Dr. Jonathan Crane is one of 10 program directors in the country selected to receive the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award. 

Crane, a board-certified dermatologist, is program director for the dermatology residency program at Campbell University-Sampson Regional Medical Center. Crane, appointed director of Campbell’s residency program in 2014, is also president of Atlantic Dermatology, P.A.

The Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award, the ACGME website says, honors program directors who find innovative ways to teach residents and to provide quality health care while remaining connected to the initial impulse to care for others in this environment. 

“I feel like I am just one part of a process — Campbell University, Sampson Regional Medical Center,  dermatologists and dermatopathologists all working together to create an outstanding education,” Crane said in a press release.  “More important than all of us, the residents make the residency. Picking the right residents has truly made this a great success. I appreciate the entire village, especially the residents.”

Crane is a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology and the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology. He has taught medical students and residents for more than 20 years and in 2013 founded Campbell University’s first residency program in Wilmington.

Campbell’s six dermatology residents wrote in a letter nominating Crane for the honor.

“(Dr. Crane) is extremely dedicated to our program; he comes in on weekends and stays late on Friday evenings to do additional hands-on training for his residents, hosts every journal club, staffs every hospital consultation and encourages his residents to seek out new opportunities,” the letter says. “His strong ethic and workplace morale has established an inspirational model that residents strive to replicate after residency. He is greatly adored by his staff, coworkers, residents, and most importantly his patients. Many of his residents have chosen to stay on and work at his practice which serves as a testament to how noteworthy of an educational work environment he has created.”

Crane will receive the prestigious honor in February during the 2025 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Annual Educational Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. The ACGME Blog will feature interviews and more information about this year’s exceptional awardees in the months leading up to the Annual Educational Conference.