This April, Ann O’Rourke, MD, MPH, and Louis Bernhardt, MD, received two of only nine 2021 Wisconsin Medical Alumni Association awards.
Dr. O’Rourke received the Early Career Achievement Award, which honors an alumna/alumnus within 20 years post-graduation with exemplary success, while Dr. Bernhardt received the Clinical Sciences Emeritus Faculty Award. Both were acknowledged by Rebecca Minter, MD, for their individual impact.
In Dr. O’Rourke’s short time since graduating as an MD, she has had a wide impact across multiple fronts. With the Department of Surgery, she serves as Associate Professor of Surgery, Medical Director of Trauma, Director of Medical Student Surgical Education, and Integrated Block Leader. Dr. Minter called Dr. O’Rourke “a true UW success story…among the surgery department’s highest ranked teachers in medical students’ evaluations.”
Dr. Bernhardt, whose career stretches nearly 55 years, was awarded for his long and effective service to the UW School of Medicine and Public Health as Adjunct Clinical Professor. Behind this title lies several distinctions across decades of service. Alongside over 30 years as a cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Bernhardt served as President of the Wisconsin Surgical Society, Wisconsin Chapter of the American College of Surgeons, and the Madison Surgical Society, and in 2018, won the Forward Award from the Department of Surgery, and a reputation as an excellent educator. “People adore working with Dr. Bernhardt because of his true love of teaching, his caring nature, and his appreciation of every worker,” Dr. Minter said.
Read more about Dr. O’Rourke, Dr. Bernhardt, and the other exemplary alumni on the awards website. The Wisconsin Medical Alumni Association celebrates its award recipients every April, with nominations submitted online.