Einstein Supports and Celebrates Excellence in Medical Education with Two Events in May
Every May, two important events recognize faculty in medical education and honor the legacy of Leo M. Davidoff, M.D., founding chair of the Montefiore Einstein department of neurosurgery and former associate dean of education at Einstein.
Einstein faculty participate in an interactive AI workshop during Davidoff Education Day.
Davidoff Education Day: Exploring AI in Med Ed
Davidoff Education Day, which took place this year on May 11, is an opportunity for faculty members to become students for a day, spending time learning and collaborating. This year’s program focused on a popular topic, artificial intelligence (AI) in medical education. “AI is not simply a new tool; it is reshaping how we teach, how our students learn, and how care is delivered,” said Yaron Tomer, M.D., the Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean and chief academic officer at Montefiore Einstein, in his opening remarks. “As educators, our responsibility is not only to understand these technologies, but to critically evaluate them, integrating what enhances learning while preserving the humanistic core of medicine.”
The keynote speaker, Laurah Turner, Ph.D., associate dean for artificial intelligence and educational informatics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, focused on how AI can be responsibly integrated into medical education. She emphasized its strengths in high frequency, routine training tasks, such as student feedback, simulation, and assessment, while acknowledging AI’s limitations in complex clinical reasoning, uncertainty, and professional identity formation.
From left: Marla Keller, M.D., executive dean, Felise Milan, M.D., assistant dean for learner assessment and simulation and 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award winner, and Devon Rupley, M.D., assistant dean for pre-clerkship curriculum
“I want you to imagine a third-year medical student arriving in the clinic,” said Dr. Turner. “She opens an app, activates smart glasses with one tap, and throughout her day, every encounter is captured. She receives feedback pushed into the visual field of her glasses, which is also stored more significantly in an app that she can go back to and reference any time. While this technology may sound very futuristic, this is one of the grant projects that's funded by the American Medical Association that I’m working on right now in my lab.”
While new AI tools emerge every day, Dr. Turner assured the audience that human judgement can’t be replaced. “AI excels in training and humans excel in education,” she said. “When we use AI to augment human judgment, rather than to replace it, when we use it to scaffold learning, rather than outsource thinking, when we use it to make an expert coach accessible to every student, we can enhance learning.”
Following the keynote address, faculty members heard from Felise Milan, M.D., assistant dean for learner assessment and simulation, about trends in medical education, namely different methods for providing feedback to students. Dr. Milan’s takeaway was to move from “assessment OF learning” (just sorting and grading) to “assessment FOR learning” (using assessment to help students grow). She encouraged faculty to involve learners more, give them more agency, and build systems that are fairer and more accurate by using many data points, rather than a single exam. The event concluded with a hands-on AI workshop lead by Sunit Jariwala, M.D., professor of medicine, Carlo Lutz, M.D., assistant professor of emergency medicine, and Jessica Ramachandran, M.D., assistant professor of emergency medicine.
Leo M. Davidoff Society Inductions and Education Awards
From left: Davidoff Society inductees Carla Saladini-Aponte, M.D., assistant professor, hospital medicine; Monica Wat, M.D., assistant professor, hospital medicine; Angela Shtern, M.D., assistant professor, pediatrics; Terence Choy, M.D., assistant professor, pulmonary medicine; Suzanne Roberts, D.O., M.P.H., assistant professor, pediatric emergency medicine; Michelle Montenegro, M.D. assistant professor, emergency medicine; Gina Waight, M.D. assistant professor, emergency medicine, and Molly Findley, D.O., M.S., assistant professor, obstetrics & gynecology and women’s health
On May 14, 42 faculty members were inducted into the Leo M. Davidoff Society, whose membership is composed of Einstein faculty who have demonstrated excellence in teaching for at least five years. Sheira Schlair, M.D., president of the Davidoff Society, kicked off the event by sharing more about Dr. Davidoff’s life and accomplishments, along with one of his most inspirational quotes: “The medical profession is unique in many ways, but mostly because the potter and the clay are made of the same material. And when dealing with a patient, you must never forget that you might be occupying the bed next to theirs, and if not now, then perhaps tomorrow.”
Following the inductions, six medical education award recipients were celebrated:
“Congratulations to all of our winners,” concluded Amada Raff, M.D. ’98, senior associate dean for medical education. “It's really wonderful to have such a community of educators to share bringing up our students, our residents, and ourselves with. Thank you for everything you do to teach, encourage, and support the Einstein community.”
A special thanks to the offices of medical education and faculty development for organizing the events.
Posted on: Wednesday, May 27, 2026