Springfield Clinical Campus Honors Volunteer Faculty

The University of Missouri School of Medicine honored Springfield area physicians March 21 who have volunteered their time to mentor and teach the 28 MU medical students who move to Springfield every June to start their third year of medical school.

The MU School of Medicine Springfield Clinical Campus Faculty Appreciation Dinner provided an opportunity for administrators and students to thank the volunteer faculty members for their time and dedication to training the next generation of physicians.

Under the guidance of 14 associate clerkship directors at Mercy Health and Cox Health, the medical students rotate through core areas of medicine during their third year, and electives during their fourth and final year. More than 400 physicians at Mercy and Cox serve as faculty for the Springfield Clinical Campus.

“We have now had 78 students graduate and go on to their residency training. Of the six who have finished residency, three are practicing here in southwest Missouri,” said Richard J. Barohn, MD, the Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and Hugh E. and Sarah D. Stephenson Dean at the MU School of Medicine. “Our students speak very highly of their time with Cox and Mercy physicians.”

In addition to thanking the volunteer faculty, students awarded several Cox and Mercy physicians with “Preceptor of the Year” awards.  Angela Whitesell, MD, a family medicine physician with Mercy Health, was named the 2023 Springfield Clinical Campus Lecturer of the Year.

“We are extremely grateful for the support and partnership,” said David Haustein, MD, Associate Dean, Springfield Clinical Campus. “Our Springfield Clinical Campus continues to be a success thanks to this truly unique and special collaboration between private health systems and an academic medical center.”

At the conclusion of the awards dinner, Haustein also recognized the MU School of Medicine staff members who work tirelessly behind the scenes to create exceptional learning experiences for students.

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