Yale Internal Medicine Traditional Residency Honors Faculty and Trainees for Outstanding Teaching

On June 2, Yale held a graduation ceremony to celebrate the achievements of graduating interns and residents in the Traditional Residency Program.

Mark Siegel, MD, professor of medicine (pulmonary) and program director of the Internal Medicine Traditional Residency Program, gave a moving speech congratulating graduates and offering some final pieces of advice. “In a few weeks, you will become primary care physicians, hospitalists, and subspecialty fellows, but most of you can’t know which direction your career will take you,” he said. “But no matter what direction your career takes, follow your moral compass. Resist cynicism. Uphold honesty, integrity, generosity, and respect for all people, especially the marginalized and vulnerable. Speak up. Choose your words carefully, think well of others, and remain compassionate and kind, just as you are today.”

The ceremonies also included the presentation of the following teaching awards to residents, trainees, and faculty members:

The Fred S. Kantor, MD, Award for Teacher of the Year at Yale New Haven Health System: Tariq Ali, MD, MBA

The Asghar Rastegar, MD, Award for Teacher of the Year at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System: Jürgen Holleck, MD

Fellow of the Year Award: Salem Hernández, MD

Partners in Care Award: Laura De Vaux, RN

Support Staff Recognition Award: Brett Marks

VA Clinic Awards: Matthew Jiang, MD and Neeharika Namineni, MD

The Laura Whitman, MD, New Haven Primary Care Consortium Award: Casey Stein, MD, SB

Primary Care Center Humanism in Medicine Award: Gretchen Berland, MD

The Samuel D. Kushlan, MD, Awards: Ramya Sampath, MD and Jose Victor Jimenez Ceja, MD

Stephen R. Shell, MD, Memorial House Staff Award: Katherine Jane Feder, MD, MS, HEC-C

Frederick L. Sachs, MD Award: Mary Bridget Curtin White, MD

The Vasquez Award for Humanism: Cynthia McNamara, MD

The Hughes Award for Ambulatory Teaching: Jenna Klimovich, MD

West Haven VA Center of Excellence in Primary Care Education Award: Michael Arcieri, MD

Christopher Phillips, MD, Servant Leader Award: Jeremy Tchack, MD

New Haven Primary Care Consortium Teacher of the Year Award: Shawn Ong, MD, MHS

Fair Haven Community Health Care Teacher of the Year Award: Mario Ochoa Prieto, MD

Innovations in Ambulatory Education: Efia James, MD, MPH and Richard Smith, MD

Want to learn more about the residency programs within the Department of Internal Medicine? Visit Residency Training Programs.

The Department of Internal Medicine at Yale is among the nation's premier departments, bringing together an elite cadre of clinicians, investigators, educators, and staff in one of the world's top medical schools. To learn more, visit Internal Medicine.