| The high quality of biomedical research and clinical care
practiced by Einstein's faculty is matched by the quality of teaching.
Since its founding, the College of Medicine has taken great pride in the
commitment, enthusiasm and skill that members of the faculty bring to
the education of its students at all levels of the curriculum. A very
active faculty development program ensures that our teachers keep
abreast of the latest developments in instructional and assessment
strategies and are able to apply them appropriately and effectively in
courses and clerkships. Students' evaluations
of individual teachers as well as all components of the curriculum also
have an important influence on teaching quality. Assistance by peers and
professionals in the Office of Education is available to faculty whose
teaching effectiveness is revealed by these evaluations to need
improvement. Faculty who demonstrate extraordinary teaching
competence, are recognized as such by their peers and students and in
many cases serve as teachers of teachers, are elected to the Leo
M. Davidoff Society, founded in 1976 to honor Einstein's first Chair
of the Department of Surgery and later, the Department of Neurological
Surgery. About 100 members of the current faculty are in the Davidoff
Society, and about 12 faculty are elected to membership each year. In
addition to Davidoff Society membership, exceptional teachers are
recognized at each year's graduation ceremony with the presentation of awards
by the Dean. These awards include: the Samuel M. Rosen Awards for
Outstanding Teaching in the Preclinical Curriculum and in the Clinical
Curriculum, the Harry Eagle Award for Outstanding Basic Science
Teaching, the Harry Gordon Award for Outstanding Clinical Teaching, and
the Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Teaching. In order to
encourage faculty to develop new, innovative and effective educational
programs or improve those already in place, about 5-8 Grants
for Excellence in Medical Education are awarded annually on a
competitive basis by the college's Office of Education. Each grant of
$7500 may be used by the grantees over a period of 1-3 years. This
modest grant award has served to stimulate much creative energy among
the faculty and enabled many good ideas in medical education to be
translated into effective applications. |
