Theresa Wright, administrative associate for the Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics, has been selected as a recipient of the inaugural Dean’s Excellence Awards for Staff.
“I am so grateful and appreciative to work with and support such an amazing division within Pediatrics,” said Wright. “The pediatric hospital medicine faculty and staff are a true testimony to teamwork and workplace family. Receiving the Heersink School of Medicine Dean’s Excellence Award for Staff is an amazing honor, and I am so happy to be a small part of this amazing group!”
Wright joined the Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine in 2020 and has been an amazing asset to the division since starting. She shows incredible initiative and supports the division’s faculty in any way she can. She handles her assigned tasks promptly and is proactive in reaching out to faculty to see what administrative items she can handle for them.
Wright provides a variety of administrative support for the division and is crucial in the success of the division across all of UAB’s key mission areas: clinical care, education, and research. She ensures that all schedules are completed, provides tech support for educational conferences, and manages dashboards. She advocates for the division faculty and works to improve the lives of the faculty in any way that she can.
For the faculty in the division, Wright is the “glue” that keeps the division and faculty all together. She is great at problem solving and coming up with creative solutions, often without prompting. She is willing to help faculty even if the task might be outside her perceived job role.
“I truly would not be half as successful or productive as I am without her support,” said Erin Shaughnessy, M.D., division director for the Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine. “Theresa is also a kind, effective, and supportive manager and mentor for other staff. She serves as a model of professionalism and has empowered others to meet and exceed expectations.”
The Heersink School of Medicine Dean’s Excellence Awards for Staff recognize and honor individual Heersink staff members who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments and significantly supported Heersink’s core mission areas of education, clinical care, and research.