Springfield Clinical Campus celebrates community-based faculty

The University of Missouri School of Medicine honored several Springfield-area physicians at the annual Faculty Appreciation Dinner on April 23. These physicians graciously volunteer their time to teach and mentor MU medical students based at the Springfield Clinical Campus (SCC) for their last two years of medical school.

Under the guidance of 14 associate clerkship directors, third-year medical students rotate through core fields of medicine, and fourth-year students rotate through electives. Including the clerkship directors, more than 350 physicians at Mercy Health and CoxHealth serve as community-based faculty at the clinical campus.

“Our students speak very highly of their time with Cox and Mercy physicians,” said Richard J. Barohn, MD, executive vice chancellor for health affairs and Hugh E. and Sarah D. Stephenson dean at the MU School of Medicine. “We are excited to celebrate our Springfield physician faculty who invest their time and talents to train our students.”

The dinner is an opportunity for administrators and students to thank these doctors by recognizing them with “Preceptor of the Year” awards, selected through a nomination process by students. Nine doctors were honored.

• Family Medicine Preceptor of the Year: Angela Whitesell, MD
• Internal Medicine Preceptor of the Year: Opeyemi Ayeni, MD
• Neurology Preceptor of the Year: Ahmed Robbie, MD
• Obstetrics and Gynecology Preceptor of the Year: Jessica Gillen, MD
• Pediatrics Preceptor of the Year: John Burson, MD
• Psychiatry Preceptor of the Year: Shawn Rice, MD
• Surgery Preceptor of the Year: David Merriman, MD
• Clinical Subspecialty Preceptor of the Year: John Steinberg, MD, cardiothoracic surgeon
• Subspecialty Preceptor of the Year: Nicole Pele, DO, pathologist

In addition, William Moore, MD, an internal medicine specialist with CoxHealth, was named as the 2024 SCC Lecturer of the Year.

At the end of the dinner, David Haustein, MD, associate dean of the Springfield Clinical Campus, expressed his thanks to SCC staff members who work tirelessly to ensure students receive exceptional learning experiences. He also reiterated the main message of the evening: gratitude for the Springfield-area physicians who voluntarily teach and mentor MU medical students.

“You are training the next generation of health care heroes, passing along your knowledge and skills and inspiring those who come after us,” Haustein said at the event. “Whether it’s through providing amazing experiences in your clinic or in the operating room, or by simply modeling compassionate care and professionalism, you are contributing in a meaningful way to the care of our families, friends and neighbors for years to come.”

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