Nathan Sutera, PharmD, will be the recipient of the Excellence in Educational Service Award at the Impact in Education Awards March 6. The award honors a volunteer, emeritus or adjunct faculty member who exemplifies outstanding teaching and has made lasting contributions to health professions education.
- Name: Nathan Sutera, PharmD
- Title: Clinical assistant professor and pharmacy coordinator in psychiatry, UNMC College of Pharmacy.
- Joined UNMC: August 2020
- Hometown: Tyndall, South Dakota
You are the recipient of the Excellence in Educational Service Award. Why is “service to our learners” important in health care education?
Service to our learners is everything, because health care education exists to prepare them. When we keep learners at the center, we shape who they become as professionals and the care patients will receive long after we are gone. That is the lasting impact of our work.
Describe your proudest moment as an educator.
My proudest moments are when students stop feeling uneasy about psychiatry and start using it confidently. Even if they don’t go into psychiatry, they leave feeling more comfortable and become the person others turn to for mental health questions. That change makes a difference wherever they practice.
What do you want others to know about your teaching experience?
My teaching experience has shown me that teaching works best when you don’t hide your enthusiasm. We’re in this work because we love it, and students can tell when that passion is real. When you let that shine through, learning becomes more engaging and more human.
Do you have a favorite quote or philosophy on teaching?
“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
— often attributed to Theodore Roosevelt