Dr. Mark Wilson, Clinical Professor of General Internal Medicine, is one of four Carver College of Medicine faculty members to receive the Collegiate Teaching Award. Sponsored by the Office of Faculty Affairs and Development, this award acknowledges faculty who “demonstrate unusually significant and meritorious achievement” as instructors in an academic year.

Dr. Wilson was nominated by Dr. Dale Abel, Chair and DEO of Internal Medicine, and Dr. Joe Szot, Vice Chair of Education. In their letter to the selection committee they highlighted Dr. Wilson’s ability to “connect with learners at their level with methods centered on mutual respect” and his talent for “fostering self-directed learning, growth of knowledge, and confidence” in each student. Drs. Abel and Szot also praised a leadership development course devised by Dr. Wilson for chief residents that has served as a model for other programs throughout the institution.

Student evaluations of Dr. Wilson were also submitted to the selection committee and both the quantitative data as well as the comments spoke overwhelmingly in favor of his candidacy for the Collegiate Teaching Award.

• “Dr. Wilson is one of the best attendings I have had. He was thoughtful and made sure there was something taught for every patient on every day.”
• “Gave great feedback on presentations / clinical skill and had great advice on how to improve as a clinician.”
• “I learned a lot from him and felt he was genuinely interested in helping us learn to be good physicians. One of the best teaching faculty I have had this year.”

Dr. Wilson approaches his work with a great deal of humility. “We don’t want to train others to be as good as ourselves,” he says, “we want to train others to be better than we are.” He also is not content to rest on established methods: “I constantly take calculated risks with my teaching efforts, aiming that they never slide into predictability.”

The Department of Internal Medicine is grateful for Dr. Wilson’s dedication and his unflagging efforts to instill the best skills and practices in the next generation of physicians. Congratulations, Dr. Wilson!