UF Medical Education Banquet honors outstanding educators
Two pioneers of creative new approaches to medical education were among 52 faculty and residents honored May 14 at the University of Florida College of Medicine's third annual Medical Education Banquet.
The college's first Lifetime Achievement Award for Medical Education went to Parker A. Small Jr., M.D., a professor of pathology, immunology and laboratory medicine and a professor of pediatrics.
Described as - a man ahead of his time, - Small helped institute the use of self-teaching, small-group teaching and peer evaluation at the college and founded UF's Center for Cooperative Learning.
His best-known innovation is the Patient-Oriented Problem&$45Solving system, or POPS, through which small groups of students study together to solve clinical problems. The POPS approach was adopted by more than half of U.S. medical schools and now is available through the Internet.
Larry Rooks, M.D., an associate professor of community health and family medicine, received recognition for chairing the curriculum committee through much of the 1990s, as the college adopted a competency-based curriculum designed to ensure students acquired the skills they needed to succeed in practice. Rooks has served since 1990 as associate director, then director, of the North Florida Area Health Education Centers Program, which provides vast opportunities for UF Health Science Center students, residents and faculty to gain hands-on training while delivering medical care to underserved communities.
Eight basic science and 25 clinical faculty from the college&$39s Gainesville and Jacksonville campuses were named Exemplary Teachers for 2003 in recognition of their service teaching large numbers of students and their commitment to excellence beyond the call of duty.
Similarly, 13 residents and one graduate student received awards as Outstanding Resident Educators. The awards were presented by college Dean C. Craig Tisher, M.D.
The Society of Teaching Scholars inducted two new faculty members: Wayne T. McCormack, Ph.D., an associate professor of pathology, immunology and laboratory medicine and associate dean for graduate education; and Robert Vander Griend, M.D., an associate professor of orthopedics and rehabilitation. UF Vice President for Health Affairs and Douglas Barrett, M.D., was inducted as an honorary member of the society, which promotes and nurtures teaching and education scholarship.
The Medical Education Banquet is a focal point of Medical Education Week, sponsored by the Society of Teaching Scholars, said Kyle Rarey, Ph.D., associate dean of program development and evaluation.