About the Award
In partnership with CompHealth, the University of Utah School of Medicine Alumni Association and the Office of Academic Affairs and Education created the CompHealth Clinical Community Faculty Award to recognize outstanding clinical preceptors in the community.
These preceptors contribute countless hours to the education of our medical students and residents, and this award is one of the ways the University formally thanks them. Nominees practice medicine outside of University of Utah Health (or at a UUMG clinic), have an adjunct appointment in a School of Medicine Department, and regularly take students, residents, and/or fellow for their clinical rotations. The awardees are recognized at a dinner event where they are presented with a monetary award.
Interested in Nominating an Adjunct?
The nomination period has closed for 2022. Our office will be accepting nomination letters again in late 2022. The following Sample Nomination Letter is an excellent example which was written for the Clinical Community Faculty Award.
Past Awardees
Julie Gustin, MD (2021 Awardee)
Clinic/Hospital: Intermountain Healthcare
Department: Pediatrics
What learners say: "Whether she was teaching teams at Primary Children's Hospital or guiding a clinic resident through their three years in outpatient general Pediatrics, her wide knowledge base has served her students well. She has a unique skill in fostering a resident's development of their own style that remains evidence based. She has guided residents in developing a framework to have a holistic approach to patient care. She has done all of this while maintaining a full patient schedule that integrates the resident as a vital team member. This sets the stage for the physicians to work within team models that are to critical in medicine today. She has been such an incredible mentor for so many residents over the past 25 years."
Kelly Jeppesen, MD (2021 Awardee)
Clinic/Hospital: Family Physician, Monticello, Utah
What learners say: "Dr. Jeppesen is an incredible clinician, mentor, and educator. Medical students have rotated with him during every rotation, which was especially helpful during the pandemic. Rural rotations are highly sought after, and Dr. Jeppesen's clinic in Monticello has consistently received positive student feedback."
Mark Valentine, MD (2020 Awardee)
Clinic/Hospital: Intermountain Alta View Clinic
Department: Pediatrics
What learners say: “Dr. Valentine is a compassionate physician and a great teacher. I always look forward to clinic days with him because they are dynamic and positive experiences. He gives great feedback in real time, and enjoys learning from his residents. He values my opinion and sees us both as learners, challenging me to increase my independence in a private practice setting. I have grown a lot as a clinician in my time with him.”
Mikio Obayashi, MD, FAAFP (2020 Awardee)
Clinic/Hospital: Intermountain Herefordshire Clinic
Department: Family and Preventive Medicine
What learners say: "Dr. Obayashi was an amazing preceptor and mentor. He embodies what it means to be a doctor. He has a very practical approach to medicine that should be practiced by all doctors. Reading the current literature everyday was invaluable in understanding to practice the best, evidence based medicine for your patients. He maintained a professional demeanor while developing great, lasting relationship with his patients, which is something I want to strive towards. He was very patient with me, and I appreciated the opportunity to discuss each case and feel like I was apart of the team. I appreciate my time with Dr. Obayashi and I am grateful for the lessons I learned from him."
Franklin J. Miller, MD, FACR, FSIR (2020 Awardee)
Clinic/Hospital:
Department: Radiology & Imaging Sciences
What learners say: "Dr. Miller's hard work and dedication to his patients was only surpassed by the desire to teach and share the knowledge to everybody around him. Whether it was a fellow or a resident or a new technologist's just starting out his carrier in interventional radiology, Dr. Miller's decorum ensured everyone he worked with was treated respectfully. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity I had to begin my carrier working and learning from him."
Ellie Brownstein, MD (2019 Awardee)
Clinic/Hospital: Greenwood Health Center
Department: Pediatrics
What learners say: “Dr. Brownstein was a great example of how to interact with children in meaningful ways that at the same time allowed for evaluation of disease state and development status. I appreciated the time that she took to explain her thought process while working through a differential. Dr Brownstein is a great instructor and clinician.”
Clinton Sheffield, MD (2019 Awardee)
Clinic/Hospital: Westridge Health Center
Department: Internal Medicine, Pediatrics
What learners say: “I really enjoyed working with Dr. Sheffield. I thought he was exceptionally good at finding ways to weave teaching in throughout the day, and he was very open at answering my questions. It seemed that he really enjoyed teaching, and as a result, I learned a lot, and it was enjoyable along the way.”
Tim Duffy, MD (2018 Awardee)
Alumni: Residency '00
Clinic/Hospital: Riverton Pediatrics
Department: Pediatrics
What learners say: "Dr. Duffy is always enthusiastic and exceptionally fun to work with! He is also always willing to answer any questions we may have as residents, and through this he ensures that we are always learning. Dr. Duffy goes out of his way to encourage and push us to better doctors, and by inspiring confidence in us, he helps us be more confident doctors ourselves."
Jackie Rohrer, MD (2018 Awardee)
Alumni: Residency '13
Clinic/Hospital: Foothill Family Clinic
Department: Family & Preventive Medicine
What learners say: "If I could give an award for best preceptor of all of third year, I would give it to Dr. Rohrer!!! She is by far the most amazing preceptor I have ever worked with! She is a great physician and a superb teacher who constantly goes above and beyond average teaching. She let me participate in essentially all of her clinical activities and entrusted me with her patients. With her help I delivered babies, performed various procedures and helped treating lots of patients from a variety of backgrounds."
Eddie Stenehjem, MD (2018 Awardee)
Clinic/Hospital: Intermountain Medical Center
Department: Internal Medicine (Infectious Disease)
What learners say: "Dr. Stenehjem was one of the best attendings I've had through my residency. He is an AWESOME teacher and really focused on helping me learn and answer my questions. I looked forward to coming to work each day and really enjoyed rounds - he made them so fun! He is the kind of attending I hope I can one day become. Thank you Dr. Stenehjem for a wonderful rotation!"
Maryellyn Gilfeather, MD (2017 Awardee)
Clinic/Hospital: Utah Imaging Associates
Department: Radiology & Imaging Sciences
What learners say: "Dr. Gilfeather was a huge source of support during my residency at UUSOM. She enabled a national leadership opportunity for me - facilitating my travel to Washington, DC for the annual ACR meeting - and hosted several journal clubs where she invited us to discuss issues in Radiology that interested us. She is an outstanding teacher and physician, and I am incredibly lucky that I was able to train under her."
Chad Spain, MD (2017 Awardee)
Alumni: BS '05, MD '10, Residency '13
Clinic/Hospital: Cottonwood Family Practice
Department: Family & Preventive Medicine
What learners say: "Dr. Spain took a vested interest in my learning. He was up front and honest with his evaluations and criticism which I greatly appreciated. He took the time to explain concepts to me and really helped me see how useful evidence based approaches really are. He was always willing to help with anything I needed and used his role to help push me to be a better future physician. I really enjoyed my time with him."
