methods.
EdVenture is funded through a gift from the estate of Grace Woodward, a longtime friend of Penn State.
An awards ceremony at the conclusion of the day’s events honored the following faculty members:
2019 Distinguished Educator Awards:
- Alan Adelman, MD, MS
- Susan Glod, MD, MEd
- Alison Chetlen, DO
- Ronald Miller, MD
2019 Society of Distinguished Educators Junior Faculty Teaching Award:
- Adrian Zurca, MD
2019 Scholarship in Education Awards:
- Susan Glod, MD, MEd, FACP
- Ashley E. Kang, MD
- Margaret Wojnar, MD MEd, FCCM
- Nicholas Duca, MD
- Kristin K. Sznajder, PhD, MPH
- Benjamin Fredrick, MD
- Vinita J. Acharya, MD, FAES, FANA
- Jayant N. Acharya, MD, DM, FAES, FACNS-FAAN
- Alison L. Chetlen, DO, FSBI
- Jeanine Beatty-Chadha, MEd
- Elizabeth B. Werley, MD
Maryellen Weimer, professor emerita of teaching and learning at Penn State Berks, delivers the Woodward Lecture.
2019 Excellence in Career Mentoring Awards:
- Clinical Science Career Mentor Award – Gisoo Ghaffari, MD
- Clinical Science Master Career Mentor Award – Paul Haidet, MD, MPH
- Basic Science Master Career Mentor Award – Patricia McLaughlin, M., DEd
- Clinical Science Career Mentor Award – Brian Saunders, MD
2019 Resident Excellence in Teaching Awards:
- Angel-Diaz-Sanchez, MD
- Asfand Khan, MD
- Joseph Malone, MD
- Brianna Spencer, MD
- Joseph Watson, MD
- Joshua Winder, MD
- Jennifer Zatezalo, MD
2019 Student Educator Awards:
- Amarpreet Ahluwalia (MS IV)
- Taylor Friemel (Anatomy PhD candidate)
- Jaclyn Welles (Cellular and Molecular Physiology PhD Candidate)
2019 Dean’s Teaching Awards:
- Dmitri Bezinover, MD
- Arne Budde, MD
- Kunal Karamchandani, MD
- Conrad Myler, MD
- Wilson Po, MD
- George Lucian Moldovan, PhD
- Lisa Shantz, PhD
- Jennifer L. Booth, DVM, MS, DACLAM
- Joslyn Kirby, MD
- Todd Cartee, MD
- George Blackall, Psych D, MBA
- Mark Stephens, MD, MS
- Kathryn Kasmire, MD
- Ross Rodgers, MD
- Bettina Aprile, MD
- Anthony Dambro, MD
- Theodore Demetriou, DO
- Kristen Grine, DO
- Julie Radico, PsyD
- Amanda Nelson, PhD
- Ami DeWaters, MD, MSc
- Tonya Crook, MD
- Rayford June, MD
- Ronald Miller, MD
- Ed Lankford, MD, PhD
- Ariana Pichardo-Lowden, MD
- Nicholas Duca, MD
- David Chu, MD
- Sanam Razeghi, MD
- Michael Katzman, MD
- Nicholas Buchkovich, PhD
- Christopher Norbury, PhD
- Loren Evey, PhD
- Sol DeJesus, MD
- Joshua Kesterson, MD, MPH
- Seth Pantanelli, MD
- Matthew Garner, MD
- Elizabeth Frauenhoffer, MD
- Jordan Newell, MD
- Kristen Glass, MD
- Sabeen Habib, MD
- Robert Kavanagh, MD
- Debbi Kees-Folts, MD
- Mitchell Kresch, MD
- Christopher O’Hara, MD
- Tim Palmer, MD
- Brandon Smith, MD
- Rosalyn Irby, PhD
- John Frank Radtka, MD
- Kelly Karpa, PhD
- Natasha Romanoski, DO
- Edward Jones, MD, MPH
- Katie Dalke, MD
- Alicia McDonald, PhD
- Ming Wang, PhD
- Karen L. Brown, MHP
- Janet A. Neutze, MD
- Amy Burns, MD
- Robert Cilley, MD
- Neerav Goyal, MD
- Thomas Samson, MD
2018-2019 Health Systems Science Academy graduating scholars
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