SIU Med School Recognizes Area Physician as "Mentor of the Year"

Dr. Paul Cruz has been recognized as the Mentor of the Year for the 2003-04 academic year at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Carbondale for his work as a volunteer mentor to first-year medical students.

[Note to editors: The award will be presented at 1 p.m. Friday, July 16, at first floor foyer in Lindegren Hall on the SIUC campus in Carbondale.]

"Dr. Cruz shared his time and experience and was an enthusiastic example for his assigned students, providing them with valuable experience in clinical medicine. We greatly appreciate his contribution along with the 51 other volunteer mentors," said Dr. William Hamilton, associate professor of pediatrics, in announcing the award. Hamilton is director of the doctoring committee for year one of the medical school's curriculum.

The medical students nominating Cruz, who supervised two students during the year, said he "stressed that we needed to treat each patient with respect…and that there is nothing more important than giving your patients the respect they deserve….Dr. Cruz showed us it is important to make time in life to learn about the people you are caring for and also to make an effort to learn about your fellow health care workers." Cruz was one of 13 area physicians nominated for the recognition.

An obstetrician and gynecologist, Cruz practices at Rea Clinic in Herrin and has affiliations with Memorial Hospital of Carbondale and St. Joseph Memorial Hospital in Murphysboro. He is a member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and American Medical Association. Born in New York, Cruz completed his medical degree at Universidad Central Del Caribe in Puerto Rico and his obstetrics/gynecology residency at Catholic Medical Center of Brooklyn in New York. He and his wife have four children.

The SIU School of Medicine is based in Carbondale and Springfield and is specifically oriented to educating new physicians prepared to practice in Illinois communities. Since 1975, 1,920 physicians have earned SIU medical degrees and two thirds are now in primary care fields. The School consistently ranks among the leaders of all U.S. medical schools for training graduates who practice in primary care.

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