From the Dean’s Desk  |  Faculty Members Ignite Passion for Teaching Among Medical Students

One of the abiding aspects of Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University is the strength of our faculty. They not only are outstanding clinicians, but also talented educators, dedicated to continuously enhancing their teaching skills through professional development.

Our core faculty of more than 200 Cleveland Clinic staff physicians and scientists serve as curriculum directors, thread leaders, longitudinal preceptors, problem-based learning facilitators and physician advisors. They both teach and guide our medical students throughout their five-year academic journey.

Several hundred additional faculty play critical roles, teaching and mentoring students in research and clinical rotations. Our students consistently tell us that they are not only enthusiastically welcomed by these faculty members, but also treated like junior colleagues.

Our students appreciate effective, engaging educators and are inspired by them. Many students seek to “pay it forward” by volunteering to teach others. Teaching allows them to cement their own understanding while sharing the benefit of their knowledge.

For example, some of our students have helped teach anatomy to physician assistant students at the University of Mount Union. Some help educate community members at homeless shelters and health clinics in underserved areas. Others participate in an annual medical mission trip to Kenya. Still others deliver a tailored health curriculum for middle schoolers at Bolton Elementary School in the Cleveland neighborhood of Fairfax.

I invite you to read about an innovative youth education and mentorship program in which one of our students, Derrick Obiri-Yeboah (’24), is deeply involved. In “Brainstormers are in the House,” you’ll find out how Derrick and several Cleveland Clinic neurosurgery residents are collaborating to bring neuroscience to a group of students from the Cleveland School of Science and Medicine, with the aim of increasing diversity in neurosurgery.

During this season of gratitude, I would like to extend my sincerely appreciation to our faculty for their time, effort and enthusiasm around teaching our students and for continuing to develop as teachers. As the backbone of our program, you make a difference in our students’ lives and contribute to the ongoing success of the CCLCM mission every single day. Thank you for everything you do.

Please accept my best wishes for happy holidays and a new year filled with peace, happiness and good health.

Bud Isaacson, MD

Executive Dean