Robert W. Haley, MD, FACE, FACP

Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology; U.S. Armed Forces Veterans Distinguished Chair for Medical Research, Honoring America’s Gulf War Veterans; and Chief, Division of Epidemiology

Department of Internal Medicine

UT Southwestern Medical Center

An effective teacher is simply one whose students come away with important new knowledge, sharpened skills, a heightened desire to learn more and improve further, and a vision of passing it forward.

In daily attending rounds, I work most with my medical students and residents on the art of making a diagnosis: on taking a complete, insightful history that raises hypotheses to be tested by careful physical examination and directed laboratory investigation. Osler taught us, “If you listen carefully to the patient they will tell you the diagnosis.” I also stress extensive systematic reading in medicine as well as directed literature searching, for “you only see what you know.” In research I teach my students and young faculty to develop powerful study designs that avoid bias and to master statistical computing so their clinical insights are fully engaged in the analysis.