| Aarohi Munshi, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Family Medicine and Family Medicine Clerkship Director, Department of Family and Community Medicine
We are already halfway through the 2025-2026 academic year, and our student feedback continues to be overwhelmingly positive — all thanks to the time, energy and dedication you invest in teaching. Your commitment makes a lasting impact on our learners and the communities they will one day serve.
In this edition, we want to revisit Feedback and Evaluation, especially as we welcome several new faculty members to our team.
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Preceptor feedback plays a vital role in shaping the next generation of physicians. The comments and evaluations you provide are more than just part of the grading process — they guide students toward recognizing their strengths, identifying opportunities for growth and reinforcing the professional habits that define excellent patient care. Thoughtful, specific feedback helps students connect their clinical experiences to learning objectives and fosters a culture of reflection and continuous improvement.
With gratitude,
Aarohi Munshi, M.D.
Family Medicine Clerkship Director
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Feedback and evaluation tips and reminders revisited |
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Baseline performance: A medical student who performs a basic history, appropriate physical exam, and develops a reasonable differential diagnosis should generally be rated as “Meets Expectations” or “Level 3” in most categories.
- High-level performance: Typically, only about 20–25% of students perform at the highest level.
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Review the rubric: Please take a moment to review the grading rubric carefully before completing evaluations.
- Provide specific comments: Include detailed feedback on areas such as history-taking, physical examination, communication with patients and colleagues, and self-directed learning.
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Use examples: Note concrete examples of exceptional or concerning behaviors to help us provide meaningful guidance and support for each learner.
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We deeply appreciate the time and attention you devote to your evaluations. Your insights as preceptors are essential to each student’s learning journey and to the continued success of our clerkship program.
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UICOM Awarded $2.5 Million Grant to Expand Street Medicine Training |
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Rhonda Verzal, MD, FAAFP, Director Family Medicine Residency Program, Associate Professor of Clinical Family and Community Medicine, Department of Family and Community Medicine
The University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford Department of Family and Community Medicine, in collaboration with its Chicago counterpart, received a $2.5 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration to launch the Primary Care Training and Enhancement–Residency Training in Street Medicine Project.
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This five-year project will train 34 family medicine and internal medicine residents annually to provide comprehensive care for unhoused and underserved populations in Rockford, rural Northern Illinois and Chicago. The program emphasizes delivering compassionate, patient-centered care in low-resource, community-based settings and will also offer elective experiences for other primary care residents and medical students.
The first training session for the Rockford Family Medicine Program residents and students, held on October 23, 2025, in Rockford, featured a Q&A with Daysia Dismuke, director of the Jubilee Center and hands-on practice with standardized patients to develop skills in delivering compassionate care and addressing the social determinants of health that contribute to poor outcomes.
This grant initiative will partner with community and faith-based organizations and medical-legal professionals to address the complex needs of individuals experiencing sheltered and unsheltered homelessness.
Project leadership: Rhonda Verzal, MD, FAAFP (project director); James Swakow, MD (Chicago site director)
Rockford team members: TJ Webb, MD; Aarohi Munshi, MD; Molly Perri, MD; and Manorama Khare, PhD
Chicago leaders: Stephan Koruba, APRN; Thomas Esposito, MD; and Sara Beeler, PhD
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University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford Department of Family and Community Medicine faculty and staff provided resources for attendees of Neighborhood Health Hub. Left to right: Anays Appino, Aarohi Munshi, MD, Manu Khare, PhD, Sara Silvers and Kathleen Monteleone.
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UICOMR Celebrates First Anniversary of Neighborhood Health Hub Partnership |
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Medical students continue advancing health equity through community-based learning |
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Kathleen Monteleone, MPH, Associate Director of Community Engagement and Development, Research Associate II, Division of Health Research and Evaluation, Department of Family and Community Medicine
The University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford (UICOMR) will celebrate the first anniversary of its Neighborhood Health Hub partnership with a special community health event on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, at the Booker Washington Community Center. The half-day service experience will feature third-year medical students participating in the Family Medicine Clerkship, a community-engaged learning initiative developed by Dr. Aarohi Munshi in collaboration with the Department of Family and Community Medicine. The program connects classroom learning with real-world healthcare experiences, helping students understand and address the barriers faced by under-resourced populations in the Rockford community.
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Through this ongoing partnership, UICOMR continues to strengthen its mission of training future physicians who are not only clinically skilled, but also deeply dedicated to promoting health equity in the communities they serve. The Neighborhood Health Hub is a partnership between the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford and the African American Resource Center (AARC). The initiative encourages health equity through preventive screenings, patient education, and community collaborations that link medical training to practical service.
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1601 Parkview Ave. | Rockford, IL 61107 US
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