UCSF School of Medicine faculty Gurpreet Dhaliwal, MD, assistant health sciences clinical professor of medicine, and George Sawaya, MD, associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences and of epidemiology and biostatistics, are recipients of this year's Distinction in Teaching Awards.
The campus community is invited to the Distinction in Teaching Award ceremony on Wednesday, May 2 at noon in Toland Hall on the UCSF Parnassus campus.
The Academic Senate recently announced the recipients for the two categories of the award. Category 1 recognizes distinction in teaching for faculty at UCSF five years or fewer, and Category 2 recognizes distinction in teaching for faculty at UCSF for more than five years. To select each year's recipients, the Academic Senate Committee on Academic Personnel designates a selection committee comprising faculty and student representatives from all four schools.
Dhaliwal is the recipient for the Category 1 award and Sawaya is the recipient for the Category 2 award.
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Gurpreet Dhaliwal
Gurpreet Dhaliwal originally came to UCSF for his residency in internal medicine in 1998, when he was considered "one of the very best residents here in quite some time" and was the "clear choice" for chief medical resident. He was appointed as assistant clinical professor in the Department of Medicine in 2002, and now is a clinician-educator at the UCSF-affiliated San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center (SFVAMC). (The clinical professor series for nonvolunteer faculty is now distinguished as the Health Sciences Clinical Professor series.)
Dhaliwal was inducted into the Academy of Medical Educators in 2005.
"His clinical skills, knowledge and professionalism are unsurpassed; his teaching is always highly effective, and his caring approach to his students and to all he does makes him a role model for many others," says Paul Volberding, MD, vice chair of the Department of Medicine.
An exceptional clinician-educator, Dhaliwal teaches in a wide range of settings, including the emergency room and ambulatory clinics, and he directs bedside teaching in addition to his didactic lecturing in the Foundations of Patient Care and the Integration and Consolidation courses.
Dhaliwal has been the site director of the Internal Medicine Student Clerkship at the SFVAMC since 2005. He has won several UCSF honors and awards, including the Calvin L. Chou PRIME Teaching Award (2006), the Henry J. Kaiser Award for Excellence in Inpatient Teaching (2005), the Floyd C. Rector Jr. Housestaff Teaching Award (2003), and the Excellence in Small Group Instruction Award (2001).
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George Sawaya
George Sawaya began his career at UCSF as a resident in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences in 1990, and was a fellow in the Training in Clinical Research Program in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics from 1994 to 1996. In 1996, Sawaya was appointed to the UCSF faculty as an assistant adjunct professor, and by 1997 became an assistant professor in residence in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences with a secondary appointment in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Sawaya is currently an associate professor with appointments in both departments and is a member of the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Sawaya's teaching covers numerous courses and a variety of venues. Recently, Sawaya has taught in the Cancer Block, Clinical Decision Making, the Life Cycle Block, Physiology (all for UCSF medical students), and Research Methods and Introduction to Evidence-Based Medicine for Obstetrics and Gynecology residents.
Sawaya has "contributed significantly and creatively to the design of new courses at UCSF" and has been an excellent and effective mentor for students, fellows and faculty.
Sawaya was inducted into the Academy of Medical Educators in 2003. Previous distinctions for Sawaya include the Outstanding Teaching Award for Medical Student Education (1993), and the Outstanding Resident Teaching Award and Exceptional Achievements in Resident Education (1994 and 2005) from the UCSF Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Excellence in Small Group Instruction from the UCSF School of Medicine Class of 2000 (2000), and the Excellence in Teaching Award from the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics (2000).
Students' comments for Sawaya are uniformly laudatory, offering high praise for his precision, professionalism, dedication, sense of humor, availability and ability not only to relate and engage important information, but to inspire. Students frequently express their gratitude for his ability to make evidence-based medicine come alive and relate clinical points with the underlying science.
Comments such as these typify students' appreciation for Sawaya's teaching: "He cares deeply about my learning and has tailored my responsibilities to meet my learning goals. His passion for his work is infectious and he is incredibly fun to work with."
