Ashish Sharma, associate professor, psychiatry, is the second winner of the annual UNMC Student Senate Distinguished Mentor Award.
Dr. Sharma was presented the award at a ceremony April 23 attended by UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D.
From the nomination letter
“The thing I admire most about Dr. Sharma is his interaction with people. He treats every person as an equal regardless of educational background, belief system, or socioeconomic status … His professional accomplishments are noteworthy, but his humility and graciousness as a physician have far and away had the greatest impact on me.”
One of Dr. Sharma’s nominators, fourth-year medical student Matt Kelly, spoke of the difference between a great mentor and a great teacher.
“To be sure, great teachers advocate on behalf of their students, and in doing so, often take on the role of mentor as well,” Kelly said. “To be an effective mentor, however, a person must do more than pass down knowledge.
“A mentor serves as an advocate, exposing students to new interests and opportunities for intellectual stimulation and professional growth,” he said. “A mentor must be a role model. He is the standard to which one holds himself professionally and ethically. In all of those regards, Dr. Sharma is a mentor in the truest sense of the word.”
Dr. Sharma shared his philosophy on mentorship of medical students.
“This is the time when they are budding physicians, and I think it’s very important for me to share what I’ve learned from colleagues and mentors in the past,” he said. “This is a very crucial time for them, as they make decisions about residencies and future career goals that will set the path for their professional life.”
“This is a fitting award and reflects Dr. Sharma’s longstanding interest in building up other people, including not only medical students and residents, but many others throughout his career,” said Steven Wengel, M.D., chair of the UNMC Department of Psychiatry. “The department is very proud of him and this very significant accomplishment.”
Dr. Sharma said the award took him by surprise.
“I was really emotional, and I feel very rewarded,” he said. “I don’t think of mentorship as additional work. I like to pass down the lessons that I’ve learned, especially to treat patients with respect and that each and every patient is important.”
After receiving the award, “I have to live up to higher standards,” he said with a laugh.
The award was created by the Student Senate to honor an outstanding faculty mentor, said Krupa Savalia, Ph.D., who last year as Student Senate president helped inaugurate the award.
“Dr. Sharma is the epitome of the type of committed, caring faculty member we wanted to recognize when we conceived this student-initiated and student-selected award,” Dr. Savalia said.
congratulations Ashish, well deserving.
Vijay Dewan
VAMC
Congratulations! Great work!
Amazing person, teacher, and mentor! Congratulations!