Douglas P. Larsen, MD, MEd

Douglas P. Larsen, MD, MEd, assistant professor of neurology and of pediatrics, is being honored for his passion and dedication to teaching medical students

Larsen is director of medical student education for the Division of Pediatric and Developmental Neurology. In that role, he oversees clinical training of third-year medical students as they rotate through their pediatric neurology clerkship and fourth-year students during their pediatric neurology elective. He has introduced innovative educational techniques including having students set personal goals and write daily reflection reports, and asking students to self evaluate

He also teaches components of the second- and first-year courses. At the resident level, Larsen developed a »residents as teachers» curriculum to help residents hone their teaching skills as they work with medical students. Larsen’s lectures have been among the highest-rated for the past four years. Students report a strong appreciation for his enthusiasm and his ability to make material easy to understand and remember. He recently received the medical student class of 2013’s Lecturer of the Year Award.

Demonstrating his solid commitment to teaching, and in particular to applying scientific methods to teaching, Larsen earned a master’s degree in education last year from the University of Cincinnati. He is now continuing research started during his residency, investigating medical-student learning and memory and the application of expanded retrieval practice; he has used cognitive psychological methods to demonstrate the value of repeated testing in augmenting learning and long-term retrieval.

He earned his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University in 1999 and his medical degree from the University of Utah in 2003. He completed pediatrics residency training at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and pediatric neurology training at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, during which time he received two awards for teaching and served as the chief resident for pediatric neurology. He joined the Washington University faculty in 2008.