Kelly Higgins, MD, ’01 was named Mentor of the Year selected by SIU School of Medicine's Class of 2021. She is an internist at Shawnee Health Care. Pictured left, she receives the award from Cris Anderson, MD, '76.

Her nominator wrote, “The kindness, compassion, and respect that she shows to each of her patients is a source of constant inspiration for me.” 

Here are six reasons why Dr. Higgins is such a kind, compassionate and inspirational mentor, according to her nominator: 

1. She took “Happy Birthday” balloons to celebrate one of her geriatric patients’ birthdays because none of the patient’s family lives nearby, and she knew this patient felt lonely.
2. She drove out of town to give a patient medication samples because she worried about the patient’s health and knew the patient had no means of either purchasing or even traveling to pick up her medication.
3. She nurtures an environment of learning and intellectual curiosity.
4. She allows her students to see and hear numerous fascinating physical exam findings that they would have otherwise never been exposed to in a clinical setting (for example, ascites, massive lymphedema, cranial nerve palsies, all sorts of heart murmurs, etc.)
5. She provides insight into her clinical reasoning and does thorough research on students’ questions.
6. She helps her students gain confidence in their abilities.