The Brody School of Medicine
Office of Faculty Development
What We Do
The Office of Faculty Development (OFD) promotes excellence in medical education at ECU’s Brody School of Medicine through the professional development of faculty, including affiliate and adjunct faculty. We support faculty in becoming outstanding teachers, scholars, researchers, clinicians, scientists and administrators. We provide programming for faculty, as well as exit interviews for departing faculty and support in resolving faculty inquiries and concerns.
The various programs offered by The Office of Faculty Development include an annual series of teaching and assessment workshops; conferences and online faculty development resources; junior female faculty mentoring program (Mentoring Advice Program); MedEd Day; medical writing consultation services; New Faculty Orientation; and teaching opportunities for retired physicians.
WHO WE ARE
Dr. Leigh Patterson of Kinston, NC earned her master’s degree in Education from ECU in 2013. She has worked in various roles at the Brody School of Medicine since joining faculty in 2005, including Emergency Medicine Residency Director, Chair of the Brody Executive Curriculum Committee, Course Director for M3 Radiology, and Interim Chair for the Department of Pathology. During her tenure as Residency Director, the program enjoyed a strong reputation for excellence in recruiting and training for EM residents. Leigh currently serves as Associate Dean for Faculty Development for the Brody School of Medicine and as Interim Chair for the Department of Emergency Medicine. Beyond ECU, Leigh served locally on the Vidant Medical Center Graduate Medical Education (GME) Committee, the GME Educational Subcommittee, and nationally on the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors Remediation Taskforce. She was recently named a 2018-2019 Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine fellow, a year-long, part-time fellowship that recognizes executive leadership in academic medicine.
Dr. Salma Syed completed Pediatric residency in Beaumont Hospital, Michigan, followed by a fellowship in Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunology at the University of Michigan. After fellowship, she joined Stony Brook University Medical Center - Children’s Hospital, where she served as Associate Program Director and later, as Program Director of the Pediatric ID Fellowship. During her time as residency director, the program successfully underwent re-accreditation, and she worked to increase the number of fellow positions in the program. As Principal Investigator she also conducted a National Institutes of Child Health and Development grant funded study on cardiovascular risk markers in HIV infected adolescents. In December 2011 she joined the Pediatric ID division at the Brody School of Medicine. After Salma’s arrival, she started the ECU Physicians Pediatric Travel Medicine Clinic and serves as director of the Pediatric HIV Clinic, a Ryan White grant funded clinic. She is past Chair of the Brody Women Faculty Committee. In 2019 she joined the Office of Faculty Development as Assistant Dean. Her research interests include faculty mentoring, pediatric clinical trials, antibiotics in pediatric populations, and vaccine database research.
Allison Flowers holds an MAEd in Adult Education and a BA in English from East Carolina University. She came to Brody in April 2019 and serves as the Faculty Support Manager for the Office of Faculty Development. Allison also serves on several Brody committees and task forces, including the Executive Curriculum Committee, the Health Sciences Faculty Development Task Force and the BSOM IT Committee. She is a member of the Group on Faculty Affairs, the Group on Women in Medicine and Science and a member of the UNC Faculty and Academic Development Consortium. Prior to her career here at Brody, she worked in both the educational and research industries, with fourteen years of experience as an adult educator and adult education researcher and more than two decades of experience in the market research industry. Allison loves grammar, writing and editing. She is the proud mother of three happy and kind children and enjoys practicing yoga and reading in her free time.
Lenora Brooks is a Salisbury, North Carolina native who graduated from ECU in December 2019 with a BA in Communications with a concentration in Media Studies. She came to Brody this year and serves as the University Program Associate in the Office of Faculty Development. While studying at ECU, Lenora enjoyed playing clarinet with the East Carolina Marching Pirates and serving within Student Involvement and Leadership. She also worked at the ECU Main Campus Student Center as a Manager Event Specialist, responsible for over 60 employees. In her free time, Lenora loves to spend time with her two dogs, Lea and Nimbus.
Visit our OFD webpage: https://medicine.ecu.edu/faculty-development/
Follow us on Twitter at @ECU_BSOM_FacDev
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Brody School of Medicine
Master Educator Award
Brody School of Medicine's Master Educator program recognizes excellent faculty in any of the following categories: Educational Leadership & Administration, Outstanding Teaching or Mentorship, Educational Innovation & Curriculum Development, Educational Evaluation & Research, Faculty Development in Education and Educational Contribution by a Community Physician.
Drs. Adam Kansagor, Susan Schmidt and Diane Semer were recently named Master Educators by the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University.
The winners were announced during a Brody faculty meeting on Feb. 13, during which each winner received a white coat featuring a master educator designation, a plaque and other special items.
Faculty members and students may nominate faculty members to receive the award, and a committee of faculty members and students decides on the recipients.
Since the program began in 2002, 64 Brody faculty members have received the master educator recognition.
DR. SUSAN SCHMIDT
Dr. Susan Schmidt, Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Associate Dean for Student Affairs at the Brody School of Medicine, was recognized for “Educational Leadership & Administration.” Schmidt graduated from Brody in 2002 and then also completed her residency here in 2005.
“This is like coming full circle for me,” said Schmidt, who has served as Associate Dean since 2015. “Coming from being a student here and now being recognized in this way is huge. I consider it to be an honor to be a part of ECU Physicians, and to do what I do every day with our students is amazing. So, for people to even to consider me in this category, I’m humbled.”
Nominations from her peers praised Schmidt as a staunch advocate for students. Her colleagues view her student policy and procedure expertise as invaluable to medical students throughout their education at ECU. Faculty also deem Schmidt an available resource for counsel, advice and leadership, as well as humble, appreciative of others, and willing to listen to input from students and faculty alike.
DR. ADAM KANSAGOR
Dr. Adam Kansagor, a Clinical Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, was recognized for his “Outstanding Teaching or Mentorship Contribution.”
Nominations from his peers praised Kansagor as a gifted teacher and mentor to medical residents and students. Medical students appreciate his jovial nature, high expectations and caring approach to feedback; residents often comment that he elevates each trainee and respects them as important colleagues.
“It’s an honor,” said Kansagor, who has been an ECU faculty member since 2013. “And it’s nice to be recognized for the fact that we’re working really hard every single day to educate the future generation of physicians. I’m here today because of everybody that taught me. So, it’s really cool that I get to pass on that knowledge to my residents and medical students.”
Dr. Kansagor has twice received the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists National Faculty Teaching Award, most recently in 2019.
DR. DIANE SEMER
Dr. Diane Semer, a gynecologic oncologist with Physicians East in Greenville, was recognized for “Outstanding Educational Contribution by a Community Physician.” Semer received her medical degree from ECU in 1985 and then served as a Brody faculty member from 1992-2004 before going into private practice. She is the first community physician to receive this award.
Nominations from her peers said Semer has tirelessly provided cancer care to patients in eastern North Carolina for more than 25 years, and that her trainees are held to high standards of operative performance and management of critically ill patients, and in those settings some of the most important aspects of residency training are learned.
“It’s humbling to know that I’ve impacted a lot of the OB/GYNs in the community because I’ve been a part of their training,” Semer said. “And so, at the end of my career, it’s kind of a culmination of everything I’ve done for the last 28 years.”
“I think it’s important to educate our future doctors so that they are quality physicians and they have the skills they need to take care of patients compassionately and skillfully, and do surgery skillfully, so it’s important to do that,” she said. “And it’s important for me to continue in that role, even though I’m in a private practice."
Semer received the Community Faculty Teaching Award from the residency program in 2019 in addition to other faculty teaching awards during her time with ECU.
See all Brody School of Medicine Master Educator Award Winners here: https://medicine.ecu.edu/faculty-development/master-educator-winners/
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Brody School of Medicine
OB/GYN Sim Lab Day
OB/GYN Simulation/ Midterm Feedback Day began in 2014 when Dr. Jill Sutton became Clerkship Director. This full-day experience, held on the 3rd Friday of the 6 week clerkship, allows students to move through 14 simulation stations at their own pace in the morning, followed by an afternoon team-based simulation and core interactive lectures by clerkship faculty. Taking over the Sim Lab on that day are Kerianne Crockett, MD (Assistant Clerkship Director), Jill Sutton, MD (Clerkship Director), Monica Horne, CNM, DNP (Faculty), Shauna Meyers (Clerkship Coordinator) and the "superstar students of that cohort."
The objectives are to gain comfort in basic procedural skills of an OB/GYN, to gain comfort in oral exam techniques, and to perform a simulation regarding an obstetric emergency utilizing a team approach to care.
This Simulation/Midterm Feedback Day was shared with a national audience at APGO Faculty Development Seminar in 2018.
In the morning, the students take a self-paced journey through the following stations:
- Estimated Blood Loss in Obstetric Hemorrhage
- Replacing Blood Loss after the Hemorrhage
- Fire in the OR
- Laparoscopic Simulator 1 (2 Students)
- Laparoscopic Simulator 2
- Mirena IUD placement
- Endometrial Biopsy
- Post-Operative Nerve Injury – the Importance of Proper Patient Positioning in OR
- The Breast Exam
- Knot Tying (Multiple students can be at this station at one time)
- Suturing (Multiple students can be at this station at one time)
- Vaginal Birth and Shoulder Dystocia
- Meet with Dr. Sutton for your Review Self-Assessment/Feedback/Review Order Sets
- Simbionix Laparoscopy
- SonoSim: Ultrasound Simulation
In the afternoon, all work together as a team:
1:30pm: Debriefing and Review of Answers to Station Questions
2:15pm: Simulated Vaginal Birth with SimMomTM, Apgar Scoring and Newborn Resuscitation
3:15pm: Shoulder Dystocia Lecture by Dr. Sutton
4:00pm: GYN Malignancy Lecture by Dr. Crockett with a bonus of Teaching how to answer an Oral Exam Style Question
4:30pm: Wrap Up, Questions and Feedback
Dr. Crockett explains, "It is much easier to allow a student the trial and error associated with teaching something procedural on a pad of silicone meant to look like skin than an actual patient's skin," when teaching students knot tying and suturing.
She feels the benefits of Sim Lab Day to students include "hands-on experience in a low-stakes environment ... and also an opportunity to interact with the leadership of the clerkship in a relaxed, informal way." This allows students to ask questions they might hesitate to ask in an actual clinical setting.
Dr. Sutton describes this day as "a hands-on immersive experience for students to get exposure to the procedural aspects of our specialty."
"Students are able to get their one-on-one feedback (an LCME requirement) in the midst of having a fun day in the Sim Lab," says Dr. Sutton.
Dr. Sutton points out the success of this day is attributed to faculty, students and the assistance of others: "Shauna Meyers has this on lock-down ... and with the amazing help of the Simulation Center staff, it is set up and ready to do for showtime on Friday morning!"
The M3 students react positively to the Sim Lab Day experience.
Student Adeola Keku said, "The sim stations were a lot of fun. The stations focused on relevant and common experiences that we would encounter during our OB/GYN rotation."
M3 Will McAllister felt the Blood Loss Estimation station was very meaningful. He said it "is not a skill that is often taught in clinical settings and is a ... handy piece of knowledge that not many people have."
On knot tying and suturing, Keku noted, "It was nice to have Dr. Crockett teach a small group of us and offer immediate feedback in a low pressure setting rather than trying to learn in the OR." McAllister also mentioned the value of feedback: "Being able to have the direct feedback of working with Drs. Sutton and Crockett in the rooms for the shoulder dystocia simulation and the knot tying was very beneficial."
McAllister pointed out, "Being able to work in an 'inter-professional' team ... was a great opportunity to not only become more experienced with the steps of a delivery, but also to practice communication in a hectic session as well as establishing roles for different healthcare providers."
Keku echoed how the instruction goes beyond physical skills: "I believe the wisdom and clinical pearls that Dr. Sutton shared when she managed nine obstetric emergencies all in one shift speaks to how physicians manage challenging situations. They ask for help, lean on their medical team and take time to recuperate after a demanding day."
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Brody School of Medicine
Mentoring Advice Program
In 2019, the Office of Faculty Development (OFD) initiated the Mentoring Advice Program (MAP) to promote the career development and advancement of junior female faculty at the Assistant Professor level at Brody School of Medicine through a program that is tailored to their needs.
MAP, which runs yearly from August to May, provides female mentees workshop programming on career development, wellness and research topics. Junior mentee participants in the program are paired with mentors.
MAP participants are required to complete a project as part of their participation in the program.
Left to right: Yin Chow, MD, Allison Schiller, MD, Lauren Sarno, MD, Megan Ferderber, MD, Shaundreal Jamison, MD, Sheena Eagan, MD, Cathleen Cook, MD
MAP 2019 - 2020 Mentee Sheena Eagan, MPH, PhD
Dr. Sheena Eagan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioethics and Interdisciplinary Studies. She earned her PhD in the medical humanities from the Institute for the Medical Humanities at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, as well as a Master of Public Health from the Uniformed Services University.
Her research agenda focuses on medical ethics and the history of medicine, with a subspecialized focus on military medicine. Eagan is the creator and president of the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities group for Military, Humanitarian and Disaster Medicine and has worked closely with the International Committee of Military Medicine. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals, military-specific publications, and edited books on a variety of topics in military medicine.
Before coming to ECU, she worked as a defense sub-contractor, providing ethics education to military service-members and their families and also held a variety of visiting scholar positions for Yale University, the Brocher Foundation, and the University of Belgrade.
Dr. Eagan explains why she applied to the MAP program: "I was specifically interested in the opportunity to be matched with a mentor outside of my field, thereby gaining new insights and perspectives to aid in my professional development. This type of advice is vital to my larger career goals in both teaching and research."
MAP mentees design a project that is presented at the culmination of the program in May. Eagan's project, titled Odysseus Goes to University, is an intervention targeted at incoming student veterans. Her impetus for this project? "Showing up alone on the first day of classes can be intimidating, especially to student Veterans who might feel out of touch with the traditional undergraduate population and those who might not yet feel that they belong—or deserve to be—in a university. The intervention—a Veteran to Scholar Boot Camp—aims to assist Veterans in making a successful transition from military to university life."
MAP 2019 - 2020 Mentor Lorita Rebellato, PhD
Dr. Lorita M Rebellato has a BS in Pharmacy and Chemistry from Brazil , an MS in Biology from ECU and a PhD in Microbiology/Immunobiology from the Brody School of Medicine. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics.
Dr. Rebellato is a Professor in the Department of Pathology, and is the Scientific Director, Technical Supervisor and Clinical Consultant for the Histocompatibility Laboratory in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine at Vidant Medical Center.
The Mentoring experience comes full circle for Dr. Rebellato: "I had the privilege to participate in a mentoring program as a junior faculty. Therefore, when I was asked to participate in MAP, it was an absolutely yes. Now looking back at my experience, clearly the mentorship program had a critical role in helped me set up goals for my academic career."
On her mentee, Rebellato says, "I have had the privilege to work with Sheena Eagan and have enjoyed getting to know her personally and professionally. I feel that Sheena and I had an instant bonding since we share many things including love for our military. Sheena’s project focusing on making the lives of men and women in the military better has been a wonderful experience in which to take part."
Mentee Eagan has found a lifelong connection in Mentor Rebellato: "The mentor that I have been matched with is wonderful. She offers much needed insights and support as I navigate this stage of my career. I anticipate that we will stay connected long after this program!"
MAP Workshop Topics
- Initial Meeting of Mentor/Mentee pairs
- Intro to Research
- DiSC Workplace Assessment
- Scientific / Grant Writing
- Team Building / Conflict Management
- CV Management / Time Management
- Work-Life Balance / Using Twitter
- Promotion / Tenure
- Burnout and Resilience
- Teaching and Assessment
- MAP Project (Posters and Presentations)
We are now accepting applications for the 2020 - 2021 cohort. Interested applicants may contact Allison Flowers at 744-2870 or flowersa19@ecu.edu
Credits:
Photos by ECU Photos, Sheena Eagan, Allison Flowers and Andrew Horne. Master Educator write-ups by Kelly Dilda, ECU News Services.