An international medical education organization has selected Southern Illinois University School of Medicine to receive one of its inaugural awards for institutional excellence.

 

The Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) will present the ASPIRE Stellar Award to the SIU School of Medicine in recognition of its commitment to excellence in a range of educational areas. AMEE promotes international excellence in education in the healthcare professions across the continuum of undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing education. It has members in more than 90 countries and across five continents.

 

“This is a tremendous honor,” said Jerry Kruse, MD, MSPH, Dean and Provost at SIU School of Medicine. “For our medical school, it’s like getting an early career lifetime achievement award. It is not an exaggeration to say our students receive a world-class education in Springfield and Carbondale.”

 

SIU School of Medicine is celebrating its 50th year as an academic leader in medical education. In May the Class of 2020 included the school’s 3,000th graduate. During the past decade, the School of Medicine has received five of AMEE’s ASPIRE to Excellence awards for various facets of its educational program: for student assessment, student engagement, social accountability, medical simulation, and curriculum delivery and innovation. SIU is one of only two medical schools in the world to hold as many as five ASPIRE Awards.

 

Dr. Debra Klamen, Senior Associate Dean for Education and Curriculum, will accept the ASPIRE Stellar Award at the AMEE digital conference September 7-9.

 

The mission of SIU School of Medicine is to optimize the health of the people of central and southern Illinois through education, patient care, research and service to the community. SIU Medicine, the health care practice of the school of medicine, includes clinics and offices with more than 300 providers caring for patients throughout the region.