For immediate release: February 13, 2007
Contact: Emily Wofford Cobb
Public Relations Manager
775-784-6006
ewofford@unr.edu
School of Medicine to hold February 13th reception honoring physician
RENO, Nev.—Daniel Spogen, M.D., professor and chair for the department of family medicine, has been selected as a distinguished finalist for the 2006 Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Humanism in Medicine Award. Spogen is one of just 52 honorees from across the nation to be nominated by the AAMC Organization of Student Representatives.
The finalists are selected based upon five defining characteristics of humanism in medical education: positive mentoring skills, active in community service, compassion and sensitivity, collaboration, and observance of professional ethics. The annual award, which is sponsored by the AAMC through the support of the Pfizer Medical Humanities Initiative, is a true honor for medical educators who must be student nominated in order to be considered for the honor.
“The students who nominated Dr. Spogen recognize his dedication and passion to providing quality care to patients,” notes John A. McDonald, M.D., Ph.D., vice president of health sciences and medical school dean. “Dr. Spogen’s nomination for this special award is a tribute to his commitment to training and mentoring young physicians. Our students benefit from his example of how to practice compassion and understanding in medicine.”
In celebration of Spogen’s selection as an AAMC Humanism in Medicine national finalist, the School of Medicine will host a reception Tuesday, February 13 at 5:30 p.m. The reception will be held in the foyer of the Pennington Medical Education Building at the University of Nevada School of Medicine campus in Reno.
Several students plan to attend the reception to not only thank Spogen for his dedication to teaching, but also for the time he gives providing guidance to the school’s Student Outreach Clinic. Each month first and second year medical students offer care to Washoe County’s medically underserved by providing free medical clinics that are supervised by a licensed member of the faculty. Spogen regularly provides supervision at the monthly clinics and serves on the Student Outreach Clinic board.
“Dr. Spogen is a physician that students look to for guidance in all aspects of their development,” says John Sutherland, a first year medical student. “We appreciate the time he gives to us at the Student Outreach Clinic and hope to achieve the same quality of care and compassion he provides to his patients.”
The AAMC Organization of Student Representatives and representatives from the Pfizer Medical Humanities Initiatives echo McDonald and Sutherland’s sentiments. “Like healing, learning happens best when expertise is joined with caring and partnership,” says Mike Magee, M.D., director of the Pfizer Medical Humanities Initiative. “Dr. Spogen is recognized among an elite group of educators who are dedicated to teaching compassionate care for the next generation of physicians.”
As the state’s only public medical school, the University of Nevada School of Medicine has been meeting statewide healthcare, educational, and clinical needs since 1969. The School of Medicine encompasses 16 clinical medical education departments, including Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Internal Medicine, Surgery, and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, as well as ten nationally-recognized departments within basic science including microbiology and biomedical engineering. As the largest multi-specialty healthcare focus within the state, the School of Medicine employs more than 185 doctors who both teach and practice medicine throughout Nevada. The school’s statewide faculty physician practice group has a combined 25 different medical specialties with seven physician practice offices located in the Reno-Sparks area and five physician offices located in Las Vegas.
The University of Nevada School of Medicine utilizes a best-practice approach to medicine and is committed to addressing the health needs of Nevada now and in the future. For more information, please visit www.medicine.nevada.edu.
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