College of Medicine recognizes Stuckey for Exceptional Moments in Teaching

HERSHEY, Pa. -- Heather Stuckey, associate professor of medicine, humanities and public health sciences at Penn State College of Medicine, is featured for September in the “Exceptional Moments in Teaching” program.

“Dr. Heather Stuckey is the best facilitator I could have asked for as a first-year medical student,” wrote a current student. “She facilitated my humanities small group and made it a space filled with rich discussion, support and care. Our group was able to get to know each other on deep, personal levels, and all felt comfortable sharing thanks to Dr. Stuckey's warm energy and loving spirit. She encouraged us to practice curiosity and challenged us to open up in ways that other facilitators have not.

“I am thankful for Dr. Stuckey's methods of teaching, for the way she guides and supports her students as we shape our own discussions and question our previous notions. I appreciate her vulnerability with our small group and the safe space she created to allow all of us to practice vulnerability as we explored the humanistic side of medicine. When I reflect on positive experiences during my first year at Penn State and think about our dedicated, caring faculty, she is one of the first people who comes to mind.”

Stuckey’s expertise is in qualitative research and mixed methods, generally leading to interventions to improve diabetes management and psychosocial outcomes. She was lead qualitative investigator for the Diabetes Attitudes, Wishes and Needs study to identify psychosocial needs of people with diabetes, health care providers and family members around the world. Stuckey is extending that research to the United Kingdom, where she is studying the interaction of severe mental illness with chronic disease. She currently holds an NIDDK DP3 grant to analyze patient blog use and provider perceptions to identify barriers and facilitators to self-management. 

Stuckey works on other funded opportunities, all related to researching quality of life and pathways to improvement in living with chronic disease. She also is director of research for the Foundation for Art and Healing and has a strong research focus on determining strategies for incorporating the arts into the patient experience. In addition, she teaches in public health sciences, both in qualitative and mixed-methods research, and works with first-year medical students in humanities and systems courses.

Penn State College of Medicine’s Office for a Respectful Learning Environment recognizes exceptional faculty members with the monthly “Exceptional Moments in Teaching” program. College of Medicine students are invited to submit narratives about faculty members, residents, nurses or any other educators who challenge them and provide an exceptional learning experience. Click here for the nomination form.

The Office for a Respectful Learning Environment fosters an educational community at Penn State College of Medicine in which all learners and educators feel supported, challenged, valued and respected. It serves all learners at the College of Medicine: medical students, graduate students, physician assistant students, residents and fellows.