Teaching the next generation of physicians, doctors Leslie Kersun and Corrie Stankiewicz are honored for their commitment to medical education
July 8, 2015—Two alumnae from Penn GSE’s Master’s in Medical Education program (Med Ed) have been honored with the prestigious Dean’s Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching. Established in 1987, the award recognizes clinical teaching excellence and commitment to medical education by outstanding faculty members from affiliated hospitals at the University of Pennsylvania. Awardee Leslie Kersun (2014) a pediatric oncologist, is an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine and the Associate Program Director for the Hematology/Oncology Fellowship at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Corrie Stankiewicz (2014) is a hospitalist and Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine.
Kersun serves as the primary mentor for a number of fellows each year with CHOP’s leukemia/lymphoma patients. Said one of her former trainees, “I have learned a great deal about communication by observing Leslie talking to families and then modeling her phrasing style. She is incredibly supportive and infectiously passionate about oncology.”
After graduating from the Med Ed program, Stankiewicz was asked to direct the Internal Medicine Residency Medical Education Track. She serves as an academic hospitalist for inpatient general medicine at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Said one of Stankiewicz’s residents, “Penn has a reputation for world-class medical educators. Corrie is an exemplary model.”
“We are so proud of Leslie and Corrie,” said Annie McKee, Program Director of Med Ed. “This award rightfully recognizes them as leaders in medical education.”
Launched in 2012, the Med Ed program attracts students from a wide variety of medical fields and backgrounds. Students are all fulltime working medical professionals who come to the program to receive master-level training in medical education. Designed for physicians and other healthcare professionals looking to enhance skills and pursue leadership opportunities in medical education, students participate in a mix of on-site and distance learning. Their classes integrate the expertise of professional educators with the perspective of clinicians in a unique, cohort-based learning environment. The program is housed within Penn GSE, and is a faculty-driven partnership with Perelman School of Medicine and CHOP.
“The work our graduates are doing to advance medical education is exactly what I hoped for when developing the Med Ed program,” said co-director Allison Ballantine. “We want to build strong, creative leaders who will use their talents and expertise to help medicine meet the educational challenges of this new era.”
The Med Ed program is currently accepting applications for the 2016 Summer II term. For more information, please contact meded@gse.upenn.edu.