Welcome to the first edition of the Academy of Educators Newsletter of the new academic year! Amidst the excitement of recent trainee graduations and transitions, there is also an influx of new learners and trainees filled with hope, heart, angst, compassion, and curiosity! This season marks a time of exciting transitions, as mentees become mentors and mentors continue to grow alongside their mentees. We are also thrilled to welcome new faculty members to our vibrant educator community.  As we gear up for what looks to be an outstanding AoE Education Day this fall, we are already so impressed with the applications for new Academy of Educators membership and the nominees for WashU Academy Awards.

Building on the many lively "Academy Connect" conversations and productive Jamboards from AoE recent meetings about faculty development programming, engagement, community, and career advancement, we have taken your valuable ideas and feedback to heart. During our recent strategic planning session, we carefully deliberated on these ideas in order to successfully enhance our services for the educators within our community. Our Academy continues to buzz with a host of exciting programs and events on the horizon, many of which we describe below. From our longitudinal courses to professional development workshops to celebratory gatherings, there are countless opportunities to connect, learn, and share. We look forward to another year of growth, collaboration, and celebration within our dynamic community of educators. Let's make this academic year one of the best yet—and remember, the more we teach, the more we learn!

Kind regards,

Abby Spencer, MD, MS, FACP
Director, Academy of Educators

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

Loves: I love to spend time with my family including going to the zoo and STL CITY Games (season ticket holder!)
Family: I have one son Max, my partner Jeff, and two step-kids Ben and Mia. Plus a cat, Tonks.
Area of Education: I have a Master of Science in Genetic Counseling (2009) and currently am working on my Doctor of Public Health in Leadership, Advocacy, and Equity at Tulane University (expected graduation year 2025).
What you love most about teaching/ educating/ mentoring: I love seeing my students try new strategies when working with patients and succeed in their clinical fieldwork and didactic courses.
What drives/ inspires you: I have always been someone who is self-driven for success. But now, my goals have shifted to help my students succeed and I feel inspired when they do. 
Fun Fact: Rather than listen to music in the car, I prefer to listen to audiobooks and check them out from the St. Louis County Library.

Dates: Thursdays, August 15 & 29
Time: 2:00p - 3:30p
Location: In-Person (Calendar invite sent with location following registration)

Overview: A 2-part workshop series focused on remediation, specifically:
1. Approach to remediation as a concept
2. Remediation strategies based on competencies
3. Documentation strategies and examples

It is RECOMMENDED you attend both sessions as content will build from the first to second session.

Workshop Leaders: Dominique Cosco, MD, FACP & Nichole Zehnder, MD

Audience: Applicable to educators who work with UME, GME, and health professions students

Mentorship Best Practices Series

Overview: The Academy of Educators Mentorship Subcommittee is pleased to offer an in-person workshop series on Mentorship Best Practices.  This is a 4-part series that will discuss best practices, skill building, culturally responsive mentorship, mentoring across identities, and mentorship challenges. We recommend that participants sign up for all 4 sessions.  The series is geared towards clinical faculty who work with learners, and we welcome a diversity of experiences.  A certificate of completion is offered to those who attend all 4 workshops.

Check out podcast Episode 511 of the Society of Critical Care Medicine's Leadership, Empowerment, and Development (LEAD) Program HERE where Dr. Emke discusses Crafting Captivating Presentations. Learn the essential skills needed to create presentations that leave a lasting impression.

Teaching Pearl Takeaways:
1. Prime the learner – whether that’s providing them the key learning points upfront or explaining how you use color or symbols on slides to highlight key points they should remember or come back and review.

2. Find a way to quickly have the learner engage with the main teaching point(s) provided in a lecture – poll questions, work through a case, teach-back what they heard.

This certificate program targets junior educators (approximately 1-5 years out of training) as well as faculty who are newly incorporating teaching excellence into their careers. This certificate program will span from October to June each academic year. The FITS program focuses on providing instruction in foundational teaching skills and establishing a community of educators with each program cohort. Over the course of the academic year, participants will receive mentorship, as well as feedback on their teaching skills through direct observations.

This course will run from October 22 to December 10 via Zoom. This is a certificate course for educators who would like to develop their skills for education research and scholarship. The course will equip educators to plan an education research/scholarship project and write a full proposal that can be used to implement the project, apply to the IRB for approval to do research with human participants, and/or apply for an education grant.

AY 2023 - 2024 Program Graduates

Natalia Brito Rivera, MD- Medicine
Mary Crumley, PT, DPT, NCS, CBIS, MSCS- Physical Therapy
Lindsay Kranker, MD- Surgery
Eileen Lee, MD- Medicine
Monalisa Mullick, MD- Medicine/ Pediatrics
Kieran Patel, MD- Medicine
Emily Somerville, OTD, OTR/L- Occupational Therapy
Alex Taylor, PhD- Neuroscience
Kumar Vasudevan, MD- Neurosurgery

In collaboration with the GME Office

AY 2023 - 2024 Program Graduates

Elise Bardawil, MD- Ob/Gyn
Arianna Buckley, MD- Radiology
Kate Dunsky, MD- Otolaryngology
David Eisenberg, MD, MPH, FACOG- Ob/Gyn
Adam Greenblatt, MD- Neurology
Ryan Guffey, MD- Anesthesiology
Jennifer Heeley, MD- Pediatrics
SueLin Hilbert, MD, MPH- Emergency Medicine
Celina Jacobi, MD- Psychiatry
Erin Kane, MD- Emergency Medicine
Peter Kang, MD, MSCI- Neurology
Baijayanta Maiti, MD, PhD- Neurology
Mary Clare McGregor, MD- Medicine
Nidia Messias, MD- Pathology & Immunology
Allison Mitchell, MD- Anesthesiology
Sydney Nykiel-Bailey, DO- Anesthesiology
Brendan O'Connor, MD- Psychiatry
William Orr, MD- Pediatrics
Matthew Parsons, MD- Radiology
Martin Reis, MD- Radiology
Janet Scheel, MD- Pediatrics
Snehal Shah, MD- Pediatrics
Chris Sumski, DO, MEd- Pediatrics
Suzie Thibodeaux, MD, PhD- Pathology & Immunology
Naga Yalla, MD- Medicine

Implementation & Dissemination in Education Scholarship

In collaboration with the MERU Office

AY 2023 - 2024 Program Graduates

Sara Greer, MD
Rachel Guess, MD
Matthew Sattler, MD
Aja Sullivan, MSN, MBA, RN, CNE, CNRN, PMH-BC, NPD-BC, CHSE

REGISTER FOR EDUCATION DAY 2024 HERE

12:00 - 12:15pm    Registration/ Pick-Up Box Lunch
12:15 - 12:20pm    Welcome
12:20 - 1:00pm       Oral Abstracts
1:00 - 2:00pm         Keynote Speaker :: Adam Rodman, MD, MPH, FACP
2:10 - 3:10pm         Break-out 1
3:15 - 3:35pm         PM Break
3:35 - 4:35pm         Break-Out 2
4:45 - 5:15pm         New Member Induction/ Awards
5:15 - 6:00pm         Posters/ Reception/ Networking

New this year! CME credit (3.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^TM) will be available for purchase ($30).

In anticipation of Education Day and the induction of new members, we are looking for 15-20 Academy members willing to serve as a point-of-contact buddy to help onboard our new members. Buddies will send an introductory email, check in a few times, and serve as a point of contact to assist their paired newer Academy member in connecting with our community and getting involved. Time commitment to be a buddy is minimal, but the impact on new members is large! Academy members wishing to serve as a buddy can email academyofeducators@wustl.edu. 

Assistant Professor of Radiology

Outside work, I enjoy playing guitar. I've been playing since the age of 10. Growing up in the 1990s, I was inspired to begin playing by alternative rock music I heard on the radio. I was trained in jazz and blues, but the styles I play now are much more eclectic. Recently, I've focused on fingerstyle acoustic arrangements. It's a great way to relieve stress and to be creative at the same time!

The Academy of Educators is thrilled to celebrate the notable achievements of several of our members. We take pride in announcing their accomplishments, which include promotions, winning teaching awards, publishing innovative MedEd scholarship articles, and receiving national recognitions. To check-out the latest achievements, we invite you to follow us on X: @WashUAcadEd or visit the News section of our website. We encourage you to join us in applauding and commemorating the exceptional contributions of our members!

To see full workshop descriptions and information click here.

CIPE would like to congratulate the following newly minted Master Interprofessional Educators (MIEs): Jessica Dashner, OTD, OTR/L, Keely Finney, CHW, LCSW, Christine Kelso, PharmD, BCPS, AE-C, Kelly Ann Schmidtke, PhD, Gladys Smith, PsyD, and Ryan Smith, BSW, CHW! MIEs have completed basic interprofessional facilitation training, attended continuing professional development sessions, and served as an educator in the IP curriculum. These MIEs join a robust cohort of over 70 trained educators who engage with learners in the classroom and clinical practice sites.

Additional CIPE offerings may be found at the
Center for Interprofessional Practice & Education website

You don't have to be a member of the Academy to take advantage of all of our offerings.
Check out our workshops, courses, grant opportunities, and events at the links above
to help you become the best educator & teacher you can be!