April 29, 2021
Lubbock
dermatologist Ashley L. Sturgeon, MD, and the Texas Tech University Health
Sciences Center School of Medicine (TTUHSC) were honored today by the Texas
Medical Association Medical Student Section (TMA-MSS). Dr. Sturgeon received the
2021 C. Frank Webber, MD, Award for her commitment to mentoring medical
students, and TTUHSC received the 2020-21 TMA-MSS Chapter of the Year Award. The awards were presented during TexMed,
TMA’s annual conference, held virtually.
Ashley L.
Sturgeon, MD – C. Frank Webber, MD, Award
“It has been an honor to teach and guide students throughout
my career, and I could not have been given a more meaningful award,” said Dr.
Sturgeon. “I can only pray I may influence these students as my mentors – some
of whom have won this award – influenced me.”
Dr. Sturgeon has
cared for patients at Texas Tech Physicians of Lubbock Dermatology Clinic for
seven years. She has been a TMA member for 15 years. She is immediate past president
of the Lubbock County Medical Society (LCMS), and represents the society in
TMA’s House of Delegates, the association’s policymaking body.
The TTUHSC TMA chapter
nominated Dr. Sturgeon for the award. Chelsea Gerlicki, chapter president,
praised the physician’s leadership during the early days of the COVID-19
pandemic, from promoting mask use to involving medical students on the front lines
of COVID-19 care.
Dr. Sturgeon
started a local personal protective equipment (PPE) task force early in the
pandemic, which later was managed through the state’s Regional Advisory
Councils and TMA. TTUHSC medical student volunteers helped package more than 5
million pieces of PPE and distribute it to 22 West Texas counties through this
effort.
Dr. Sturgeon said watching the students’ efforts was
amazing. “The students did all the work,” she said. “I am excited to see what
our TTUHSC trailblazers do with their careers.”
Sarah Miller,
TMA-MSS chair, commended Dr. Sturgeon for her guidance and mentoring of TTUHSC
medical students. “Your leadership in
public health safety through mask advocacy and the establishment of the PPE
Task Force set an excellent example for medical students and other health
professionals,” said Ms. Miller.
Dr. Sturgeon
also included medical students in COVID-19 discussions with LCMS board members,
a valuable learning experience because Lubbock was hit hard by COVID-19.
“Dr. Sturgeon
led the society, the community, and the TMA medical student section through
these trying times,” said Ms. Gerlicki. “She was a fantastic leader, who led by
example.”
Dr. Sturgeon
earned her medical degree and completed her residency at TTUHSC.
Created in
1987, the C. Frank Webber, MD, Award is named after the late Texas family
physician and educator C. Frank Webber, MD, former dean of The University of
Texas Medical School at Houston. Dr. Webber’s efforts prompted the development
of the strong student organization within TMA.
TTUHSC – TMA-MSS
Chapter of the Year Award
Ms. Gerlicki
also nominated TTUHSC for its chapter award. Before the pandemic, the student chapter
supported LCMS’ Turn it Off! Campaign to provide activities, such as scavenger
hunts and book readings, to draw local children away from video screens.
Ms. Miller said,
“Texas Tech University School of Medicine did an outstanding job across the TMA
pillars of advocacy, community service, and membership. The chapter had ongoing
community efforts as well as impeccable adaptations to a COVID-19 world,
demonstrating committed and proactive leadership.”
During the
pandemic, medical students delivered letters and homemade cards to local
nursing homes to ease residents’ isolation. The students also volunteered with
the South Plains Immunization Network to help community members update routine
vaccinations during the pandemic, including childhood vaccinations, and
pneumonia and flu shots.
The Chapter of
the Year Award, established in 1998, is given annually to a chapter that
exemplifies leadership, dedication, and service to TMA, the American Medical
Association, and all Texans.
TMA is the largest state medical
society in the nation, representing more than 55,000 physician and medical
student members. It is located in Austin and has 110 component county medical
societies around the state. TMA’s key objective since 1853 is to improve the
health of all Texans.
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TMA
Contacts: Brent Annear (512) 370-1381; cell: (512) 656-7320
Marcus
Cooper (512) 370-1382; cell: (512) 650-5336
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