At UAB Heersink School of Medicine, students are presented opportunities for cutting edge, industry leading medical education, training with the latest technology and techniques that the medical field has to offer. How do medical professionals respond in remote or extreme locations when such technology and resources are inaccessible? Those scenarios and others are presented to medical students through the Wilderness Medicine Special Topics Course.

UAB Heersink School of Medicine plans to launch two new psychiatry residencies at the Huntsville and Montgomery campuses. By increasing the number of trained mental health providers in the state of Alabama, this expansion will help address the mounting burden of mental illness in the state, particularly in rural and medically underserved areas.

William M. Geisler, M.D., MPH, professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and co-director of the Medical Scientist Training Program, has been named the associate dean for Physician Scientist Development in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine.

In October 2024, the UAB Heersink School of Medicine’s Montgomery Psychiatry Residency received funding from the city of Montgomery to start Alabama’s first Street Psychiatry clinic. The city provided this funding in response to a call for proposals aimed at addressing the Opioid Epidemic in Montgomery’s vulnerable populations. The UAB Montgomery Psychiatry Residency program proposed a Street Psychiatry clinic designed to provide treatment for Opioid Use Disorder and co-occurring mental illness to Montgomery’s unhoused and unstably housed residents, and the city awarded the residency $345,676 to actualize this proposal.

In 2023, UAB Heersink School of Medicine piloted a new approach to clinical skills education for students. The Clinical Reasoning and Integrated Skills Program (CRISP) was launched to address the evolving demands of medical education nationwide. The move highlights the Heersink School of Medicine’s commitment to preparing future physicians with cutting-edge teaching and learning methodologies.

Alice Goepfert, M.D., professor in OB/Gyn and Maternal-Fetal Medicine and associate dean for GME/Designated Institutional Official (DIO), has been named by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) as a recipient of the Parker J. Palmer Courage to Lead Award. The ACGME announced its decision on October 22, 2024 and will honor the two recipients at the 2025 ACGME Annual Educational Conference February 20-22, 2025.

Caroline Harada, M.D., associate dean for strategic initiatives in the Heersink School of Medicine Department of Medical Education, has been awarded the 2024 Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism in Medicine Award by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Heersink School of Medicine awarded nine staff members as the 2024 Dean’s Excellence Awards for Staff winners. Individuals selected for this honor showcased outstanding accomplishments beyond their daily duties and contributed considerably to Heersink’s core mission areas – education, clinical care, and basic, translational, and clinical research.

In August 2024, the UAB Heersink School of Medicine Graduate Medical Education office hosted a grand opening for its newly completed GME Wellness Center. The celebratory open house was attended by Heersink School of Medicine deans, faculty, UAB Hospital residents and fellows.

Cristin Gavin, Ph.D., serves as associate dean for undergraduate biomedical programs for the UAB Heersink School of Medicine. In this role, she has fostered thriving opportunities for UAB students, many of whom matriculate into medical schools, through the programs she oversees.

On August 10, 2024, members from the UAB Heersink School of Medicine incoming MS1 class gathered with friends, family, faculty, and staff to celebrate the White Coat Ceremony. The annual ceremony is the first milestone event for medical students, honoring the receiving of their white coats. The ceremony took place at the Alabama Theatre in Birmingham, AL and was facilitated by Heersink School of Medicine leadership from each of its campuses.

Chandler Harris has been honored as the 2024 recipient of the Sara Crews Finley, M.D., Endowed Leadership Scholarship. This prestigious scholarship recognizes and supports students who exhibit outstanding leadership, scholarship, and service within their medical training and in other endeavors. Eligible recipients must be rising third-year medical students who rank in the top 25 percent of their class, and the scholarship is renewable for their fourth year. 

Work has begun on a transformational renovation to Volker Hall’s entrance to create a modern atrium. Due to this construction, the primary entrance into Volker Hall, located at the corner of 16th St and University Blvd, has closed until further notice. This includes the entrance itself, the exterior stairway, a portion of the sidewalk, and the pedestrian crosswalks leading to Volker across both University Blvd and 16th St. S.

On May 18, 2024, UAB Heersink School of Medicine hosted its 2024 Commencement ceremony at Bartow Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, to celebrate its 169 graduating medical students.

Since October 2023, Heersink School of Medicine’s Department of Medical Education has hosted several faculty training sessions in partnership with the Global Ultrasound Institute (GUSI). GUSI aims to equip medical professionals with skills to effectively use Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) devices.

The Heersink School of Medicine Office for Diversity and Inclusion hosted the annual Women in Medicine and Science Promotion Reception April 11, which recognized women faculty promoted at the end of 2023. The honorees and their guests were greeted by Heersink leadership to celebrate their remarkable achievements.

On April 9, 2024, an AAMC-sponsored briefing was held in a U.S. Congressional session to examine the impact of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA, 2021). UAB’s Craig Hoesley, M.D., senior associate dean for Medical Education, participated as one of three panelists representing health systems and hospitals that have benefited from the legislation.

The UAB Graduate Medical Education office is now offering its residents, fellows, and faculty a new training opportunity through the American Medical Association (AMA). The piloting of the AMA GME Competency Software in September 2023 was made possible by medical education funding through a HRSA grant.

UAB medical students gathered with family, friends, and Heersink School of Medicine faculty and staff on Friday, March 15, 2024, to celebrate this year’s Match Day. At 11 a.m., the 2024 graduating class learned the institutions where they will complete their residencies.

Medical Education is in the process of re-surveying medical students as part of an LCME accreditation requirement. The survey is in response to findings from the LCME during the school’s most recent reaccreditation process in 2022, which Medical Education has made strides toward improving.