L to R: Jason Morris, MD, and Gustavo R. Heudebert, MD, MACPJason Morris, M.D., has been named the inaugural Gustavo R. Heudebert, M.D., MACP, Endowed Faculty Scholar, and he will be recognized at a reception on June 14, 2018, in the Edge of Chaos at Lister Hill Library.

Morris is an Alabama native who earned his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., then returned to Birmingham to complete medical school, his residency, and a chief resident year at the UAB Heersink School of Medicine. Morris joined the faculty as an assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine in 2005. From 2008 to 2012, he directed the Internal Medicine Clerkship. He then took on the position of Associate Director of the Tinsley Harrison Internal Medicine Residency Program in 2012. Morris provides clinical care to hospitalized patients at UAB Hospital and the Birmingham VA Medical Center. He also supervises in the BVAMC internal medicine residents’ clinic.

“I am honored and humbled to be the inaugural Gustavo R. Heudebert, M.D., MACP, Endowed Faculty Scholar. Dr. Heudebert has played an integral role in my own medical education and has been a mentor to me since my third year of medical school when I had the great fortune to work with him during my internal medicine clerkship. In this new role, I look forward to finding innovative ways to advance medical education and resident well-being,” Morris says.

Morris’ career interests in medical education include clinical reasoning, physician well-being, and the use of highly interactive and innovative teaching and learning tools, including medical simulation to improve acquisition and retention of medical knowledge and skills with a focus on patient safety.

The endowment, originally created in February 2017, honors Dr. “Tavo” Heudebert, who currently serves as the interim dean of UAB’s Montgomery Regional Medical Campus. His remarkable clinical and educational skills have created a legacy of excellent, compassionate physicians who practice worldwide.

The Division of General Internal Medicine and the Department of Medicine are continuing their fundraising efforts with a goal of reaching the endowed professorship level. To date, nearly $225,000 has been given in Heudebert’s honor to further UAB’s ongoing efforts in medical education, specifically within the internal medicine residency program. To give to the Heudebert endowment, click here.