The University of Kentucky College of Medicine is excited to announce that alumnus Steven Haist, MD, MS, has been selected as its new associate dean for curriculum and assessment.
Dr. Haist will oversee all aspects of the medical student curriculum and student assessment. This includes supporting innovative developments of the curriculum and associated assessments while ensuring all related activities adhere to the standards of the University and the Liaison Committee on Medicine Education. He will collaborate with regional campus associate deans on curricular implementation across all campuses. He also will supervise faculty and staff responsible for curriculum, assessment, and educational faculty development.
As part of this new role, Dr. Haist will chair the Medical Student Curriculum Committee, attend other curriculum-related meetings, and engage frequently in scholarly activities that promote early-career faculty mentorship and professional development opportunities for the advancement of medical education.
Dr. Haist served four years as the inaugural associate dean of the UK College of Medicine-Northern Kentucky Campus, a four-year regional campus in Highland Heights, Ky., that opened in 2019 to alleviate the state’s physician shortage. At the Northern Kentucky Campus, Dr. Haist established the foundation for the campus to reach its pivotal fourth class of students in 2022. He added two assistant deans to the leadership team to ensure all needs are addressed. He is most proud of participating in recruiting four great classes of students and has enjoyed the opportunity to teach each class.
“Dr. Haist has dedicated more than 30 years to helping improve medical education and health care for the benefit of Kentuckians,” said Stephanie White, MD, MS, senior associate dean for medical student education and acting associate dean for diversity and inclusion. “He possesses the leadership skills, knowledge, and experience to achieve the high educational standards we set here at UK.”
Before returning to UK, Dr. Haist garnered a decade of leadership experience in assessment as vice president of test development services at the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME). During that time, he oversaw the production of USMLE Step1, Step 2CK, Step 3, and more than 120 other examinations including certification and recertification exams, in-training exams, medical school subject tests, and self-assessments.
Dr. Haist led the creation of the UK College of Medicine’s standardized patient program, which has helped medical students and residents learn vital interviewing and physical examination skills for more than 30 years. The standardized patient program is a valuable asset helping learners develop the necessary skills to become exceptional physicians, and the program will be an instrumental component of UK’s new state-of-the-art, multidisciplinary Health Education Building.
Dr. Haist earned his Doctor of Medicine from the UK College of Medicine in 1981, completed his internal medicine residency in 1984, and went on to hold multiple educational roles at UK from 1987-2008. He was course director for pre-clinical introduction to clinical medicine courses, director for an ambulatory internal medicine third-year clerkship, and internal medicine residency program director.
Dr. Haist has received numerous awards and recognition for his excellence in mentorship and leadership, including the college’s prestigious the William R. Willard Dean’s Recognition Award – the highest honor for lifetime contributions to the college. The UK College of Medicine even named an award after him, the Steven A. Haist Outstanding Academic Performance in Internal Medicine, which honors the student with the highest achievement in internal medicine each year. In 1995, he was awarded the Southern Society of General Internal Medicine Clinician Educator Award.
Dr. Haist will serve as the acting associate dean of the Northern Kentucky Campus while a national search takes place.
As we welcome Dr. Haist into this position, we also want to thank Andres Ayoob, MD, for his previous work in this role as he led our medical education team and students through the COVID-19 pandemic.
