Nancy Tofil, M.D., M.Ed., professor of Pediatrics, director for the Division of Pediatric Critical Care and senior associate program director for the Pediatric Residency Program, is the senior faculty winner of the 2020 Dean’s Excellence Award in Education. Tofil graduated medical school from Ohio State University and completed her pediatric residency and pediatric critical fellowship at UAB. She has served as the senior associate program director for the UAB Pediatric Residency Program since 2008. In 2017, Tofil was named the director for Division of Pediatric Critical Care and, subsequently, named the Ann Dial McMillan Endowed Chair in Critical Care Medicine in 2018. Tofil is also the medical director of the Simulation Center and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Children’s of Alabama.
Tofil has committed most of her career to medical education and has a true passion for teaching. As the medical director for the Simulation Center, she has contributed to teaching more than 50,000 learners over the last 10 years and created a robust simulation curriculum for the pediatric residency program. Though resident education is a significant focus of the Simulation Center, Tofil and her team have worked to make the center interprofessional, providing teaching and training for nurses, fellows, faculty and medical students.
In addition to her work in simulation education, her work as a program director for the Pediatric Residency program must also be recognized. Tofil is a front-line educator and is committed to providing the best training possible for the pediatric residents. During her tenure as associate program director, Tofil’s leadership and dedication to medial education has contributed to the quality of the program’s trainees with a near 100 percent pass rate for the American Board of Pediatrics exam for nine years.
“Nancy has a unique and remarkable track record of teaching excellence and innovation that benefits a broad constituency of learners,” said Mitch Cohen, M.D., Chair of the Department of Pediatrics. “Nancy is the consummate teacher, player-coach, leader and education champion. She is a constant reminder to me of why we do what we do.”