2002 Lifetime Achievement Award in Medical Education

Mel L. Barclay, M.D., associate professor, Obstetrics & Gynecology

Instrumental in improving the quality of medical education at the University of Michigan Medical School and at its clinical teaching sites, Dr. Mel Barclay was one of the first educators in any field to use computerized testing, self-evaluation, and distance learning. He is nationally known for his introduction of various computer-oriented teaching activities to medical education, and has presented this work at numerous national meetings. Dr. Barclay has been twice chosen to receive the APGO Excellence in Teaching Award. He has served on the APGO Committee on Undergraduate Education, Task Force on Ethics in Undergraduate Education, and the Testing and Technology Project.

In the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. Barclay is responsible for all rotational activities, for curricular development and for writing and scoring examinations. He also organizes the Longitudinal Primary Care rotation for fourth year medical students. Dedicated to educational excellence, Dr. Barclay has also created and implemented a gross pathology web page and a mock medical malpractice exercise for the third year class.

Perhaps Dr. Barclay's greatest impact over the years has been his commitment to personal mentoring of students. He is able to see the big picture of medical education, while keeping his eye on the importance of each individual student. Few professors are as beloved as is Dr. Barclay. He is a devoted teacher and is most deserving of the Lifetime Achievement Award in Medical Education.

Gerald Abrams, M.D., professor, Pathology

An active, committed teacher and good citizen in the Medical School for more than forty years, Dr. Gerald Abrams has served as Coordinator of Education and Course Director of Pathology 600 from 1968 until 1985. Since the early 1970's he has taught a 20 hour lecture series to first year medical students, first as a part of the Introduction to Clinical Sciences course and then as a free standing Pathology course.

In addition to his heavy medical student teaching load, Dr. Abrams participates in all aspects of Medical School life. For the past two years he has directed and taught the Mini-Med School, an important community outreach effort. This program has been extremely well received, and promises to become a permanent fixture. Dr. Abrams has won a major teaching award in each of the last four decades, winning the Crosby Award in 1969, 1987, and 1998 and the Kaiser Permanente Teaching Award in 1978. His continuing excellence is evidenced by the rave evaluations of his students. As part of the School's Sesquicentennial celebration, Dr. Abrams was one of six professors to have a Medical School lecture hall named in his honor. Often called upon to deliver the keynote address at the traditional White Coat Ceremony, the milestone that marks the inception of a student's medical training, Dr. Abrams is often the first professor to address our entering students.

Generations of Michigan medical students have been fortunate to learn Pathology and disease processes from this truly outstanding teacher. Dr. Abrams never hesitates to volunteer his time for the good of medical education. He is a truly unique teacher that has made exceptional contributions to medical education and is worthy of the Lifetime Achievement Award in Medical Education.