Art and Medicine

Raines Honored with Master Teacher Award

Alexander Raines, M.D., an associate professor in the Department of Surgery at the OU College of Medicine, has been honored with the 2022 Stanton L. Young Master Teacher Award.

The honor, awarded since 1983, recognizes OU College of Medicine faculty members for excellence in teaching. It was established through an endowment made by the late Oklahoma City businessman Stanton L. Young. The award comes with a $15,000 cash prize, one of the largest in the nation for medical teaching excellence.

“We are grateful for faculty members like Dr. Raines who are dedicated to their patients while also furthering the profession of medicine through research and training the next generation of physicians,” said John P. Zubialde, M.D., executive dean of the OU College of Medicine. “Dr. Raines is passionate about medical education, which is reflected by the respect and admiration he has earned from students, residents and fellows.”

Raines earned his medical degree at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha in 2009. From 2009 to 2016, he was a general surgery clinical/research resident at the OU Health Sciences Center. He then began his role as a faculty member in the Department of Surgery at the OU College of Medicine. He is board-certified by the American Board of Surgery.

He holds numerous leadership roles with the OU College of Medicine and with OU Health, the clinical partner of the OU Health Sciences Center. He is Director of Robotic Surgery for the college’s Department of Surgery, as well as OU Health Surgeon-in-Chief for Outpatient Services. He also heads the Division of General Surgery at OU Health Edmond Medical Center. He is a consultative general surgeon for the Oklahoma City Thunder, the city’s National Basketball Association team.

Raines is active as an educator and has mentored and provided career advising to numerous students. He is site director of the surgery residency program at Edmond Medical Center, and he co-directs the surgery clerkship for third-year medical students. He also is the faculty sponsor for the Student Surgery Interest Group. Raines has received numerous honors for his skills as an educator, including the Aesculapian Award, the Outstanding Teaching Award, Outstanding Faculty Award, and the Dewayne Andrews, M.D., Excellence in Teaching Award.

In a nomination letter for the Stanton L. Young Master Teacher Award, a student wrote: “Dr. Raines has been a mentor and role model for me — someone whom I hope to emulate as I continue in both my medical career and personal life. There are a great many educators within the College of Medicine; still, I can confidently say that he is the most complete and passionate educator I have had the honor of interacting with.”

Raines has been active in research, serving as an author on nearly 20 peer-reviewed publications. He is a member of the Academy of Teaching Scholars, a College of Medicine group that fosters scholarly education projects.

He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), serves on the national ACS Advisory Board for General Surgery, and is president-elect for the Oklahoma chapter of the ACS. He is an active member of many other organizations, including the Association for Academic Surgery, Southwestern Surgical Congress, American Hernia Society, Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons, Clinical Robotic Surgery Association, and Association for Surgical Education.