Diego Torres-Russotto, M.D. – Outstanding Teacher

Diego Torres-Russotto, M.D., associate professor, neurological sciences and chief, movement disorders section, will receive the Outstanding Teacher Award at the April 20 annual faculty meeting.

• Name: Diego Torres-Russotto, M.D.
  
• Titles:
  • Associate professor, UNMC Department of Neurological Sciences
  • Chief, Movement Disorders Section
  • Medical director, Nebraska Medicine Movement Disorders Center
  • Program director, Movement Disorders Fellowship
  • Director, Clinical Neurology Student Education
• Joined UNMC: January 2009
• Hometown: Caracas, Venezuela

What are the greatest rewards of teaching?
I believe that teachers receive three gifts: knowledge, friendship and pride. Physicians working in academia are constantly exposed to new information and we are continuously challenged by our students with their difficult questions. We are in a continuous learning mode. As we mentor the next generation, we gain friendships that produce strong, lifelong ties. I am grateful for all those new friends. Finally, teaching provides immense pride every time you see trainees succeed. I cry at every residency match ceremony and graduation. Our students’ success means so much to them, to their parents, spouses, kids, future patients and, of course, me.

Describe a moment in your career when you realized you had picked the right occupation.
I always knew that I was going to be within academia. My parents have doctorates in education and dedicated their entire careers to educating teachers on how to teach. They have inspired me to be the best teacher, mentor, lecturer and person I can be. Academic physicians have four pillars that sustain our mission: education, patient care, research and campus/community engagement.

One day I had the sudden epiphany that my mission on this planet was to be a physician educator. I was talking with Ingrid, my best friend and life-companion, about our future. My heart was torn between going into private practice to make the money my family needed or going into academic medicine. Ingrid said, “The decision is yours to make. But I know how much you revere education; I see how exhilarating it is for you to plan a lecture. You are the happiest when you are teaching and when you are helping patients. And there is no money that can pay for that.”

What are the biggest challenges you face as a teacher?
Physicians in academia are at a disadvantage because, although we have the desire and the obligation to teach, we are not experts on education. We teach what we know, and in the way we can. But we don’t always have the expertise to ensure that our students have grabbed the concept, made it theirs, and mastered it in such a way that they’ll be able to apply it in the future.

How do you know when you’ve been successful as a teacher?
I know I have been successful as a teacher when my students reach their goals.