Honoring the Educators Shaping the Next Generation of Medicine and Science: Outstanding Teaching Awards 2025-2026

On July 13, the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine in the Galilee held its annual Outstanding Teaching Awards Ceremony, honoring excellence in education across the Faculty and its affiliated clinical training sites. Certificates were awarded to 186 lecturers and instructors who received the highest teaching evaluations, as well as to outstanding community teaching centers and hospital departments involved in student training at Baruch Padeh Medical Center, Poriya; Galilee Medical Center, Nahariya; Ziv Medical Center, Safed; and the hospitals of Nazareth.

Beyond the recognition itself, one question resonated throughout the evening, particularly in an era when knowledge is more accessible than ever: What is the role of the teacher when knowledge itself is no longer a scarce resource?

Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Orly Avni, opened the ceremony by paying tribute to the hundreds of faculty members who continued teaching throughout a prolonged period marked by war, reserve duty service, and loss, while hospitals and communities repeatedly shifted between routine and emergency operations. Under such circumstances, she noted, not only the quality of teaching was tested, but also the leadership of educators.

Educational research, she explained, does not offer a single formula for outstanding teaching. Yet student feedback reveals a consistent picture: the best teachers are not necessarily those who know the most, but those who can identify what truly matters within an abundance of information, explain complexity without oversimplifying it, and transform information into understanding, and understanding into the ability to think and act.

“An outstanding teacher does not remove every obstacle from a student's path. They know when to allow students to struggle, make mistakes, feel uncertain, and try again. At the same time, they do not leave them alone in that struggle. They continually calibrate the right balance between challenge and support.”

The discussion took on additional significance in the age of artificial intelligence. As emphasized throughout the ceremony, the technological revolution does not diminish the role of educators or reduce the need for knowledge. On the contrary, as digital tools become more powerful, deep subject knowledge, critical thinking, and sound judgment become even more essential for using them responsibly and effectively. Later in the evening, Prof. Yaniv Fox discussed the integration of AI into teaching, learning, research, and clinical practice.

Prof. Meital Gal-Tanamy, Vice Dean for Academic Research and Chair of the Outstanding Teaching Awards Committee, offered another perspective on the work of educators. Often, she noted, the most important outcome of teaching does not occur in the classroom at all. It may emerge years later in a clinical decision, in a question a young physician feels confident enough to ask, or in the way they care for a patient, without the teacher ever witnessing the impact.

In the AI era, she added, anything that can be delivered instantly is increasingly accessible to machines. What remains uniquely within the educator's domain are the qualities that develop more slowly: judgment, curiosity, integrity, and the ability to navigate complexity. Reviewing hundreds of student evaluations, she found that the comments that stood out were often the simplest:

“She believed in me.”
“He gave me the confidence to ask questions.”

One of the evening's most memorable remarks followed:

“No student will ever write: The model believed in me.”

Prof. Tatiana Smolkin, Vice Dean for Clinical Education, emphasized that excellence in teaching extends far beyond mastery of professional knowledge. It includes the ability to inspire curiosity and clinical thinking, listen attentively, and connect scientific rigor with humanity. Excellence, she noted, is not achieved by chance. It grows from curiosity, responsibility, a commitment to continuous improvement, and the desire to give others the very best of oneself.

“The influence of an outstanding teacher extends far beyond the classroom,” she said. “It accompanies students throughout their careers, both as physicians and as the teachers of the next generation.”

She concluded by thanking the award recipients for their dedication, commitment, and investment in educating future healthcare professionals, encouraging them to continue “learning, teaching, leading, and inspiring in the spirit of excellence, humanity, and love of the profession.”

The ceremony also included a moment of remembrance and appreciation for Dr. Orna Dali-Gutfried, of blessed memory, who for many years led the pediatric diabetes service and pediatric outpatient clinics at Ziv Medical Center. Dr. Dali-Gutfried supported generations of children and families with exceptional professionalism, dedication, and compassion. For students, the Dean noted, she was a role model whose commitment to humanistic medicine matched her extensive clinical expertise.

Selection of the award recipients was based not only on quantitative teaching evaluations but also on students' written feedback and each educator's level of engagement and commitment to teaching. The selection committee recognized that dedication, presence, and personal investment are integral components of teaching excellence.

On behalf of the award recipients, Dr. Maayan Geller-Hinitz, a graduate of the Faculty, delivered remarks of appreciation. Her presence symbolized a particularly meaningful full circle: a former student of the Faculty now standing on the other side of the educational journey as both a physician and an educator.

Perhaps that was also the thread connecting all the reflections shared throughout the evening. Medical knowledge evolves, technology advances, and teaching tools change, but the impact of a great teacher continues to pass from person to person and from generation to generation. It is reflected not only in what students know at the end of a lesson, but in the physicians and scientists they become afterward.