Speaker Introduction

Dr. John L. Szarek is Professor of Pharmacology in the Department of Basic Sciences and Director of Clinical Pharmacology at The Commonwealth Medical College (TCMC) in Scranton PA.  He also serves as the Education Director for Simulation at the school and is currently interim chair of the Department of Basic Science. Dr. Szarek received his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy, a B.S. in Pharmacy from the University of Illinois Chicago College of Pharmacy, and a B.S. in Biology from the University of Illinois Urbana. Prior to joining the TCMC faculty, Dr. Szarek spent 16 years on the faculty at Marshall University School of Medicine where he was actively involved in scientific research which resulted in numerous articles. He spent 5 years in Dominica as the Chair of Pharmacology at Ross University School of Medicine. There he started and ran the simulation program for the second year medical students. Dr. Szarek came to TCMC from A. T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona where he was Professor of Pharmacology and Director of Human Simulation. Dr. Szarek has participated in many workshops on teaching and learning including two sponsored by the Harvard Macy Institute. His interests focus on the use of technology in medical education and students' emotions during learning. He has conducted workshops for medical school faculty on the local and national level on several topics including facilitating small group sessions, the use of simulation in medical education, question writing, and presentation skills.