Seven faculty, staff receive 2020 Graduate Medical Education awards

The Office of Graduate Medical Education (GME) recently announced its GME Award recipients for 2020. They are: 

Sandra Hearn, M.D., an assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R), is recipient of the Program Director Excellence Award, which recognizes a residency or fellowship program director who has had a significant impact by optimizing the quality of education in a training program, enhancing the residency/fellowship experience for trainees, helping individuals to reach their greatest potential, and/or enhancing graduate medical education at institutional levels (Michigan Medicine inpatient and outpatient experiences and/or VA Hospital system).

Although only two years into her role as program director for the PM&R residency program, Dr. Hearn has demonstrated stable and strong leadership, implementing innovative updates to the program by creating one online repository of extensive resources for training information, revamping the didactic program, and engaging faculty to become content expert leads in core areas of the program. She is committed to the personal and professional well-being of her trainees, strongly advocating for resident research and travel opportunities, and providing mentorship and direction for their educational and professional development.

Marlene Woodard, a GME program administrator in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, is recipient of the Program Administrator Excellence Award, which recognizes the outstanding skills of program administrators who possess and utilize an in-depth knowledge of graduate medical education, excel in the day-to-day management of a residency or fellowship program, demonstrate excellent communication and interpersonal skills and/or those who have implemented innovative projects to improve graduate medical education, streamline processes, or assist in training other GME professionals.

Woodard is a true servant leader in the Obstetrics and Gynecology residency program and has been instrumental in providing mentorship to new clerkship coordinators and support to their educational staff in areas including evaluations, organizing the yearly educational retreat, and distribution of departmental educational awards. She serves as a mentor to many by providing counseling and mentorship to program administrators at the University of Michigan, as well as to junior program administrators in the field of OBGYN on a national level.

Jill Arendall, a financial specialist on the GME Office, is recipient of the GME Staff Award, which recognizes the outstanding skills of a GME staff member who possess a commitment to advancing GME, service excellence and collaboration, and/or implemented innovative processes to improve residency education, streamline processes, or assist programs.

Many people look to Arendall’s wealth of knowledge and expertise when they need answers, as she not only serves as a financial specialist for budget and finance guidance, she is also an excellent MedHub resource. She embodies a calm presence, a helpful nature and is an exceptional knowledge reservoir.

Frank Wang, M.D., an associate professor of dermatology, is recipient of the Teacher or Mentor of the Year Award, which recognizes a faculty member who has served as an outstanding mentor or teacher for a resident or fellow trainee through dedication, leadership, teamwork, advocacy, role modeling, instruction in research, clinical care, and education.

Dr. Wang has been instrumental in completely restructuring and improving the Dermatology resident didactic program to ensure that curriculum is conducive to successful board preparation, solidified clinical learning and effective program engagement. His gentle demeanor, passion for patient care, affinity for teaching, and amazing patience have been inspiring to many residents, medical students, staff members, and patients.

Jennifer Lukela, M.D., an assistant professor of internal medicine in the Division of General Medicine, is recipient of the Faculty Equity and Inclusion Award, which recognizes faculty who have fostered an environment of equity and inclusion within their training program in efforts to improve disparities.

Dr. Lukela is an outstanding role model for women in medicine, a wonderful mentor to general internal medicine students and residents, and is a developing key thought leader for equity in medicine. After noticing that disproportionately fewer women were leading resident-oriented teaching experiences in the Internal Medicine residency program, she led the re-evaluation of how clinical and teaching assignments were made and helped to intentionally create more opportunities for women to engage learners, and also founded a career development program called “Equal Medicine” to support the pipeline and development of women in academic internal medicine.

Mahmood Gharib, M.D., a clinical lecturer, and Adam Lewno, D.O., an assistant professor — both in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, are recipients of the Faculty Innovation Award, which recognizes faculty who have made outstanding and innovative contributions to graduate medical education through areas in evaluation, education, quality, patient safety, leadership skills development, global outreach, and wellness.

Working as a team, Drs. Gharib and Lewno together have enhanced the existing PM&R residency program’s ultrasound curriculum by developing a program built around a point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) — a hand-held ultrasound probe that connects to a mobile device for highly portable scanning. Their innovative program, which also serves as a model to other training programs both within and outside our institution, enables hands-on experience for trainees and promotes a culture of interdisciplinary learning that was previously missing in musculoskeletal ultrasound curricula.

The recipients will be honored May 13, either in the University Hospital Towsley Dining Rooms, or during a virtual reception.