Jon Thompson, M.D., is among three UNMC faculty members who will receive Outstanding Teacher Awards at the April 23 faculty meeting.
Chancellor to speak
UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., will give his annual address to the faculty at 4 p.m. on April 23 in the Durham Research Center Auditorium as part of the annual faculty meeting. Faculty Senate President Gay Canaris, M.D., assistant professor, internal medicine, College of Medicine, will provide an overview of the year’s activities. Following the address and the award presentations, Dr. Gold will host a reception in the center’s foyer.
Awards will be presented for Outstanding Teacher, Spirit of Community Service, Outstanding Faculty Mentor of Graduate Students and Outstanding Mentor of Junior Faculty, as well as the University of Nebraska’s Outstanding Teaching and Instructional Creativity Award (OTICA) and Outstanding Research and Creative Activity (ORCA) Award. Faculty members also will be recognized for their 5, 10, 20, 30 and 40 years of service.
- Name: Jon Thompson, M.D.
- Titles:
- Shackleford Marichal Professor of Surgery
- Chief of General Surgery
- First started at UNMC: January 1982
- Hometown: Glenwood Springs, Colo.
What are the greatest rewards of teaching?
For me, the greatest reward is the satisfaction of seeing students and residents progress in their skills and become independent practitioners and being able to share in their enthusiasm for learning new things. I often tell people that when I’m having a “bad day” because of administrative work or other issues, I always know I can have a good time if I take some students out on rounds to see some patients.
Describe a moment in your career when you realized you’d picked the right occupation.
As a medical student, I knew I enjoyed patient care, and that is also when I first became exposed to research. As a surgical trainee, I realized I had knowledge and skills that I could impart to students and residents, and that I really enjoyed that interaction. As a faculty member I don’t feel like I’ve ever worked a day. It is rewarding to me to be able to participate in teaching, research and clinical care, and I continue to enjoy all these aspects of what I do.
What are the biggest challenges you face as a teacher?
It is becoming increasingly more difficult to find time in the day between my schedule and that of the students and residents to have the interactions with them that I really enjoy. Another challenge is keeping up with new technologies and using them to full advantage, as the pace of change has been fairly great. Constantly adjusting to changing learning styles is also a challenge.
How do you know when you’ve been successful as a teacher?
Occasionally you get that “light bulb moment” when you can tell that the person you’re interacting with has finally gotten a concept that they’ve been struggling with and you can sense the enthusiasm of the learner when you have connected. With residents, it’s watching them come in as interns and progress during their training and seeing them leave as confident surgeons ready to go into practice.
Dr. Thompson,
You have been a role model for generations of trainees and faculty at UNMC. May you continue to impart your knowledge so that we all can learn from your wisdom.
Congratulations on a well-deserved award.
Chandra Are