2017 Federman Teaching Award recipient Daniel Solomon is congratulated by students and colleagues.
Since 1982, the Harvard Medical School community has come together each year to celebrate its most outstanding teachers—faculty whose mentorship, excellence and commitment to their craft make an indelible impact on the lives of their students long after graduation.
This year, marked by the recent passing of the celebration’s namesake, the annual Daniel D. Federman Teaching Awards was an especially poignant event.
“This ceremony is truly one of the highlights of the entire year, but bittersweet this year, for the fact that two weeks ago today, Dan passed away,” said Edward Hundert, HMS dean for medical education, in his opening remarks.
“What an incredible influence he had on so many of us,” said Hundert, who recalled Federman’s aphorisms for how to become a great clinical teacher.
“Dan would say, ‘Well it’s actually pretty simple. You just have to remember three things: think out loud, stick to the basics and be kind.’”
“I think the kindness, his humanity, was one of the things that made him so unique,” Hundert said.
An admired clinician, a distinguished professor and a transformative leader, as well as an alumnus of both Harvard college and HMS, Daniel Federman was a pillar of the Harvard community throughout his decades-long career. The Federman award recipients were nominated by their students because they embody the contributions and values Federman represented so well.
Many generations
“This ceremony is meant to recognize our very best teachers. A commitment to nurturing the leaders of tomorrow in medicine and research is at the core of our mission at HMS, and the School could not accomplish this without the dedication you bring to the task,” said HMS Dean George Q. Daley, addressing the award winners and faculty in attendance.
Federman served as dean for students and alumni from 1977 to 1989, helping to develop and implement the New Pathway curriculum that has been imitated by medical schools throughout the U.S. He also served as dean for medical education from 1989 to 2000, overseeing the training of multiple generations of HMS physicians and inspiring many to dedicate their lives to teaching as he once did.
“Federman was a shining example of the absolute best that HMS has to offer. He was probably the best bedside teacher I ever had,” said Daley, who added, “His work really emphasized the importance of teaching to this institution, and his legacy will reverberate throughout HMS for generations.”
The 2017 Daniel D. Federman Teaching Awards winners were presented prizes by colleagues and students who shared inspirational stories about the characteristics that made the recipients such esteemed teachers: dedication, enthusiasm, generosity, patience, kindness, knowledge and more.
“Isn’t celebrating excellence one of the most important things we can do?” Hundert asked. “Role models inspire and challenge us, and I come back from an afternoon like this and say, ‘We have to work harder, to replicate what we saw here over and over again.’”
The following HMS faculty and staff members were honored at the 2017 Daniel D. Federman Teaching Awards ceremony on Sept. 20. The Irving M. London Teaching Award, Cynthia N. Kettyle Teaching Award in Psychiatry, and the Jonathan F. Borus Outstanding Early Career Educator Award in Psychiatry were presented in separate ceremonies.
Donald O’Hara, Ph.D. Faculty Prizes for Excellence in Teaching, Harvard Medical School
- Dara Lee Lewis, HMS instructor in medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital
- Jeffrey William, HMS instructor in medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Charles McCabe, M.D. Faculty Prizes for Excellence in Teaching, Harvard Medical School
- Donald Bae, HMS associate professor of orthopedic surgery at Boston Children's Hospital
- Leigh Simmons, HMS assistant professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital
Bulfinch Medical Student Teaching Award, Massachusetts General Hospital
- Eli Miloslavsky, HMS assistant professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital
- Noelle Saillant, HMS instructor in surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital
S. Robert Stone Award for Excellence in Teaching, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
- Anita Vanka, HMS instructor in medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
- Yvonne Gomez-Carrion, HMS assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Leo A. Blacklow Teaching Award, Mount Auburn Hospital
- Daniel A. Solomon, HMS instructor in medicine at Mount Auburn Hospital
Bernard Lown Award for Excellence in Teaching, Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Stephanie Caterson, HMS assistant professor of surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital
Robert P. Masland, Jr. Teaching Award, Boston Children’s Hospital
- Ari Wassner, HMS assistant professor of pediatrics at Boston Children's Hospital
L. James Wiczai Award for Leadership, Excellence and Innovation in Medical Education, Harvard Medical School
- Winnie Yu, clerkship coordinator at Boston Children’s Hospital
Richard A. Gillis Award for Excellence in Medical Education, Harvard Medical School
- Csilla Kiss, program coordinator, Oliver Wendell Holmes Society
