Geoffrey Talmon, MD, will be a recipient of the Outstanding Teacher Award during the UNMC Faculty Senate annual meeting on April 16. The award recognizes faculty who exemplify excellence as a director of learning, advisor of students, facilitator of human relations and/or promoter of the improvement of educational quality at UNMC.
- Name: Geoffrey Talmon, MD
- Title: Professor, UNMC Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, UNMC College of Medicine, and associate dean, medical education, UNMC College of Medicine
- Joined UNMC: I’ve been here since medical school in 1999 and joined the UNMC College of Medicine faculty in 2008.
- Hometown: Gretna, Nebraska
What are the greatest rewards of teaching?
Not only do I get the chance to make an impact on patient care and the careers of generations of health care providers that will last long after I am no longer at UNMC, but also I have the opportunity to learn from and grow with the best and brightest students in the country on a daily basis.
Can you describe a moment in your career when you realized you had picked the right occupation?
There was a time at a committee meeting for a national pathology society several years ago that we were describing what we do at our home institutions during our introductions. All of my colleagues talked about what their clinical specialty was or the labs they directed. It wasn’t until later that evening that I remembered that when it came to my turn, I listed educational roles that I filled at UNMC. It was at that point that I really came to realize that at my core I identify as an educator.
What are the biggest challenges you face as a teacher?
We are in an era in health professions education where there is so much for our learners to experience, so much that competes for their limited time and boxes they need to check, both within and outside of their studies. Trying to find a way to effectively balance, curricular, personal, wellness and logistical needs – all of which are equally important – to do the best job we can to prepare our students for their future careers is an ever-present challenge.
How do you know when you’ve been successful as a teacher?
When I hear one of my former students effectively teach a more junior colleague, sometimes using the lessons I taught them. Then I know I did something right.