Three medical students – Darryl Kalil, Alex Powell and Ivory Shelton – tied for the highest clerkship grades in the Class of 2020 and each received the Peacock-Plonk Award for Outstanding Student Clinician.  

The clerkships include emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, neurology, OB/GYN and women’s health, pediatrics, psychiatry and surgery.

Three-way Tie for 2019 Peacock-Plonk Award

The Peacock-Plonk Award was established in 2017 in honor of James E. Peacock, MD, Professor of Infectious Diseases, and George W. Plonk, MD, Associate Professor of Vascular Surgery, who are widely revered for their clinical expertise, their diagnostic acumen, their bedside manner and their humility. They are "Doctor's Doctors."

Darryl Kalil plans to pursue a residency in Internal Medicine. Summative comments from the Internal Medicine clerkship noted: Darryl is an intellectually curious, hard-working and thorough student who goes the extra mile in reading about his patients to help refine his differential diagnoses and plans. His colleagues appreciated his collegial nature and felt he was a great asset to the team. Darryl is an exceptional reporter, interpreter and manager of medical data who consistently performed well above his level of training. Darryl is a superb house officer candidate, and we hope he will consider a career in Internal Medicine.

Alex Powell plans to pursue a residency in Emergency Medicine. His summative comments from the Emergency Medicine clerkship noted: He has a great attitude and was always genuinely kind to patients and staff. His histories and physicals were thorough and well-focused and his presentations were concise and inclusive of pertinent positives and negatives related to the complaint at hand. Alex’s differentials and workup/treatment plans were well above average for his level of training, and his shelf exam score was well above the national average. He is progressing well toward becoming an excellent residency candidate and physician.

Ivory Shelton plans to pursue a residency in Pediatrics. Comments from the Pediatrics clerkship noted: Ivory is a student who displays an “upbeat and positive attitude” who easily met clerkship expectations during her first rotation. She articulated the clinical facts after obtaining an accurate and pertinent history and was an effective communicator during family-centered rounds. Her differential diagnosis is reflective of a logical and accurate interpretation of the medical data. Ivory is a “strong team player” who is “hard-working,” “personable,” and is “actively involved in patient care.” She is very good at interacting with patients and families and quickly develops strong rapport with families. Ivory would be an exceptional pediatrician and will excel in any field she pursues as a career.