Coming to the close of every calendar year ushers in a time of reflection and celebration. Important among these is Fellowship Match Day. In the continuum of training, the transition to fellowship represents for many the final step in their long professional career trajectory. A powerful indicator of the strength of our training programs is the success of our residents in securing the fellowship training positions that they choose. Our residents had a terrific match this year! The success rate for this year’s class of residents entering the match is once again 100%, and our five-year rolling average holds steady at 96%. The growth this year over last is in the number of our graduates who both chose to remain in Iowa and were chosen by us. Nearly 62% of our own residents who applied for fellowships remained convinced to entrust their subspecialty training to our diverse fellowship programs. This not only reflects their competitiveness but also underscores the strengths of our fellowship training programs. Congratulations to those rising fellows who can breathe a little more easily this week and to each of our fellowship programs for filling their fellowship programs with a very talented cohort of new fellows. Let me be among the first to provide a Hawkeye welcome to those who will be joining us from elsewhere and of course to our own who will be remaining with us.
Our faculty also make headlines by shaping public policy. Two members were recently recognized for their impact in changing how healthcare is delivered. For decades, Dr. Jack Stapleton has helped guide the state of Iowa’s response to HIV infections from the earliest days of the epidemic. With support from the Ryan White Foundation and federal and state funding sources, a team of nurses, social workers, and health consultants provide comprehensive preventive care and disease management to a vulnerable and often underserved population. Jack and his team were justly recognized for their compassionate work with an award from the Iowa City Human Rights Commission last month. And, Dr. Colleen Campbell received the Strategic Leader Award from the National Society of Genetic Counselors for her successful lobbying of the state legislature to institute licensure of genetic counselors in the state earlier this year. As I said at the time, Dr. Campbell’s tenacity on this issue has ensured a safe path into the future for this growing specialty and for Iowans struggling to navigate this new terrain. Congratulations to both Dr. Stapleton and Dr. Campbell for well-deserved recognition of their dogged pursuit of what is right for patients.
