MAGIS Society Ceremony Honors Medical School Faculty

Members of the MAGIS Society of Master Teachers welcome two new inductees in a May 17 ceremony at the Gorman Auditorium at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.
Members of the MAGIS Society of Master Teachers welcome two new inductees in a May 17 ceremony at the Gorman Auditorium at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.

Posted in GUMC Stories  |  Tagged ,

(May 20, 2018) — Days before the School of Medicine commencement ceremony, the 16th annual MAGIS Society of Master Teachers Induction and Faculty Awards Ceremony recognized faculty members for their contributions to medical education, including two new MAGIS inductees.

Michael Sachtleben (left) and Stephen Ray Mitchell (right) stand with Cirrelda Cooper (center) at the MAGIS Society of Master Teachers.

“Over the coming days, much of the focus will be on our outstanding medical students, as it should be,” said Edward B. Healton, MD, MPH, executive vice president for health sciences and executive dean of the School of Medicine. “But tonight we honor the educators — those who have demonstrated great dedication as they have inspired and guided our students along the challenging road to becoming doctors.”

Jacqueline Jonklaas, MD, PhD, professor of medicine, and Cirrelda Cooper, MD, professor of radiology, were honored for their work as educators in preclinical science and clinical science, respectively, at the May 17 ceremony in the Goldberg Auditorium at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.

Jonklaas, Cooper Join MAGIS Society of Master Teachers

From the Latin adverb meaning “more greatly,” the term MAGIS comes from the Jesuit motto “ad maiorem Dei gloriam” or toward the greater glory of God, explained Stephen Ray Mitchell, MD, MBA, dean for medical education at the School of Medicine. MAGIS Society members “are our role models, our educators, our mentors, our heroes and heroines,” he said. “They strive for excellence in all their activities and give selflessly to their students, their colleagues and their patients.”

Jacqueline Jonklaas, MD, PhD, speaking at the MAGIS Society of Master Teachers induction ceremony.

“When I look at the members of the MAGIS Society, they’re people I respect,” Cooper said at the event. “They’re people I admire, and it is such an honor for me to be invited to join you.”

In a confession, Jonklaas said that she nearly left academia to avoid teaching. “I was going to go into health education because that would be less stressful, later realizing that that was not my chosen career,” she said. “I then finally did move into medicine, but never in my wildest dreams did I ever realize that I was signing up for a lifetime of teaching and never in my wildest dreams did I realize how much I would enjoy it.”

In addition to Jonklaas and Cooper, the event recognized recently retired faculty members and honored the recipients of the Kaiser Permanente Awards, the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine award and CIRCLE Grants.

2018 Master Teachers

Jacqueline Jonklaas, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine

Cirrelda Cooper, M.D.
Professor of Radiology

Kaiser Permanente Awards

Thomas Sherman, Ph.D.
Professor of Pharmacology

Dennis Murphy, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Medicine

2018 Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award

Eileen Moore, M.D.
Associate Professor of Medicine

CIRCLE Grants

“Residents as Teachers”
Shimae Fitzgibbons, M.D.; Ornela A. Dervishaj, M.D.

“Screening for the Social Determinants of Health: Moving from Knowledge to Action Through Community Engagement”
Yumi Jarris, M.D.; Richard Waldhorn, M.D.; John Penner; Sarah Kureshi, M.D.

“Using Video Technology to Enhance Teaching of Clinical Skills”
Stacey Kaltman, Ph.D.; Erin Farrish, M.D.; Ted Liao, M.D.

Mother of Pearl Award

Michael Sosin, M.D.
Resident, Department of Surgery

William Denney Zimmerman, D.O.
Resident, Department of Neurology

Kat Zambon
GUMC Communications