- College of Medicine
UCF College of Medicine faculty, staff and students were honored for their achievements at the annual M.D. Program awards October 8.
The awards ceremony was especially important this year, because 2013 has been an exceptional year of milestones in the M.D. program. The College of Medicine gained full accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education and graduated its first class of doctors. With four years of medical education completed, faculty members were honored for their work with physicians-in-training from the M1 year through graduation.
Dr. Deborah German, vice president for medical affairs and founding dean of the college, commended her colleagues for their commitment and leadership in building a medical school from scratch out of cow pasture. “The diversity of our honorees shows that it takes a village to train a physician,” Dean German said. “And we all succeed when we work together.”
Members of the core College of Medicine faculty were selected for “Golden Apple” awards based on several factors including student evaluations and votes from fellow faculty members. “Each faculty, staff member and student, whether recognized here today or not, has contributed in a very important way to the making of this college,” said Dr. Richard Peppler, associate dean for faculty and academic affairs. “Not only do you approach your assignments with energy and enthusiasm, you have made us one of the finest medical school programs in the country.”
Volunteer and affiliated faculty members were honored based on student evaluations and for the first time, Dr. German gave a “Dean’s Award” to Dr. Jay Falk, an emergency medicine physician at Orlando Health who is an affiliated professor of emergency and internal medicine at the college. Dr. Faulk was selected for his outstanding support of the College of Medicine since its inception, including his support in helping the medical school achieve accreditation.
Students were honored for outstanding achievement in the classroom and in clinical skills training. And staff members – from Information Technology to Student Affairs — were recognized for their work in assisting medical students and faculty and supporting the curriculum.
Full list of the M.D. Program award winners:
| Dean’s Award | Jay Falk, M.D. |
| Faculty Choice Award | Caridad Hernandez, M.D. |
| M1 Golden Apple Award | Vania Zayat, M.D. |
| M2 Golden Apple Award | Laurel Gorman, Ph.D. |
| Clerkship Director Golden Apple Award | Martin Klapheke, M.D. |
| Clerkship Educator Golden Apple Award | Nusrath Baig, M.D. |
| Resident Educator Golden Apple Award | Nicole Sparks, M.D. |
| Resident Educator Golden Apple Award | Sareh Dyer, M.D. |
| Golden Apple Practice of Medicine Preceptor Award | Jaime Torner, M.D. |
| Golden Apple Practice of Medicine Preceptor Award | Ahmed Zakari, M.D. |
| Richard B. Hornick M.D. Faculty Award | Pinkal Patel, M.D. |
| Academic Excellence Award | Cathleen Courtney |
| Academic Excellence Award | Allyson Deziel |
| Academic Excellence Award | Amy Iarrobino |
| Faculty Choice Award | Sara Williams |
| Excellence in Clinical Skills Award | Michael Arnold |
| Excellence in Clinical Skills Award | Chau Vo |
| Excellence in M1 / M2 Program Support | Kaitlin Schultz |
| Excellence in M1 / M2 Program Support | FIRE Team |
| Excellence in M3 / M4 Program Support | Richard O’Neal, M.S. |
| Excellence in MD Student Support | Soraya Smith, M.B.A. |
| Excellence in MD Student Support | Information Technology Team |
| Above and Beyond | Andrea Berry, M.P.A. |