Awards and Recognition
A central mission and philosophy of the Office of Professional Oversight at Saint Louis University School of Medicine is to recognize and reward excellent professionalism. There are many individuals who go above and beyond to actively promote a culture of care, compassion and excellence in all they do. These awards all come with community recognition, a letter of appreciation and a monetary award.
OPO sponsors three professionalism awards:
Excellence in Professionalism Award
The SLU School of Medicine's Office of Professional Oversight (OPO) wants to know and recognize educators (faculty, fellows, trainees, students, nurses, administration, etc.) who exceptionally model the core principles of professionalism:
- Investment and engagement in learner education
- Practices civility and an understanding of respect in modeled
- Recognizes and honors the vast diversity within our learning environment
- Displays patience, empathy and care
- Is trustworthy and committed to the practice of medicine
This nomination will be reviewed by the Office of Professional Oversight and shared with the nominee. All nominees will be recognized on the OPO website. The nomination process is rolling and will be marketed monthly. Each month, one individual will receive the “Exceptional Professionalism Award” and be recognized via Newslink. The recipient will also receive a certificate and token of appreciation from the OPO.
Use the link below to share your story regarding the individual that you are nominating. Explain how they embody characteristics related to professionalism and how they have impacted your experience at SLU. With the nominator’s permission, each story will be forwarded to the nominee.
Make a Nomination for Excellence in Professionalism
Recognition Program
The Office of Professional Oversight in the School of Medicine has launched a new initiative to recognize members of the medical school community who have made a positive impact within the school’s learning environment.
Read About the Recognition Program Launch
Honorees
- February: Yuri Chaves Martins, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant professor, anesthesiology and chronic pain management - March: Amy Ravin, M.D.
Associate professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health
Director, Third-Year Medical Student Clerkship Program - April: Lina Toledo-Franco, M.D.
Assistant professor, palliative medicine
Program director, Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program - May: Joshua Arthur, M.D.
Associate professor, general academic pediatrics
Chair, SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital Ethics Committee - August: Matthew Wagoner, M.D.
Resident, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery - September: Elyse Shaw Ellis, M.D.
Assistant profesor, Department of Pediatrics - October: Kara Christopher, Ph.D.
Assistant research professor, Department of Neurology
- January: Wissam Kiwan, M.D.
Advanced endoscopist, assistant professor of internal medicine gastroenterology - February: Adam Newlin, M.D.
Resident, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience - June: Ryan Plunkett, M.D.
Resident, internal medicine - August: Danier Ong
Resident, emergency medicine - September: Katie Farrell, M.D.
Associate professor of surgery, general surgery residency assistant program director - October: Lindsey Bennett
Sonographer, pediatric cardiology
- January: Aaron Miller, M.D.
Associate professor of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric infectious Diseases - February: Saida Kent, M.D.
Faculty, internal medicine - June: Joseph Espiritu, M.D.
Faculty, internal medicine - July Raymond Okeke, M.D.
Chief resident, Division of General Surgery - August: Vimita Patel, M.D.
Resident, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience - October: Samuel Rhinehardt, M.D.
Faculty, colon and rectal surgery - November: Kevin Jagessar, Ph.D.
Research scientist, biochemistry and molecular biology
- January: Alejandro Mendez-Castillo, M.D.
- February: Farzana Hoque, M.D.
- March: Amanda Partee
- April: Saindeep Jain, M.D.
- June: Malia Gresham, M.D.
- July: Louisa Ragsdale, M.D.
- August: Erick Messias, M.D.
Professor and chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience - September: Lisa Velez-Velez, M.D.
- October: Amy Mosman
- November: Meadow Campbell, Ph.D.
- December: Shannon Grabosch, Ph.D.
- July: Amy Gallop, M.D.
Resident, psychiatry - August: Ghassan Daher, M.D.
Faculty, internal medicine - September: Neal Weber
Director of instructional design - October: Sameer Siddiqui M.D.
Professor and chair, Department of Surgery - November: Raymond Akinnawo
Resident, Department of Department of Emergency Medicine - December: Wilson Rodriguez, M.D.
Resident, Department of Neurology
- January: Chintalapati Varma, M.D.
Associate professor, Abdominal Transplant Center - February: Sagun Goyal, M.D.
Division director, internal medicine - hematology/oncology
- April: David A. Wathen, D.O
- May: Bruce Kraemer
- June: Jane Yoon
- July: Sara McBride
- August: Gabriela Espinoza, associate professor ophthalmology
- September: David Picker, assistant professor pulmonology
- October: Timothy Havens, assistant professor emergency medicine
- November: Zachary Hamilton, assistant professor surgery - urology
- December: Amir Mohebbi, resident psychiatry
Staff Pillar of Professionalism
The Office of Professional Oversight (OPO) is committed to honoring the contributions of the exemplary staff within the SLU School of Medicine and the academic practice of SSM Health. In doing so, the OPO will award one staff member monthly for their achievements in the areas listed below.
Recipients of the Staff Pillar of Professionalism Award will be nominated by colleagues and/or managers for their contributions. Nominees should be staff (full-time or part-time) of either SLU or SSM, and can fall within any of the following categories:
- Members of academic departments
- Health care professionals residing in both inpatient and outpatient clinical environments
- Departmental staff within the School of Medicine and SSM communities who do not fall in the above categories
- Criteria for the Staff Pillar of Professionalism Award:
- Strong nominations will address the nominee’s ability to rise above their peers in one or more of the following categories.
- Collaborates with internal and/or external stakeholders
- Fosters positivity and a supportive work environment
- Significantly contributes to established unit goals
- Role models professional behavior
- Leads with courage
- Commitment to creating an inclusive working environment
- Dedication to individual growth and professional development
Honorees
- February: Stephanie Decker
Chief of staff to the dean of the School of Medicine and vice president for medical affairs - March: Laurin Espy
Epilepsy program coordinator, Comprehensive Center for Epilepsy - April: Jonia Jones
Operations coordinator, Department of Family and Community Medicine - May: Aimee Dunajcik
Nurse navigator, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health - August: Lori Gallini Hartig
Residency program manager and senior education specialist, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health - September: Maxine Ward
Administrative assistant, Saint Louis University School of Medicine Office of Admission - October: Wanda Bailey-Gregory
Residency program manager, Division of Emergency Medicine
- January: Madeleine Rowe
Clerkship coordinator, Division of General Internal Medicine - February: Avery Levinger
Administrative assistant III, Office of Curricular Affairs - May: Genevieve Desloge
Residency program manager, Diagnostic radiology - June: Monisha Hall
Administrative assistant, Office of Curricular Affairs - July: Emily Scherliss
Assistant director of admissions, Saint Louis University School of Medicine - August: Sarah Dawson
Executive director, Practical Anatomy and Surgical Education (PASE) - September: Jenna Pleimann
Residency coordinator, Interventional radiology - October: Ivonne Larrea
Research assistant, Pharmacology and physiology
- January: Joann Biehl
Information technology site support specialist - March: Matt Olwig
Project manager - June: Mersiha Skokic
Oncology nurse navigator
SSM Health-SLUCare Physician Group - July: Patricia Anderson
Program coordinator, Center for Anatomical Science and Education - August: Bernadette Wylie
Technologist I, IT End User Services - October: Emily Hines
Director, Office of Admissions - November: Denise Parker
Business manager, Office of Curricular Affairs
The Positivity Project
The Positivity Project is a student-run initiative that aims to acknowledge those students who go above and beyond for their peers. Whether it be a small favor or a significant accomplishment, the goal is that this recognition will help students feel appreciated and understand the impact they have on their communities. The ultimate goal of the project is to foster a positive and collaborative environment for students as they grow into medical professionals.
Participation in the project is easy! If you see a student making a difference, submit an anonymous nomination with a short description of what the student did. Nominations are received monthly with two winners announced at the end of the month. Winners receive an Amazon gift card and an official letter from the Office of Professional Oversight.
Learn more below, nominate a student and be entered into a raffle for an Amazon gift card for your participation.