Making it Personal: A Sneak Preview of Dr. Jeannette South-Paul’s Clinician Educator Showcase Plenary Address
We are exceedingly fortunate that Jeannette South-Paul, MD (Professor and Chair Emeritus, Family Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine), will join us as the plenary speaker for the Department of Psychiatry Clinician Educator Showcase on March 25, 2021.
As Chair of the Department of Family Medicine, Dr. South-Paul oversaw the educational, research, and clinical activities of the undergraduate and graduate medical education, faculty practice, and community arms of three family medicine residencies, as well as of seven ambulatory clinical sites in Allegheny County. She was also responsible for the academic missions of five additional UPMC Family Medicine residencies in Pennsylvania. Dr. South-Paul is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine (now National Academy of Medicine) and the Gold Humanism Honor Society, as well as a recipient of the University of Pittsburgh 225th Anniversary Chancellor’s Medallion. She received the Allegheny County Medical Society Dietrich Humanitarian Award in 2018.
Dr. South-Paul is a family physician interested in cultural competence, maternity care, and health disparities in the community, focusing in particular on teenage mothers.
We are delighted that she shared a few thoughts about her upcoming plenary talk, “The Making of a Clinician Educator: Center City Philly to Pittsburgh.”
For Dr. South-Paul, navigating the road to success as a clinician educator demands questioning conventional parameters for achievement. “If we only accept universal guidelines for success, and assume they apply to everyone, many people won’t even try. The path is different for every person.”
In her plenary talk, Dr. South-Paul will discuss how four key concepts (education, integrity, personal vision, and commitment) can guide every individual toward becoming a successful clinician educator. Importantly, each of these are rooted in individual values, goals, and experiences.
“I think of how guidelines work in the human space,” she explained. “In and around those extras that enrich who we are as individuals and make us better.”
Thank you for speaking with us, Dr. South-Paul! Please see our Events page for more information on how to attend Dr. South-Paul’s plenary address.