Stephen M. Schexnayder, M.D.
Professor, Department of Pediatrics
College of Medicine

Steve Schexnayder, M.D., is Professor of Pediatrics in the College of Medicine.  Dr. Schexnayder recently won the Educational Innovation Award from the College of Medicine. This award is given by the College when a faculty member has demonstrated significant innovation in medical education through efforts such as developing a new method of teaching or evaluation.  Dr. Schexnayder’s contributions to develop a new curriculum to address an important need lead the College to recommend him for the Chancellor’s teaching award.  Dr. Schexnayder developed a program, initially called “Essentials in Pediatric Resuscitation”, and now called, “Pediatric Emergency Assessment, Recognition, and Stabilization.”  This program, which Dr. Schexnayder notes started as a hallway conversation, addresses the question of what every graduate of the medical school should know about recognizing a sick child and stabilizing them until they can get help. It is a workshop with a defined didactic curriculum followed by a hands on workshop.  The workshop is now given to all students rotating through pediatrics.  As the concept matured, Dr. Schexnayder presented the program to the American Heart Association and the target audience was expanded.  The full six hour “PEARS” course is now taught monthly to a wide range of health care providers.  Since its official release at the end of 2008, the course has been taken by over 60,000 health care providers worldwide through the American Heart Association instructional network.  Because of his success in designing a course to address a very important need, and the widespread success the program has enjoyed that, Dr. Steve Schexnayder is an ideal recipient of receiving the Chancellors Teaching Award.