Ritha Belizaire, MD, assistant professor in theDepartment of Surgeryat McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, is the 2022 winner of the Benjy F. Brooks, MD, Outstanding Clinical Faculty Award.

“I have never won an award like this, so after the initial shock wore off, I felt incredibly honored and proud,” Belizaire described after winning the award. “I sent the email to my mom (as one does). It’s easy to forget that it is a privilege to teach the next generation of doctors and understand that you can have an impact on the trajectory of someone’s career as a physician. I feel absolutely humbled that they chose me for this award.”

Benjy Brooks奖于1991年成立于1991年，由McGovern医学院的学生外科协会颁发，以认可“通过担任学生榜样来补充和增强教育计划的个人”。它的名字是为了纪念美国第一位获得董事会认证的女儿科医生本杰·布鲁克斯（Benjy Brooks）博士的名字，她于1973年加入了麦戈文医学院的教职员工，并一直活跃于医学院的生活，直到1998年去世。

Medical students may nominate faculty or residents for the award.

Belizaire said the award is a reminder that people can change and have a positive influence on students even if it has not always been that way.

“As a resident, I was not the greatest teacher or mentor to students,” she said. “As an attending, you have the opportunity to slow down and spend more time with learners without all of the added responsibilities and time constraints of residency. Receiving this award means that we are all capable of professional and personal growth, and I hope to continue growing and having a positive impact on students and trainees.”

Belizaire于2002年获得了耶鲁大学的生物医学工程理学学士学位，并于2008年在得克萨斯大学健康科学中心完成医学博士学位。西奈山（Sinai Roosevelt/st）的结肠和直肠手术奖学金。卢克（Luke）于2017年在纽约市。

Belizaire says that while she doesn’t have a specific philosophy for teaching, she generally makes a point of asking students their names, where they’re from, and what type of specialty may interest them. She tries to teach one or two specific points during each operation to make sure they feel seen and learn something in the process, much like her favorite attendings did for her in medical school.

“My favorite part about teaching is when you witness a student or resident grasp a topic or see something they’ve never seen before or get excited about something you’ve taught them,” Belizaire said. “I would be lying if I said I didn’t love hearing about students choosing to apply to surgery because of their time at LBJ (Harris Health Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital) or a realization they had during a case we did together. That’s really special.”

贝利兹尔说，她有很多影响力有助于做出职业决定，包括她的母亲，我是ICU护士，父亲，一位退休的血管和普通外科医生以及1980年代德克萨斯州米德兰的第一位黑人外科医生。

Belizaire also drew influence from Timothy Pritts, MD, PhD; Warren Dorlac, MD; and Syed Ahmad, MD, from her residency at theUniversity of Cincinnati, and is thankful for the support of Lillian Kao, MD, professor in the Department of Surgery, for her incredible support of her and her career since she joined the faculty in 2019.

“I would like to thank the McGovern Medical School students for this honor,” Belizaire said. “Again, I am truly humbled. I would also like to thank the UTHealth Houston surgical faculty who demonstrate a commitment to teaching and inspire me to be a better teacher to our students and trainees.”

前的地主f·布鲁克的接受者s Teaching Award include Walter M. Kirkendall, MD, 1991; William S. Fields, MD, 1992; James T. Willerson, MD, 1994; Harold T. Pruessner, MD, 1995; Herbert L. DuPont, MD, 1997; Larry D. Scott, MD, 1998; Herbert L. Fred, MD, 1999; Becky L. McGraw-Wall, MD, 2000; Terry K. Satterwhite, MD, 2001; Cheves M. Smythe, MD, 2002; Ian Butler, MD, 2003; Francisco Fuentes, MD, 2004; Pedro Mancias, MD, 2009; Lisa Armitige, MD, PhD, 2010; Octavio Pinell, MD, 2011; Kyle Woerner, MD, 2013; Daniel Freet, MD, 2016; Tom C. Nguyen, MD, 2017; Sasha D. Adams, MD, 2018; David R. Hall, MD, 2019; Manish N. Shah, MD, FAANS, 2020; and Allison Speer, MD, FACS, 2021.