PRESIDENT'S COLUMN
Read archives from AAN Past President Orly Avitzur, MD, MBA, FAAN, who served from May 2021 to April 2023.
March 2022
In Honor of Those Who Teach Us
Next month, we all will have an opportunity to engage in lifelong learning by attending lectures from educators from across the world at the 74th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Seattle. I already have bookmarked the programs I want to attend and hope that I will see you there. The new sessions are highlighted with yellow icons in the Education Program booklet and promise to bring fresh ideas since we last met three years ago, like the Post COVID Clinic directed by Sarah M. Benish, MD, FAAN, and the Epilepsy in Therapy Update directed by Joseph I. Sirven, MD, FAAN, both held at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, April 4. It makes me want to be in two places at once, but happily, those sessions will be available on demand after the meeting, along with many others, so I won’t have to try.
I have been fortunate to have been taught by exceptional educators―like many of the course directors and speakers who will be present at the Washington State Convention Center―ones who supported and encouraged me during the most challenging times in my training. During my third-year neurology rotation, I was introduced to outpatient neurology by William (Bill) H. Jeffreys, MD, FAAN, at Geisinger Medical Center, who retired in 2015 at age 89 after 58 years of teaching. He left the legacy of launching the hospital’s neurology program in 1961 and founding the Geisinger Neuroscience Center in 1984. His humble nature belied his intellect, vision, and a multitude of accomplishments. He regaled me with a never-ending stream of neurologic clinical pearls of wisdom during our weekly one-hour drive to a satellite clinic. (When I nodded off on one occasion after being on call, he cheerfully described the architecture of sleep when I woke up and told me all about my hypnagogic jerks.) “As doctors, our gifts should include time spent teaching,” Dr. Jeffreys once told an interviewer when asked about his plans for trainees. “It is our responsibility to make certain that students are prepared to practice 21st century medicine. That is what the residency program will do.”
Later, when I went to Yale to train in my own residency program, it was my good fortune to have been assigned another consummate educator, Jonathan H. Pincus, MD, as my neurology program director. When I think about him today, I most remember his gregarious nature. Dr. Pincus found humor and joy in the most mundane of encounters, greeting patients with peals of laughter, making the experience not only educational but tremendous fun. He taught me not only about neurology, but about the value of a warm physician-patient relationship and the healing power of humor.
A year after I finished my residency, he was appointed chairman of neurology at Georgetown University School of Medicine and in 2001, he served as chief of service at the Washington Veterans Administration Hospital, a position that he held until his death in 2015. His son, Adam, described meeting his father’s trainees in a Neurology® article written after Dr. Pincus' death by his Yale residents: “They didn't just admire your academic achievements; rather, they mainly appreciated your supportive, paternal, and heartwarming approach.” That was my experience; he made it his mission to encourage and praise young neurologists like me and overlooked our blunders and inexperience.
Teachers like Dr. Jeffreys and Dr. Pincus are the reason we all go into neurology and our field is blessed with many exceptional ones. As we look forward to Match Day 2022 later this month, I would like to thank them for their dedication to the future of our pipeline and wish all my best to the medical students about to be welcomed into our field. I asked a few exemplary educators to share their thoughts about teaching and how they continue to engage, motivate, and support trainees through the challenges of a multi-year pandemic. I hope their words inspire you as they have me.
Orly Avitzur, MD, MBA, FAAN
President, AAN
@OrlyA on Twitter
The neurology clerkship transitioned to the fourth year of medical school in 2021. Now, students have the added stress of scheduling time out for interviews or isolation periods if they are exposed to or become sick with COVID. Therefore, to satisfy the clerkship educational goals, they can complete online modules used during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic to make up for their missed clinical and didactic work. We no longer have lectures and our didactic sessions have transitioned to be 100-percent case-based, which promotes student participation and engagement.
―Miguel Chuquilin Arista, MD, FAAN
The key role of neurology clerkhip and program directors during the pandemic is to be always available to support the residents and medical students so that patient care and teaching continue uninterrupted. This includes physically being present each day, listening attentively to their concerns, communicating medical center directives clearly and regularly, and ensuring that they have adequate PPE. The PD and CD are role models and how they react to the pandemic in many ways will determine how the residents and students react. It is also important to continue to plan social events within the guidelines imposed by the pandemic.
―Ralph F. Jozefowicz, MD, FAAN
During this challenging marathon we’ve been running, we try to remind our residents that they are heroes. They are putting patients first through every wave of this pandemic, showing up, and caring for others. We discuss the importance of looking out for each other and caring for one another during this time as well. We work as a team, always. When it comes to keeping our trainees motivated, food is key. The mantra of our program is that food is love. It nourishes the soul and gives us the energy to keep moving forward!
―Arielle Kurzweil, MD
Teamwork, flexibility, and optimism have been key to successfully navigating the challenges of the ‘COVID era.’ Finding ways to be creative and celebrate successes and milestones have buoyed morale and fostered connectivity despite the social limitations imposed by COVID. For example, I welcomed our residency’s ‘first baby’ with a socially distanced baby shower for one of our residents, and events such as virtual games for board review have been well received. Additionally, the residents developed and launched a residency Instagram page, which has been a great platform to highlight wins and amplify the fun we have learning and growing together.
―Dalila W. Lewis, MD, FAAP
Educators and students alike have had to quickly integrate flexibility, demonstrate creativity, and develop resiliency to adapt to the changing learning environment during the pandemic. Silver linings include the accelerated implementation of virtual learning and assessment modalities, engagement of senior student ambassadors and resident teachers, and initiation of cross-institutional collaborations that will remain even after the pandemic to enhance program offerings. The virtual platform has also allowed SIGN chapters and educators to connect across borders to foster pipeline interest in neurology. Enthusiasm, however, for bedside teaching remains our most powerful tool to engage and motivate trainees.
―Madhu Soni, MD, FAAN
Mentoring and working with residents and medical students has been a bright spot in these last two years for me. The ability to bring enthusiasm and curiosity to the minds of learners is something that I feel privileged to be a part of. Protecting and supporting their education remains a big part of the job, and though it puts me at odds with hospital administration at times, it continues to be the right thing to do.
―Jose H. Posas, MD, FAAN