Distinguished Service Award presented to Dr. Michael Potts
Michael Potts, MD, is the 2022 recipient of the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford’s Distinguished Service Award. This award is presented each year to a nominee who demonstrates outstanding organization and leadership qualities in committee service, administration, health care and medical education at the College of Medicine Rockford, the university level and/or nationally.
Dr. Potts has demonstrated outstanding service through his 28-year history of excellence in teaching, clinical work, scholarship, and service to the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford.
An associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics and director of the pediatric clerkship, Dr. Potts most recently has taken on the role of Phase 2 and 3 curriculum coordinator while still maintaining his other roles.
Dr. Potts has dedicated his career to teaching, both at the medical student and resident level. He is a very active lecturer, with above average evaluation scores, and has mentored numerous medical students and residents over the years.
He has been instrumental in developing the clerkship, including streamlining core objectives, integrating computer-based virtual patient teaching cases, developing skills for standardized hand-off from one clinical provider to another, and creating a team-based learning component.
In recognition of his excellence in teaching, he received the Distinguished Teaching Award from the College of Medicine Rockford in 2000, and was awarded a Fellow, Scholars for Teaching Excellence, from the Department of Medical Education for the University of Illinois Chicago.
Dr. Potts’ extensive service to the college both in Rockford and college-wide includes participation and leadership roles in multiple committees, the UIC senate, and as interim chair of the department of Pediatrics.
His service has extended nationally, with significant involvement in the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the medical journal Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.