Kristina Petersen, Ph.D., Receives AOA/AAMC Distinguished Teacher Award
The Award Recognizes Gifted Teachers Who Have Made Outstanding Contributions To Medical Education
Kristina Petersen, Ph.D., assistant dean of academic support programs and associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at New York Medical College (NYMC), received a 2022 Alpha Omega Alpha Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Awards during a special AAMC recognition event on October 26. The award, named for longtime AOA executive secretary Robert J. Glaser, M.D., recognizes gifted teachers who have made outstanding contributions to medical education.
According to the award presentation, the key to excellence in academic medicine for Dr. Petersen is ensuring equal access for all learners, including the 1,200-plus medical students nationwide with disabilities. Through her role in the Office of Academic Support at NYMC, Dr. Petersen works directly with students to improve study strategies and time management techniques through one-on-one mentoring, facilitating students’ transition to medical school, and supporting students with disabilities.
In addition to her exuberant, humor-infused biochemistry lectures, Dr. Petersen leads a team pioneering the effort to create a fully integrated, longitudinal disability curriculum to provide future physicians critical training in how to best serve patients with disabilities. She also supported the development of NYMC’s Resiliency Curriculum, which promotes well-being and resiliency among medical students.
Dr. Petersen also contributes to the field as a medical education researcher. Her investigations include rigorous quantitative and qualitative assessments of the efficacy of instructional and supportive interventions. Her work has supported the development of best practices to fully include students in medical education, regardless of their underrepresented or disability status.
Within the book Disability as Diversity, Dr. Petersen co-authored chapters on strategies to facilitate academic success and inclusive instruction. Both focused on methods to mitigate barriers facing students with disabilities. Recently, she co-authored a research article highlighting barriers faced by students with disabilities who receive institutional accommodations but are denied accommodations on the United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1.
In July 2022, Dr. Petersen began a two-year term as president of the Coalition for Disability Access in Health Science Education, which aims to facilitate access and opportunities for people with disabilities in health sciences education.