Dr. DeHaas has been a teaching physician for over 12 years with NW Surgical Specialists on Surgery rotations as well as a long-standing Course Director. Dr. DeHaas was selected as this year’s recipient for his time, patience, knowledge, and commitment to teaching. Many students commented on how much they learn from him and how they will continue to use this knowledge throughout their medical careers. Dr. DeHaas’ commitment to teaching was further highlighted by the number of students who chose the surgery field as a result of working with him, and later returned to work in our community to practice medicine.

Student testimonials

  • “Wonderful person to work with, amazed at the skills and expertise in everything. Great role model, excellent mentor, inspired me to pursue a surgical career. Gave me many opportunities to assist in the OR and showed great patience. Always willing to teach anatomy and relevant problem-solving skills for post-op patients.”
  • “Dr. DeHaas is fantastic. He is a superb role model, an excellent physician, and made abundant time for my learning. His practice is very diverse, which made for an incredibly rich clinical experience, and he had excellent wisdom to bestow upon me. He is also very welcoming and non-judgmental.”
  • “Dr. DeHaas is a wonderful teacher. I felt like he gave me the proper amount of autonomy both within cases and with patient care that I could learn by firsthand experience. Furthermore, he is an excellent surgeon, and a great example to learn from. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Dr. DeHaas and am grateful for the opportunity!”
  • “Dr. DeHaas was fantastic to work with. He utilized me as a member of the team in the OR, the hospital, and in clinic. He is a good teacher both of clinical/surgical skills and of medicine topics. I especially enjoyed being able to see pre- and post-op patients with him in clinic, and then their surgeries in the OR. He was patient in the OR and invested in helping me learn. He is an incredible surgeon and teacher.”
  • “Dr. DeHaas was great to learn from and provided lots of opportunities to get involved with cases and was available for feedback on write-ups/patient care. He is a great physician who cares deeply about his patients and I was grateful to have the opportunity to learn from him.”
  • “Dr. DeHaas was very enjoyable to work with. He was frequently teaching in the OR, while letting me get involved in all of the cases. I saw some very interesting cases and he would go out of his way to explain what was going on with those. I also appreciate how much he would let me get involved in the cases, including draining an abscess. Overall, I had a very enjoyable time working with Dr. DeHaas.”
  • “Incredible surgeon and teacher! Challenged me, gave constructive feedback, was clear on expectations, great communication. He was an excellent teacher in the OR and I learned a lot from him. He made surgery a fun experience. I was so grateful I had the chance to work with him.”
  • “Dr. DeHaas is a truly wonderful mentor. He puts great energy into teaching, inspires hard work and practice, and makes surgery fun. I am thankful for the trust he put in me and the opportunities he gave me while working with him.”