May 26, 2022
Thirty-one graduates of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine Class of 2022 were recognized at the University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences Senior Banquet May 12.
As a regional campus of the UAB Heersink School of Medicine, the College provides clinical education for a portion of third- and fourth-year medical students. Since its founding in 1972, CCHS has provided the clinical education years of medical school for 1,047 medical students.
The graduating students, now physicians, will soon begin residency training in programs across 14 states. The students matched into residency programs in family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine, medicine-pediatrics, neurology, ophthalmology, psychiatry, diagnostic radiology, emergency medicine, orthopedic surgery, general surgery and thoracic surgery.
“The students here tonight are a very special part of CCHS,” Dr. Richard Friend, dean of the College, said in welcoming remarks at the banquet, held at Indian Hills Country Club in Tuscaloosa. “And they are a perfect embodiment of our mission, which is to improve and promote the health of individuals and communities in rural Alabama and the Southeast through primary care and population health.”
The students also represent the first class of Primary Care Track graduates. The Heersink School of Medicine education track is designed to provide students with a strong foundation in clinical medicine, with additional experience in population health and developing physician leadership skills. CCHS is the only regional campus of the Heersink School of Medicine with a Primary Care Track.
Primary Care Track students at the College spend their time in a Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship. They work closely with physician instructors and build mentoring relationships. They develop longitudinal relationships with patients and observe how their diseases and illnesses progress over time, not just in episodes. For example, they can follow pregnant women through to delivery and see their babies grow and develop.
The Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship model is used by other medical schools in the United States, including the University of Minnesota, Harvard University, the University of North Carolina, Duke University and Texas A&M University.
Dr. Grier Stewart, assistant dean for Undergraduate Medical Education at CCHS, introduced the graduating class, saying the group “consists of day traders, half-marathoners, musicians and even a black belt in karate. This is a talented and interesting class.”
Friend congratulated the graduates for completing medical school and becoming doctors and encouraged them to “continue your dedication to the practice of medicine and the compassionate care of patients, and to always pursue your work with passion and commitment.”
The medical students received their medical degrees during commencement ceremonies at the Heersink School of Medicine on May 14. During the event, Renita Daniels, who completed her clinical education at CCHS, received the Medical Alumni Association Leadership and Community Service Award.
Ala’a Abu-Spetani – Emergency Medicine
Gaurav Agrawal – Pediatrics Medicine
Muhammad Amjad – Ophthalmology
Jeehyun Bae – Family Medicine
Catherine Barker – Family
Sean Bowman – Psychiatry
Austin Brooks – Family Medicine
Jacob Coeur – Medicine-Pediatrics
Caitlin Crocker – Orthopedic Surgery
Peyton Curtis – Psychiatry
Renita Daniels – Medicine-Pediatrics
Mckenzie Donald – Family Medicine
Annabelle Friedman – Pediatrics
Aislin Green – Pediatrics
Jane Hampton – Pediatrics
Alexis Helton – Family Medicine
Saad Khan – Internal Medicine
Kara Kichler – Ophthalmology
Peyton Lloyd – Family Medicine
Paris Malensek – Internal Medicine
Rebecca Massey – Neurology
Nicolas Mayfield – Thoracic Surgery
Ryan Murphy – Pediatrics
Tyler Newell – Internal Medicine
Madison Peoples – Family Medicine
Rachael Rainey – Family Medicine
Ashlyn Shields – Internal Medicine
Andrew Thomas – Family Medicine
Taylor Tucker – Neurology
Candice Vieira – Surgery
John West Jr. – Diagnostic Radiology
Department and College Awards:
Robert F. Gloor Award in Community Medicine
Awarded for excellent performance in Community Medicine and Population Health.
Austin Brooks
William Owings Award in Family Medicine
Awarded for excellence in Family Medicine.
Austin Brooks
Recognition of Rural Medical Scholars
McKenzie Donald, Ashlyn Shields, Austin Brooks and Madison Peoples
William W. Winternitz Award in Internal Medicine
Awarded for outstanding achievement in Internal Medicine during the third and fourth years. This student possesses an exceptional wealth of knowledge, is able to integrate the pathology of disease with the physiology of clinical skills, and practices with empathy, compassion, and a desire to improve the patients with whom he/she comes in contact.
Paria Malensek
Neurology Award
Awarded for outstanding academic and clinical performance during the Neurology Clerkship.
Rebecca Massey
Pediatrics Recognition Award
Awarded for outstanding interest, ability, and the reflection of pleasure in helping parents and their children reach their full personal, social, and educational potential.
Ryan Murphy
Peter Bryce Award in Psychiatry
Awarded for excellence exhibited by a medical student both academically and clinically during his/her Psychiatry Clerkship. This award is presented in honor of Dr. Peter Bryce, who was appointed the first superintendent of Bryce Hospital in Tuscaloosa. He and his wife, Ellen Clarkson Bryce, were cornerstones for Tuscaloosa society and tenacious advocates for people who experience mental illness.
Sean Bowman
Peyton Curtis
Finney/Akers Memorial Award in Obstetrics and Gynecology
Awarded to students achieving outstanding academic and clinical success in Obstetrics and Gynecology. This award is presented in honor of former medical students James A. Aker and Teresa K. Finney.
Peyton Lloyd
Rachael Rainey
William R. Shamblin, MD, Surgery Award
Awarded to student(s) with the highest scholastic achievement during their third-year Surgery Clerkship. Dr. William R. Shamblin, a Tuscaloosa native and former Chair of the Department of Surgery, spent years educating medical students and Family Medicine residents. This award continues in his honor.
Muhammad Amjad
Interprofessional Excellence Award
This award recognizes the medical student who has demonstrated excellence in communications skills, respect for staff and patients, and a commitment to working as an effective member of the health-care team.
Gaurav Agrwal
Student Research Award
Recognition of the pursuit of one or more research projects leading to a presentation or publication during the clinical years of medical training.
Renita Daniels
Scholastic Achievement Award
Awarded for superior performance in the clinical curriculum.
Annabelle Friedman
William R. Willard Award
Established by the Bank of Moundville, this award is presented for outstanding contributions to the goals and mission of the College of Community Health Sciences as voted by the College faculty.
Madison Peoples
Faculty, Resident and Student Awards as determined by the graduating class:
Faculty Recognition Award
Awarded for outstanding contributions to undergraduate medical education during students’ junior year.
Dr. Heather Taylor
Patrick McCue Award
Awarded for outstanding contributions to undergraduate medical education during students’ senior year. Legend has it that Dr. McCue won the faculty award so often that it was decided to name the award after him with the condition that, because he was the recipient so many times, he could not receive it again.
Dr. Catherine Ikard
Community Integrated Experience Outstanding Preceptor Award
The Community Integrated Experience Outstanding Preceptor Award is given to a preceptor at one of our CIE sites who has been exceptional in his or her teaching, dedication, and mentorship to our CIE students. Physicians are nominated by the students and chosen, based on these nominations, by the division of Undergraduate Medical Education.
Dr. Steve Wartzen
Resident Recognition Award
Awarded for outstanding contributions to undergraduate medical education.
Dr. Hannah Zickey
James H. Akers Memorial Award
Awarded to a graduating senior for dedication to the art and science of medicine.
Sean Bowman
College Scholarships
Dr. Sandral Hullett Endowed Scholarship
The Dr. Sandral Hullett Scholarship was established in 1992 from gifts given by the Capstone Health Services Foundation and proceeds from the 1991 Fiesta Bowl to honor Dr. Hullett, one of the first African-American Family Medicine residents to graduate from The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency Program.
Renita Daniels
Robert E. Pieroni, MD, and Family Endowed Scholarship
The Robert E. Pieroni, MD, and Family Endowed Scholarship was established by Dr. and Mrs. Robert Pieroni to support medical students intending to enter primary care.
Austin Brooks, Renita Daniels and Ashlyn Shields
Dr. Benjamin Collins Maxwell Endowed Scholarship
Dr. Benjamin Maxwell was a pioneer in family medicine practice who trained many Tuscaloosa medical students and family medicine residents in his practice in Atmore, Ala. He was renowned for the degree of interest, patience and compassion he had for his patients. This scholarship was endowed by Dr. and Mrs. Regina Maxwell to honor the legacy of Dr. Maxwell and of all primary care physicians and to support the Rural Medical Scholars Program and academic excellence within the College of Community Health Sciences. Priority is given to graduating medical students who plan to practice rural primary care in Alabama, with special consideration for students from Escambia County and the Rural Medical Scholars Program.
Peyton Lloyd
Frank Fitts Jr. Endowed Scholarship
The Frank Fitts Jr. Endowed Scholarship was created by Cynthia Ford Fitts (now Thomas) to address the needs of medical students who bear a high debt load upon graduation from medical school. The scholarship was named in honor of her late husband, Frank Fitts Jr., great grandson of J.H. Fitts, who established The University of Alabama’s first endowed scholarship in 1903.
Ala’a Abu-Septani, Peyton Curtis, Peyton Lloyd and Ashlyn Shields
Jovita M. Taylor Endowed Scholarship
The Jovita M. Taylor Endowed Scholarship is awarded annually to a medical student at The University of Alabama Marinex E. Heersink School of Medicine – Tuscaloosa Regional Campus. The scholarship was created by Drs. Michael A. Taylor and Heather M. Taylor to honor Mrs. Jovita M. Taylor and to promote the education of medical students at the College of Community Health Sciences. Priority consideration is given to a third- or fourth-year CCHS medical student who plans to go into Pediatrics.
Ryan Murphy
William W. Winternitz, Sr., Geriatric Scholarship
The William W. Winternitz, Sr., Geriatric Scholarship was established in 2016 by Ms. Madeleine M. Hill, in honor of her late husband. The recipient of this award has shown an exceptional interest in geriatrics and/or service learning and represents the best in academic medicine as recognized by faculty, residents and medical students.
Helen Bae and Taylor Tucker
Reese Phifer, Jr., Memorial Foundation Scholarship
The Reese Phifer, Jr., Memorial Foundation Endowed Scholarship is awarded annually to promote the education of medical students at the College of Community Health Sciences/UAB Heersink School of Medicine – Tuscaloosa Regional Campus. The Reese Phifer, Jr., Memorial Foundation was established by Mr. and Mrs. Reese Phifer in 1967 in memory of their son, J. Reese Phifer, Jr., a student at The University of Alabama who died in 1964. The foundation established the scholarship fund in 2014. Priority is given to current fourth-year medical students who intend to complete their residency at the UA Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency Program, which the College operates, and who have an interest in spending part of their residency training in Fayette, Ala.
Helen Bae, Austin Brooks and Andy Thomas
