RELEASE DATE: DECEMBER 8, 2020

Behind every medical student is a village of physicians who dedicate their time to teach the next generation of doctors.

Professor Ronald Amedee, Head of The University of Queensland Ochsner Clinical School said he is incredibly proud and thankful for their generosity.

“Each year, as we graduate our medical students, we stop to acknowledge our teachers contribution by presenting the Teacher of the Year Award, the highest individual award of excellence.

“These awards are student nominated and reflect their gratitude for the mentorship and guidance given to them by our physicians,” Professor Amedee said.

This year the following teachers were nominated for the Teacher of the Year Award:

• Bruce Cleland, MD – General Surgery
• Dean Hickman, MD – Psychiatry
• Suma Jain, MD – Pulmonology
• Charles Leithead, MD – Vascular Surgery
• Rocky Mollere, MD – Med/Peds
• Ashley Newell, MD – Pediatric Intensive Care
• Vu Vuong, MD – OB/GYN
• Rajasekharan Warrier, MD – Pediatric Hematology/Oncology

View the Nominee Handout

The 2020 Teacher of the Year award was bestowed upon Bruce Cleland, MD – General Surgery.

Dr. Cleland has been a member of the Ochsner team since 1992, is board certified in surgery and holds a medical degree from the University of Virginia School of Medicine.

He completed both his surgical internship and surgery residency at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, Texas.

Our medical students said he challenged them to understand disease pathogenesis, early evaluation of prospective cases, as well as how each procedure/condition relates to their future as physicians regardless of what field they end up in.