Brenessa Lindeman, M.D. MEHP, FACS, assistant professor in the Department of Surgery, is a junior faculty recipient of the 2020 Dean's Excellence Award for Service.
Lindeman’s nominees likened her start at UAB in 2017 to “hitting the ground sprinting.” Lindeman serves as UAB’s first-ever Associate Designated Institutional Official for the Clinical Learning Environment and sits on the Dean’s Council for Graduate Medical Education (DCGME). Additionally, she chairs the DCGME Wellness Subcommittee and is the first Department of Surgery Wellness Champion. Lindeman is also a member of the UAB Medicine Wellness Programmatic Leadership Group, participating in Stress Management and Resilience Training. She provides monthly workshops for any department that requests these courses.
Within the Department of Surgery, Lindeman is the associate program director for the General Surgery Residency Program and director for the Endocrine Surgery Fellowship. She upholds the values of UAB, sitting on the UAB Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Committees.
Nationally, Lindeman serves on four American College of Surgeons committees or working groups, as well as committees for the American Board of Surgery related to Entrustable Professional Activities, blazing the path for medical student and resident curriculum, education and testing standards. She also represents UAB through membership in the Program and Fellowship committees for the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons. Finally, Lindeman is a member of the editorial board of Academic Medicine and is an academic editor for PLOS ONE.
Amid several leadership and committee responsibilities, Lindeman still volunteers her time to review articles for numerous journals and leads Department of Surgery research efforts around surgery for patients with Graves’ disease and competency-based education for trainees. Recently, she was awarded one of the highest honors for a surgical educator—being inducted into the ACS Academy of Master Surgeon Educators.
“Since joining the Department of Surgery team, Dr. Lindeman has gone full speed ahead, giving her time, energies and talent to UAB and national programs that propel patient care, research and education,” said Department of Surgery Chair Herb Chen, M.D., FACS. “Dr. Lindeman is truly a unique and talented individual who serves with grace, confidence and expert competence. She is very deserving of this award.”