Academic Excellence Day

Academic Excellence Day began in 1999 when Maricopa Medical Center (now Valleywise Health) and Mayo Clinic Scottsdale Departments of Academic Affairs developed a program to highlight resident training program research efforts. The program was a success, and in 2004, the Arizona Medical Education Consortium (AzMEC) was asked to participate.

The concept of Academic Excellence Day was developed and approved by all of the Phoenix-area members (all allopathic programs in Maricopa County) and the first city-wide Academic Excellence Day was held in 2005 at Mayo Clinic under the direction of AzMEC President, Michael D. Grossman, MD.

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The program was held annually on the first Wednesday in May and rotated at the participatory hospitals until the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix formally opened. Each of the participatory hospitals paid a fee to participate based on the number of residents the hospital had and continued that way until 2015 when the MICA Medical Foundation began providing funding each year. In 2020, the format went virtual in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to allow people to participate and judge in the safety of their own space. After two years of a virtual format, 2023 will again be offering a hybrid format of virtual posters and an in-person oral presentation event.

The mission of Academic Excellence Day is to promote an environment of academic excellence amongst trainees in our participating institutions. Academic Excellence Day will provide an opportunity for residents and fellows in training programs in the greater Phoenix area to showcase the volume of bench and clinical research and quality improvement initiatives being performed.

• 12:00 p.m. – Lunch provided in the Grand Canyon, located between the Biomedical Sciences Partnership Building and the Health Sciences Education Building (HSEB).
• 12:30 to 12:40 p.m. – Welcome message in HSEB lecture hall C105.
• 12:45 to 2:45 p.m. – Oral presentations.
• 2:45 to 3:00 p.m. – Break with refreshments provided in the Grand Canyon.
• 3:00 to 3:15 p.m. – Message from the MICA Medical Foundation.
• 3:15 to 5:15 p.m. – Oral presentations.