Gideon Nkrumah, MS4: “Senior medical student Gideon Nkrumah was instrumental in the development and delivery of the "Virtual Ophthalmoscopy" sessions for PittMed MS1s that took place on January 12, 13, 14. He and his peers spent hours in planning
sessions, collecting photos, practicing teaching and ultimately delivering this novel content to the junior medical students. I was impressed by the students' creativity, organization and their obvious joy in learning and teaching the subject matter. In addition, at the request of the admissions department, he & the team staged an encore performance for the PittMed Second Look Day on the evening of April 23. These sessions would not have been possible without him. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with him and wanted to express my admiration for his professionalism.” - Submitted by UPSOM faculty (Advanced Physical Exam, Spring 2021)
Keerthi Samanthapudi, MS1: “Medical student Keerthi Samanthapudi was instrumental in the development and delivery of the "Virtual Ophthalmoscopy" sessions for PittMed MS1s that took place on January 12, 13, 14. She and her peers spent hours in planning sessions, collecting photos, practicing teaching and ultimately delivering this novel content to the junior medical students. I was impressed by the students' creativity, organization and their obvious joy in learning and teaching the subject matter. In addition, at the request of the admissions department, she & the team staged an encore performance for the PittMed Second Look Day on the evening of April 23. These sessions would not have been possible without her. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with her and wanted to express my admiration for her professionalism.” - Submitted by UPSOM Faculty
(Advanced Physical Exam, Spring 2021)
David Rivetti, MS2: “Medical student David Rivetti was instrumental in the development and delivery of the "Virtual Ophthalmoscopy" sessions for PittMed MS1s that took place on January 12, 13, 14. He and his peers spent hours in planning sessions, collecting photos, practicing teaching and ultimately delivering this novel content to the junior medical students. I was impressed by the students' creativity, organization and their obvious joy in learning and teaching the subject matter. In addition, at the request of the admissions department, he & the team staged an encore performance for the PittMed Second Look Day on the evening of April 23. These sessions would not have been possible without him. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with him and wanted to express my admiration for his professionalism.” - Submitted by UPSOM Faculty (Advanced Physical Exam, Spring 2021)
Peter Wingrove, MS4: “Senior medical student Peter Wingrove was instrumental in the development and delivery of the "Virtual Ophthalmoscopy" sessions for PittMed MS1s that took place on January 12, 13, 14. He and his peers spent hours in planning sessions, collecting photos, practicing teaching and ultimately delivering this novel content to the junior medical students. I was impressed by the students' creativity, organization and their obvious joy in learning and teaching the
subject matter. In addition, at the request of the admissions department, he & the team staged an encore performance for the PittMed Second Look Day on the evening of April 23. These sessions would not have been possible without him. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with him and wanted to express my admiration for his professionalism.” - Submitted by UPSOM faculty
Joshua Ong, MS3: “Senior medical student Josh Ong was instrumental in the development and delivery of the "Virtual Ophthalmoscopy" sessions for PittMed MS1s that took place on January 12, 13, 14. He and his peers spent hours in planning sessions, collecting photos, practicing teaching and ultimately delivering this novel content to the junior medical students. I was impressed by the students' creativity, organization and their obvious joy in learning and teaching the subject matter. In addition, at the request of the admissions department, he & the team staged an encore performance for the PittMed Second Look Day on the evening of April 23. These sessions would not have been possible without him. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with him and wanted to express my admiration for his professionalism.” - Submitted by UPSOM faculty (Advanced Physical Exam, Spring 2021)
Owen Clinger, MS2: “Medical student Owen Clinger was instrumental in the development and delivery of the "Virtual Ophthalmoscopy" sessions for PittMed MS1s that took place on January 12, 13, 14. He and his peers spent hours in planning sessions, collecting photos, practicing teaching and ultimately delivering this novel content to the junior medical students. I was impressed by the students' creativity, organization and their obvious joy in learning and teaching the subject matter. In addition, at the request of the admissions department, he & the team staged an encore performance for the PittMed Second Look Day on the evening of April 23. These sessions would not have been possible without him. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with him and wanted to express my admiration for his professionalism.” - Submitted by UPSOM faculty (Advanced Physical Exam, Spring 2021)
Shikai Hu, Graduate Student: “Shikai, a student at my lab, shared their protein lysates with me, which was extremely helpful! Wanted the world to know about it.” - Submitted by UPSOM graduate student (Spring 2021)
Tyler Miller: MS3: “Senior medical student Tyler Miller was instrumental in the development and delivery of the "Virtual Ophthalmoscopy" sessions for PittMed MS1s that took place on January 12, 13, 14. He and his peers spent hours in planning sessions, collecting photos, practicing teaching and ultimately delivering this novel content to the junior medical students. I was impressed by the students' creativity, organization and their obvious joy in learning and teaching the subject matter. In addition, at the request of the admissions department, he & the team staged an encore performance for the PittMed Second Look Day on the evening of April 23. These sessions would not have been possible without him. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with him and wanted to express my admiration for his professionalism.” -Submitted by UPSOM faculty (Advanced Physical Exam, Spring 2021)
Aidan Dmitriev, MS3: “Senior medical student Aidan Dmitriev was instrumental in the development and delivery of the "Virtual Ophthalmoscopy" sessions for PittMed MS1s that took place on January 12, 13, 14. He and his peers spent hours in planning sessions, collecting photos, practicing teaching and ultimately delivering thisnovel content to the junior medical students. I was impressed by the students' creativity, organization and their obvious joy in learning and teaching the subject matter. In addition, at the request of the admissions department, he & the team staged an encore performance for the PittMed Second Look Day on the evening of April 23. These sessions would not have been possible without him. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with him and wanted to express my admiration for his professionalism.” - Submitted by UPSOM faculty (Advanced Physical Exam, Spring 2021)
Levi Bowers, MS3: “Senior medical student Levi Bowers was instrumental in the development and delivery of the "Virtual Ophthalmoscopy" sessions for PittMed MS1s that took place on January 12, 13, 14. He and his peers spent hours in planning sessions, collecting photos, practicing teaching and ultimately delivering this novel content to the junior medical students. I was impressed by the students' creativity, organization and their obvious joy in learning and teaching the subject matter. In addition, at the request of the admissions department, he & the team staged an encore performance for the PittMed Second Look Day on the evening of April 23. These sessions would not have been possible without him. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with him and wanted to express my admiration for his professionalism.” - Submitted by UPSOM faculty (Advanced Physical Exam, Spring 2021)
Sanya Yadav, MS3: “Senior medical student Sanya Yadev was instrumental in the development and delivery of the "Virtual Ophthalmoscopy" sessions for PittMed MS1s that took place on January 12, 13, 14. She and her peers spent hours in planning sessions, collecting photos, practicing teaching and ultimately delivering this novel content to the junior medical students. I was impressed by the students' creativity, organization and their obvious joy in learning and teaching the subject matter. In addition, at the request of the admissions department, she & the team staged an encore performance for the PittMed Second Look Day on the evening of April 23. These sessions would not have been possible without her. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with her and wanted to express my admiration for her professionalism. - Submitted by UPSOM faulty (Advanced Physical Exam, Spring 2021)
Oliver Beale, MS3: “Senior medical student Oliver Beale was instrumental in the development and delivery of the "Virtual Ophthalmoscopy" sessions for PittMed MS1s that took place on January 12, 13, 14. He and his peers spent hours in planning
sessions, collecting photos, practicing teaching and ultimately delivering this novel content to the junior medical students. I was impressed by the students' creativity, organization and their obvious joy in learning and teaching the
subject matter. In addition, at the request of the admissions department, he & the team staged an encore performance for the PittMed Second Look Day on the evening of April 23. These sessions would not have been possible without him. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with him and wanted to express my admiration for his professionalism.” - Submitted by UPSOM faculty (Advanced Physical Exam, Spring 2021)
Chris Hensler, MS4: “…I am writing to let you know how amazing our medical students and interns were this block. Each team member went above and beyond to care for our patients…
-We had a patient … that required a biologic to prevent vision loss. Manufacturing of this biologic was paused due to the Pandemic. Chris contacted the manufacturer directly and in coordination with the patient's endocrinologist to expedite home infusion.
-Chris established such close rapport with one of his patient's that she disclosed that she was being abused by her caretakers. Chris was able to file a report with the state to initiate further investigation. The patient did not disclose of this to the rest of us.” Submitted by UPMC Resident Adult Inpatient Medicine Clerkship (Spring 2021)
Edward Sim, MS4: “…I am writing to let you know how amazing our medical students and interns were this block. Each team member went above and beyond to care for our patients.
-We were about to discharge one of Ed's patient's and they patient had many questions and needed additional anticipatory guidance. The patient explicitly asked the nurse to get Ed to address her concerns.
-We had a patient that was admitted to us after an overdose +/-SI attempt. Ed established such close rapport with the patient that he disclosed his substance use and abuse by his father to Ed and not to the rest of us.
-Ed updated families on his day off and requested to come into work to be at family meetings on his day off.” Submitted by UPMC Resident Adult Inpatient Medicine Clerkship (Spring 2021)
Maria Lanyi, MS4: “Maria called up every pharmacy in Pittsburgh and found two that were offering the COVID vaccine for healthcare workers. She then told the entire class about both, giving us options and valuable information at a time many of us were unsure of what was going to happen with vaccinations! Major majorprops to Maria for being so proactive and then sharing all this information selflessly with everyone! She is truly amazing and deserves recognition for this selfless advocacy and hard work!” - Submitted by a UPSOM student (Spring 2021)
Tim Sigler: Written on behalf of a patient
"Tim actually asked tough questions to get me to open up and he really listened and cared...And gave me hope for a better me. And helped me believe I am important and matter."
Cristine Oh & Grace Zhang: Written on behalf of Dr. Giselle Hamad & Dr. Judy Chang
"We would like to recognize the tireless efforts of Cristine Oh and Grace Zhang, who first approached us in April 2020 to discuss their concerns about racial discrimination against Asian-Americans in the setting of COVID-19. Since our initial meeting, they have rapidly grown into skilled leaders who have crafted an articulate mission statement, mobilized their fellow students, organized faculty mentorship, and engaged medical school leadership in a thoughtful and mature way, all within a span of three weeks. It is impressive that they have accomplished all of this while studying for shelf exams. In addition, they have remained tightly organized and laser focused, even while recalling and reliving painful events related to racial discrimination.
The thoughtfulness of their approach and communication of their requests also stands out as worthy to commend. Both were courageous in their willingness to share vulnerable situations and feelings and incredibly empathetic and visionary as they considered both short and long term goals that would create resources, supports, and an environment not only beneficial to Asian-American students but to all students. They astutely noted that while our institution's diversity efforts for underrepresented minorities is a beginning, other students from minority populations had needs and concerns that were not being adequately addressed.
It is their long term goal to "maximize inclusivity and minimize exclusivity" in their words and to improve the support for not only Asian-Americans but also other marginalized groups at Pitt Med. We are confident that their efforts will ultimately help students feel included and safe.
Also noteworthy was Cristine's and Grace's thoughtful and intentional plan to ensure involvement and opportunities for succession of leadership with other students. Their motivations were not the attainment of recognition or leadership; they opened the opportunities for others and empowered their fellow students to step into these roles. Truly, many who hold leadership positions would learn much from the skilled leadership, clear vision, and excellent communication of these two amazing women. We certainly have.
Cristine and Grace have gone above and beyond to make Pitt Med a better place for all students. We are proud of their accomplishments , courage, and leadership skills. We would love to honor them with the recognition they deserve and allow the broader institution to learn from and benefit from knowing of their efforts."
Pitt Med Babysitting Volunteers: "I am nominating the following students for exceptional professionalism for offering to provide childcare for area healthcare workers while they navigate the challenges of online-only coursework and cancelled clinical rotations. The following Pitt Med students signed up to provide babysitting:
Anna Cohen, Marissa Baron, Sapna Shah, Mikaela Fenn, Carolyn Murphy, Rebecca Liu, Ashley Brienza, Carolyn Murphy, Carly Heck, Mikayla Lowenkamp, Kristen Milleville, Areej Ali, Alexa Jordahl, Elizabeth Trandel, Julia Pantalone, Alexis Ghersi, Carolyn Windler, Tejasvi Gowda, Colleen Judge-Golden, Beth Gordon.
These students have gone above and beyond to fill a much needed community role!” - Submitted by a UPSOM Medical Student (Spring 2020)
Birmingham Clinic Volunteers: "I am currently coordinating student volunteers to run deliveries for medications and food boxes for Birmingham Free Clinic patients during the COVID pandemic. I would like to submit all of the volunteers for a professionalism accolade. I have been truly floored by how willing everyone is to help and I am so grateful! These are the people who have volunteered to be "on call" for us over the last two weeks to run deliveries of medication or food from the Birmingham Free Clinic to patients in the community:
Theresa Reno, Jacqueline Visina, Grace Zhang, Sandesh Raj, Song Kim, Valerie Gabao, Nicole Paul, Melanie Levine, Jacqueline Lee, Jessica Duell, Alexander Clark, Lauren Kaplan, Rafa Ifthikhar, Tinsley Webster, Brendan DeCenso, Carolyn Murphy, Carly O'Connor-Terry, Karen Olsen, Christy Taylor, Patrick Ebbert, Monica Picard, Colleen Judge-Golden, Rebecca Brown, Rebecca Minorini, Elizabeth Carbrera, Benjamin Pickus, Jane Kwon, Matthew Snyder, Carly Heck, Annie McDermott, Daniela Alarcon, Ashley Brienza, Elizabeth Trandel, Mikaela Fenn, Zack Fuller!” - Submitted by a UPSOM Medical Student (Spring 2020)
Stephanie Hum: "Student leaders organizing volunteers for the 9th St Clinic received a request for an MS4 interested in primary care to help the clinic staff launch their new telemedicine service, as this is an entirely new service for them to offer their patients and many staff were unfamiliar with the technology. Stephanie Hum volunteered right away and will be continuing to volunteer at the clinic weekly until she leaves for her residency in Denver. This is an example of exceptional professionalism because she is volunteering her time, is not receiving any type of clinical credit, is expanding her role as a medical student by also providing tech support, and is making a commitment to return to help the clinic all the way up until she moves for her residency.” - Submitted by a UPSOM Medical Student (Spring 2020)
Jane Kwon, Ben Zuchelkowski, Carly Terry-O'Connor, Tejasvi Gowda, and Sarah Minney: "Sarah, Ben, Carly, Tejasvi, and Jane have all stepped up in organizing the medical student community to respond to this pandemic through connecting us to various services in need (drug pick-up/delivery, food pick-up/delivery, clinical aid, public education resources, etc.). They have been updating us multiple times a day on where we can do the most good for the community during this crisis. It's incredible what they've achieved in such a short amount of time!" - Submitted by a UPSOM Medical Student (Spring 2020)
Michelle Zhang: “One of the new initiatives in this year’s Fuel Metabolism course was a lunch panel discussion covering an important social determinant of health. The topic was “How poverty, geography and health literacy intersect to affect nutrition and obesity”. The panel was composed of Maris Altieri, a nutritionist at Phipps, Sarah Buranskas from the Pittsburgh Food Policy Council and Dr. Jen Corbelli, Internal Medicine program director and co-medical director of Birmingham Free Clinic. The event was very successful with over 50 students in attendance and some great discussion between students and the panel.
The reason I am writing is to make sure that OMED knows that this entire enterprise was the brainchild of Michelle Zhang, one of our MS-2 students. Michelle organized and recruited the panel. The entire event would not have happened were it not for her efforts. She is deserving of recognition for her efforts to improve medical education at Pitt Med.”
Brandon Smith: “Brandon Smith (third year pediatric inpatient rotation) willingly chose to follow a patient who was very medically complex as well as very ill. When the family chose comfort measures, he remained involved - helping to check in with them throughout the next several days to ensure they felt supported. He was even present at the time the patient was pronounced dead. I want to recognize his desire to continue to care for his patient when many others would shy away.
He showed a level of dedication, empathy, and tolerance for emotionally challenging situations that I hope he keeps throughout his career.”
Humza Ahmed: “During our first year, I was struggling during our Neurology course. Humza spent 5 unpaid hours on a Sunday afternoon tutoring me on my areas of weakness. If it weren’t for Humza’s kindness and selflessness, I would likely have failed that exam. He taught everything so well, I still remember it like yesterday. He is an excellent teacher and an even better human being.”
Kara McClain: "During the shut-down period, everyone was home and working remotely and all clinical rotations had come to a grinding halt, at the same time hundreds of UPMC physicians were learning how to do clinical visits via telemedicine for the very first time. In preparation for the re-opening of clinical rotations, Kara worked closely with me to figure out what would be the process for including students in the telemedicine clinical experiences, what would be the barriers, and how it all would work. Kara spent weeks working through one barrier after another in order to participate in telemedicine visits with me. Finally, once those barriers had been eliminated by the EPIC team, then Kara demonstrated the functionality of student participation in telemedicine clinical visits both within our office on UPMC equipment and from home using her own mobile phone.
Despite the fact that this was the first time she had ever done such a visit, she and one of our M.A.’s worked together to seamlessly include her medical student H&P, presentation, and then precepting into a busy morning of telemedicine. Despite the fact that I had 8 patients on my schedule that morning, she participated in one from home and one from the office, and we finished all 8 on time. Once we had proof of concept, then Kara carefully documented her process and procedures so that Clerkship Directors would be able to prepare other students to participate in telemedicine in many different settings. Without Kara’s work, it would not have been possible to trouble-shoot the problems with student participation. Kara is especially a hero to all the Clerkship Directors who oversee telemedicine experiences, as well as all the clerkship students who participate in them!" - Submitted by Robin Maier, MD, MA
Austin Anthony: "Austin first approached me at the beginning of the academic year with an interest in lobbying the Dean for an increase in the stipend amount for the DSRP. He recognized how the stipend hadn't changed in 10 years and was well below a living wage for students. We had numerous meetings discussing strategies to lobby the Dean for this increase and exchanged various draft emails outlining the rationale and need for this increase in stipend amount. Importantly, Austin continued his efforts even when it was apparent that it would not benefit himself or his classmates but potentially future classes. The ~25% increase in DSRP stipend amount that will be implemented beginning in 2021 is due entirely to Austin and he deserves to be recognized for his unselfish efforts. It was a pleasure to work with him on this.” - Submitted by a UPSOM faculty member Fall 2020
Marissa Baron: "Marissa was an excellent role model and mentor during my time on the Antepartum service at Magee Women's Hospital. I observed her on several occasions discussing birth control plans with patients and she demonstrated consideration and care vital to any great health care professional. She sat down with the patient, indicating that she was not in a rush and was open to any level of discussion the patient required. She also gave the patient a lot of space to think about birth control options and did not make the patient feel rushed at all. After the patient encounter, she answered questions that I had and went out of her way to teach me things. She excelled at her role both as a sub-I, mentor, and teacher on this and many other instances during the week.” - Submitted by a UPSOM student (Fall 2020: OB/Gyn Clerkship)
Emily Mosher: "I am writing to express my gratitude and appreciation for Emily Mosher, a third year medical student. Emily went above and beyond to put together a Zoom patient conference for the first year medical students. This event occurred on Nov 20th and was the most highly attended event of the Fuel Metabolism course. Her efforts served the Pitt Med community by increasing MS1 student awareness of a rare metabolic disorder. Thank you Emily.” - Submitted by a UPSOM faculty member (Fall 2020: Fuel Metabolism Course)
Click here for a list of Educator & Staff Professionalism Accolades