Barbara Pettitt Wins Papageorge and Best Clerkship Director Awards
MAY 2017
Barbara Pettitt, MD, professor of surgery, has received two new awards that highlight her singular talents as an educator: the esteemed Evangeline T. Papageorge Distinguished Teaching Award and the Best Clerkship Director Award.
The Papageorge Award was established in 1993 by the Emory Medical Alumni Association to recognize excellence in medical education, and is one of the most prestigious awards presented by the School of Medicine or Emory University. The award honors the legacy of medical alumna Dr. Evangeline Papageorge, beloved teacher and administrator, who served Emory for many decades.
Bill Eley, executive associate dean of Medical Education and Student Affairs, Graduate Medical Education, and Continuing Medical Education, presented Dr. Pettitt with the Papageorge Award at the Emory School of Medicine's 2017 Commencement on May 8th (photo). "Dr. Pettitt urges us beyond our own expectations," said one student nominator.
Dr. Pettitt also received her third Best Clerkship Director Award from the graduating class of Emory medical students. She began directing the clerkship in 2002 while still chief of pediatric surgical services at Hughes Spalding Hospital, and gradually expanded the program in ways that included adding simulation scenarios and surgery sub-internship curriculums. The clerkship began receiving consistently high rankings from medical students on the Association of American Medical Colleges' Graduation Questionnaire, and Emory's surgery and surgical sub-specialty residencies started accruing their greatest number of applicants from Emory's medical graduates.
When describing Dr. Pettitt's success in connecting with the medical students, 2016 medical school graduate and current PGY1 general surgery resident Martha Conley-Ingram, MD, says, "Whether they are interested in pursuing a surgical career or not, Dr. Pettitt is clearly invested in the education of all medical students. In my case, her charisma, 'can do' attitude, and incredible attention to detail in crafting learning opportunities helped lead me to where I am now."
