Dr. Sonya Patel-Nguyen, assistant professor in the Division of Hospital Medicine and the Department of Pediatrics, has been selected as the Medicine sub-internship course director and associate director of Undergraduate Medical Education (UME) for the Duke Department of Medicine, effective July 1, 2025. She succeeds Dr. Jenny Van Kirk, assistant professor in the Division of Hospital Medicine, who has served in the role since 2019.
Dr. Patel-Nguyen received her medical degree in 2014 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she also completed her residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. She spent significant time as a student and trainee working with refugee populations abroad, particularly in Palestine, Greece, and Jordan.
Since 2018, Dr. Patel-Nguyen has worked at Duke as a Med-Peds hospitalist, working with residents and students on the inpatient services and bedside procedure teams. Her interests are broad and include EDI efforts, medical education, and global health.
Dr. Patel-Nguyen currently serves as the Vice Chief of EDI for Hospital Medicine at Duke. She also teaches in several courses in the School of Medicine, focusing on implicit bias in healthcare and bedside communication with patients and their families. She has an early and proven track record of working with learners, having received two Kaiser Permanente Excellence in Teaching Awards for both internal medicine and pediatrics during residency at UNC.
Last year, she was awarded the coveted Eugene A. Stead Teaching Award by the Internal Medicine Residency program at Duke, as well as the Educational Excellence Award by the Division of GIM.
“I am very excited to welcome Dr. Patel-Nguyen to the Internal Medicine UME Family,” said Dr. UME Director Dr. John Roberts. “She has a wealth of experience teaching and leading both residents and students at Duke over the years. I look forward to working with her as we optimize and innovate the 4th year experience. She has big shoes to fill replacing Dr. Jenny Van Kirk, who will be leading the Clinical Skills Course for second year students. Perhaps we will synergize efforts across all four years of medical school to advance the DOM mission!”
“I am so excited about Dr. Patel-Nguyen’s contributions as she takes over leadership of the sub-internship,” Dr. Criscione-Schreiber added. “She has been a wonderful teacher during her time at Duke, and has participated in development programs including the Teaching for Equity Fellowship and the DOM faculty development academy to develop her skills as an educator and leader. She is well-prepared to guide students in their development as physicians.”
Dr. Van Kirk will continue in her role as Associate Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency Program and begin a new position of director for the clinical skills course for second year medical students.
“Dr. Van Kirk has provided thoughtful and engaged leadership of the sub-internship,” said Vice Chair for Education Dr. Lisa Criscione-Schreiber. “She has navigated several changes to hospital medicine scheduling while maintaining an excellent learning experience for medical students during the sub-internship. She has also been a loved mentor to students in their final year, helping them navigate the process of applying to residency. The Department of Medicine is very grateful for Dr. Van Kirk’s contributions and we look forward to her success in her new role.”